Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697631433452.pdf (Australia)
NT Opposition - Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence Domestic violence in the Northern Territory Domestic violence is an epidemic across our nation and the Northern Territory.

It is the leading cause of death and injury in Australia for women under 45, with more than one woman murdered by her current or former partner every week.

There are young victims too, with more than one million children affected by family violence each year.
For indigenous women facing abuse it’s even more shocking.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 45 times more likely to experience domestic violence.1 Indigenous women are 35 times more likely to be more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence.2 Aboriginal women also face challenges in accessing domestic violence support services, particularly in remote and regional areas.
Indigenous males are 21.4 times more likely to be hospitalised due to domestic violence related assaults.3 The former Northern Territory Government was the first in Australia to introduce mandatory reporting of domestic violence with the aim of changing community attitudes to domestic and family violence, by lifting the veil of silence and reinforcing that domestic and family violence is unacceptable.
An evaluation of mandatory reporting undertaken in 2012 found a:  19% increase in the number of reports of domestic and family related incidents to police  50% increase in police issued domestic violence orders (DVO)  24% increase in the proportion of domestic and family related incidents resulting in a DVO.4 The evaluation suggested there was some evidence mandatory reporting may be contributing to a process for keeping some people safer from domestic and family violence.
1 Jane Mulroney ‘Australian Statistics on Domestic Violence’ (Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse topic paper, 2003) 10.
2 Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) Fast Facts – Indigenous family Violence, 14 May 2014 3 Ibid 4 KMPG, Evaluation of the impact of mandatory reporting of domestic and family violence, NT Department of Children and Families, August 2012 1 Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 164 NT Opposition - Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence The report also noted it was evaluating mandatory reporting after only three years of operation and that addressing domestic and family violence would take longer term generational change in attitudes.
In 2009-10, 3,777 Domestic Violence Orders applications were made in the Northern Territory.

Since August 2012 domestic violence related assaults have increased by 7.4% Territory-wide, and are up 14.1% in remote areas, 39.5% in Darwin and 21.4% in Palmerston.
5 In the 12 months to 31 December 2014, 4224 domestic violence related assaults were recorded.6 The Northern Territory Opposition supports the call for a National Crisis Summit that would include sector front-line stakeholders and Government at the table to coordinate a national response to domestic violence.

Impact of Alcohol on Domestic violence: Alcohol misuse is a significant factor in domestic and family violence in the Territory.
Crime statistics recorded prior to the introduction of the Enough is Enough Alcohol Reforms found 60% of assaults and 67% of domestic violence related assaults were alcohol related.

(Data source: Issue 31: March Quarter 2012 Northern Territory Quarterly Crime and Justice Statistics).
A study undertaken by the South Australian Centre for Economic Studies “Harms from and costs of Alcohol Consumption in the Northern Territory” estimated alcohol-related crime and illness costs the Territory community $642 million per year of $4197 per adult, compared to $943 nationally, with this including the cost of police, ambulance and hospital resources.
In 2011 the Northern Territory Government introduced the Enough is Enough Alcohol Reforms, committing $67 million over 5 years, including $34 million for more treatment options.
This followed a range of other interventions to tackle alcohol consumption including issuing a moratorium on new take-away licences in 2006, increasing treatment resources by an 55 additional beds, and targeted strategies like the Safe and 5 NT Crime Statistics December Quarter 2014 6 Ibid 2 Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 164 NT Opposition - Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence Sober Project, providing outreach and case management, intensive counseling treatment intervention and after care for Aboriginal visitors, itinerants and people living rough.
The Enough is Enough reforms introduced  Alcohol Banning and Treatment orders for persons causing harm to themselves and others  Banned Drinker Register to enforce the bans through Point of Sale scanners in takeaway outlets across the NT and to support self-exclusion orders and orders requested by family members, medical professionals and child protection agencies.
 Alcohol and Other Drugs Tribunal to review and issue Banning and Treatment orders  Substance Misuse Assessment and Referral for Treatment (SMART) Court, replacing the Alcohol Court, to make orders for people found guilty of a criminal offence related to alcohol or drug misuse Increased treatment services across the Territory including bed based and outreach rehabilitation services, withdrawal services and services into remote communities.
 The Banned Drinkers Register had a staged implementation across the Territory from 1 July 2011 and in the first quarter alcohol-related assaults dropped by 5% Territory-wide.

At the end of the third quarter (March 2012) 2,369 people were on the Banned Drinkers Register.

Following the removal of the SMART Court and Banned Drinkers Register in August 2012, there is no consistent Point of Sale alcohol supply measure in place across the NT.
Initiatives: The former NT Government made a number of legislative changes and investments to tackle domestic violence between 2001 and 2012.
Legislation:  Introduced the first mandatory reporting of serious harm related to domestic violence in Australia, requiring all adults in the Territory to make a verbal or written report to a police officer if they believe, on reasonable grounds, that either:  A person has caused, or is likely to cause, serious physical harm to another person within a domestic relationship; or 3 Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 164 NT Opposition - Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence  Another person’s life or safety if under serious or imminent threat because of domestic violence  Permitted the courts to take into account past breaches of DVOs or restraining orders under corresponding law in other Australian jurisdictions or New Zealand when considering penalties for breaches of DVOs under the Domestic and Family Violence Act (NT)  Amended processes surrounding Tenancy Agreements and Premise Access Orders to better support victims, including providing for victims to more easily remove themselves from tenancy agreements where they have left a leased premise to escape domestic violence  Permitted police to issue Domestic Violence Orders where it was not practical to seek an order via the court or the circumstances required the urgent issue of an order where a DVO order would reasonably have been made by a court.
This better supported the issuing of DVOs in remote areas.
 Strengthened powers for Police to remove and detain a person for the purpose not only of making a DVO, but seeking a variation of a DVO or providing a copy of a DVO to the person  Where a person subject to a DVO is intoxicated, provided powers to Police to detain that person for a longer periods of time if it is necessary to do so in order to properly serve a DVO, including making the defendant aware of the effect of the DVO, the consequences of breaching the DVO and right of appeal Policing  Changes to police practices and legislated introduction (in 2011) of Police issued DVOs resulted in an increase in reporting of Domestic Violence incidents and an increase in the number of domestic violence orders sought.
Police Statistics 1 Jan – 1 Jan – 31 Mar 2011 31 Mar 2012 Domestic Violence: Application for Domestic Violence Order Application and Order for DV by Police Officer Total Domestic Violence Applications 212 450 662 140 745 885 (33.7% increase) 4 Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 164 NT Opposition - Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence Awareness campaigns:  Lets Stop it Now Campaign;  Be Someone Campaign;  No More Campaign (developed with the Strong Mens group) Men’s programs:  Introduced Indigenous Family Violence Offenders Programs Strategies: The former NT Government’s Domestic Violence Strategy invested $15M over three years to improve domestic violence support services, including legal and crisis accommodation services, education services and data collection, initiatives included:  additional funding for community-based specialist crisis accommodation and counselling services for victims of family violence;  additional funding for non-government organisations to deliver programs that promote respectful relationships;  establishment of ‘Safe House’ services at Wadeye and Gunbalanya  (includes Federal Funding); funding for training front-line staff employed by non-government organisations, to better respond to family violence;  employment of specialist staff to enhance the capacity to Territory hospitals to respond to family violence;  development of a NT-specific family violence social marketing campaign;  undertaking a data scoping project, in conjunction with the Australian Bureau of Statistics, aiming to improve the consistency and reliability of Northern Territory family violence data; and  engaging KPMG as consultants to evaluate the impact of mandatory reporting in the NT.
Services:   Increased access to safe houses, establishing 20 new safe houses: 15 in remote communities, providing both safe accommodation and family violence education and intervention services.
Increased access to court interpreter services 5 Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 164 NT Opposition - Submission to the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence Further focus areas: The Northern Territory Opposition supports Territory and Australian governments working together to further focus on:  addressing funding needs and funding continuity for women’s legal services and legal aid, particularly to support women in regional and remote areas  increasing crisis accommodation capacity and options for women, including providing men’s ‘cooling-off’ shelters  promoting Interpreter Services and reviewing capacity of the service    investing in behaviour change and rehabilitative programs for men, including prison-based programs for both sentenced and remanded prisoners investing in early intervention programs, particularly supporting young people to engage in respectful relationships introducing National Domestic Violence legislation to address cross- jurisdictional issues and provide a national framework for Domestic Violence Orders  introducing Domestic Violence Death Reviews  National coordination through a National Crisis Summit that is inclusive of legal and domestic violence support service stakeholders, as well as State, Territory and the Australian governments to develop a national coordinated response.
6 Domestic violence in AustraliaSubmission 164