Domestic Violence

Jill Singer and Lisa Whitehead have won the Best TV Current Affairs/Feature Under 10 minutes Quill (Melbourne Press Club) for their story on domestic violence victim Deanne Bridgland. Judges Citation The judges praised Jill and Lisa for skilfully distilling a complex legal and human story into a compelling piece of television. Through extensive research and gaining the trust of the story's subject, they shone a light on the difficult issue of domestic violence. The story led to changes in how the criminal justice system deals with victims of family violence. In response to my investigation a joint submission was made to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) Review of Family Violence Laws by dozens of organizations; including Women's Legal Services Australia, National Legal Aid and the Central Australian Aboriginal Family Legal Unit. As a result, the ALRC recommended widespread reform of how the criminal justice system deals with family violence. (http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/ 12. Breach of Protection Orders/public-justice-offences#_ftn67) . As the ALRC noted, using my report on Deanne Bridgland as a case study: "A scenario such as that which unfolded in the Deanne Bridgland case is a striking example in point. It is imperative that police and prosecutors receive training in the dynamics of family violence to enable them to assess properly the contextual background in which a victim may be seen to be acting in a way to reduce or mitigate the culpability of an offender. In particular, police and prosecutors need to be trained in how the dynamics of family violence might affect the decisions of victims of family violence to negate the existence of such violence or to withdraw previous allegations of violence."