Social Justice, Public Perceptions, and Spouse Assault in Australia

In: Social justice: a journal of crime, conflict and world order, Band 16, S. 103-123

Abstract

Spouse assault (wife battering) in Australia is reviewed, detailing what is known about the extent of the problem, current legislative & political action, & popularly held beliefs about it. There are no Australian incidence data as such, but there are sufficient data to indicate that spouse assault is a major social justice issue, with massive financial burdens for health, welfare, & criminal justice provision. Political pressure in the 1970s, allied with the development of women's refuges, resulted in new protection order legislation in Australian states & territories between 1983 & 1989. In 1988/89 a National Domestic Violence Education Campaign responded to research findings of widespread community tolerance of spouse assault, & of marked lack of sympathy for victims & understanding of their circumstances by key professional groups, eg, police, doctors, lawyers, welfare workers, & clergy. These developments are placed in a political context, arguing that relatively poor funding for the Campaign is a political issue, that there is a relative inattention to research & policy on perpetrators, & that feminist positions on spouse assault, while vital in exposing the problems, may now be hindering the further development of understanding in the area. 61 References. Modified AA