Preventing Domestic Violence in Australia: Sociocultural Factors

Each country and culture reflect its own songs and sayings related to the importance of homes and priorities of women. Australia has always been considered as a better place and a wealthy nation for living due to good health, and OECD’s Better Life Index shows the same (Jericho 2017). However, safety of Australian women is the prime cause of worry in the global agenda. Violence against women has been recognised as the widespread and serious crime in Australia. Statistics revealed that on an average, one woman is killed every week in Australia as a result of domestic violence. Domestic violence refers to the acts of violence that takes place between the people who have, or have had shared an intimate relationship in domestic settings. These acts of violence include physical, emotional, social, financial and psychological abuse. However, this vital social problem is so ultimately preventable. There are a variety of reasons that are responsible for the domestic violence against women. This written piece will solely focus on the socio-cultural reasons that are responsible for domestic violence and what can be done in order to reduce these figures in future.

Domestic violence in Australia has seen some of the extreme acts of violence and abuse on women in domestic settings. It tends to have a devastating impact on the persons, families and communities (Mulayim, Jackson and Lai 2016). It includes sexual assaults, physical harms, threats, intimidation, economic deprivation and social isolation. Australia ranks at eighth position among the G20 nations for rates of domestic violence against women (Mao 2019). UN stated that violence against women is Australia is disturbingly common.

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In Australia, domestic violence has also been regarded as the family violence. Some groups of women, particularly young women, Indigenous women, pregnant women, women with disability women separating from their partners and women facing financial hardships are at the high risk of sexual, domestic and family violence (AIHW 2018). Home is a place that is safe and secure but for many women, home is referred to as a place of pain and humiliation. Violence against women by their male partners is common and far-reaching in its impact. Attitudes towards the domestic violence has a great influence on the reporting behaviours. People with low support on the gender equality faces issues of domestic violence (Aye et al. 2018).

Although globalization has brought about several changes in the attitudes and social values towards the gender issue persisting in Australia, traditional patriarchal values still accumulates in many societies and contributes to the mitigation of the human rights of the women. Cultural values and beliefs including rigid gender roles and masculinity linked to the toughness and dominance whereas social factors that involves unemployment, socio-economic status or background or the social and geographical isolation are the responsible reasons influencing domestic, family and sexual violence (AIHW 2018).

In Australia, domestic violence exists with all the socioeconomic, age, ability, cultural, geographical and religious cohorts. Culturally diversified groups experience disproportionate violence than others. Indigenous women are 35 times more likely to experience domestic violence than other Australian females (Bugeja et al. 2013). The common view in Australian Aboriginal communities refers to the loss of role, culture and identity for men including unemployment have created conditions leading to the alcohol and domestic abuse. Inability of a man to provide welfare of children and economically abusing women is also the crucial aspects of domestic violence. Women entering the workforces leads men to doubt their rural masculinity (Fakiha 2010)

Women who face domestic violence also face disruption to do any work or are made socially and geographically isolated. Power and control have a huge role to play when it comes about domestic violence on women. Gaining control of a women’s resource without her consent, preventing access to economic resources, controlling and isolating her from major contexts of life, abusing or letting her down are few direct actions done by men to violate women’s integrity to ensure power and control (Guerin and de Oliveira 2017). Domineering attitude of the men in the family is the contributing factor to domestic violence. Domestic violence is established upon the unbalanced relationship dynamics where one partner tends to exerts control and power over the significant other (Aye et al. 2018). The inconsiderable and insignificant distribution of resources and power between men and women poses a significant threat to the position of women in the society making the men feeling more powerful. International evidences support the factor like narrow and rigid gender stereotypes and also the culture that supports violence in general as responsible reasons for domestic violence (Sutherland 2015).

Women belonging to poor socio-economic status including young age, low educational attainment, low income, disability and poor living areas are the key factors that has been regarded as the violence-supportive attitudes (Trinh et al. 2016). Women experiencing social disadvantage and economic dependency on husband has been referred as the crucial reason in the acceptance of habitual violence in the domestic settings perpetrated by men. Women acceptance of violence has been regarded as the crucial reason that promotes domestic violence. However, among the working couple in the society, poor handling of sex issues and handling money matters without consent are the vital cultural reasons for domestic violence (Aye et al. 2018).

Marital discord and infidelity among young couple are also one of the significant reasons that are responsible for domestic violence. (Bishwajit, Sarkar and Yaya 2016). Women feels trapped in an abusive relationship due to having child and being dependent on men for home and food for the kids and themselves even after lack of love, care and trust (Mesatywa 2014). Women with children are three times more likely to effected by the domestic violence than the childless women. The risk of women getting subjected to domestic violence is high during pregnancy and following a birth. 46% of women have reported physical or sexual abuse during pregnancy, out of which 23% were affected by domestic violence for the first time during the phase (Buchanan, Power and Verity 2013). In Australia, women’s pregnancy has been characterised as the high-risk period regarding initiation and escalation of intimate partnership violence that often leads to be the cause of maternal mortality (Rakovec-Felser 2014). Domestic violence tends to impact women in multiple ways by making her lose his self-esteem, decision-making ability and being affected by depression, anxiety, fear, self-harm and other dissociative orders. Fear of safety of the child is what tends to have the greatest priority in a mother’s mind and makes her accept the domestic violence. The effects of domestic violence on women make her emotionally disconnected with the child that evidently have an adverse effect on the developmental, emotional, social and behavioural growth of a child (Buchanan, Power and Verity 2013).

Each jurisdiction in Australia has its own laws and systems to deal with domestic violence. Supported accommodation, safe houses and Northern Territory Emergency Response are few Australian Government funded programs functional in all the states and territories against domestic violence. The main aim of the service and program is to prevent domestic violence and to support the survivor through health and community services along with the attorney general, police and other agencies (POA 2011). The Australasian Policing Strategy for Preventing and Reducing Family Violence established in 2008 coordinate with police stations, practices and information-sharing with more focused about broader collaboration with partner agencies to provide referrals and support to those impacted by the domestic violence (Dunkley and Philips 2015). New national telephone and counselling services under ‘1800 RESPECT’ targeted young women and children to overcome instances of abuse in the domestic contexts. Counselling and other support is available to those effected by domestic violence to overcome its impact in a sustainable manner (Relationships Australia 2019).

Under the Domestic and Family Violence Protection Act 2012 (Qld), government responses to domestic violence in the form of preventive programs, support for the survivors, victims and families and law enforcements can be practiced to prevent domestic violence (Bugeja et al. 2013). Implementing new preventive programs that engage men and boys in educating other men to prevent domestic violence can have a considerate impact on the people at the workplaces and across communities and specifically those at target higher risk groups such as Indigenous and culturally diversified communities. Domestic and Family Violence Preventive Strategy 2016-2026 have been planned to eradicate the problem of domestic violence (Queensland Government n.d.). It’s the high time that proposed a safe, fair and supportive justice system to deal effectively with the domestic violence. Perpetrators accountability ensuring appropriate sanctions are in process to stop domestic violence. Maximising women's access to domestic and family violence services across the response, prevention and early intervention spectrums in regions where there are limited services with zero tolerance approach can be useful in preventing domestic violence.

Thus, in Australia, domestic violence includes a broad range of abuse whether physical or non-physical within a family or an intimate relationship Slapping, hitting by husband, kicking, traumatizing are few perspectives of domestic violence including murders that adds up to the statistical burden of killing of one woman in every week as a result of domestic violence due to the discussed socio-cultural reasons including cultural implications, unemployment, poverty, educational status of women and gender stereotypes. However, domestic violence is a crime that needs to be mitigated from the society. Since domestic violence is preventable, many interventions can be taken in order to prevent the crime. In Australian society, governmental implicated models, training, counselling and community education must be practiced to lower down the statistical figure of domestic violence among women.

References

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