The working group was proposed to be formed by the following National Council motion:
The National Council is to form a Domestic Violence Working Group for the purpose of developing policy relating to domestic violence and surrounding matters. The working group shall be chaired by Brendan Molloy.
The draft Terms of Reference will be put out for consideration by interested parties at least a week prior to being voted upon by the National Council.
A final Terms of Reference is to be considered at a future meeting of the National Council in early May. The working group will be open to any interested members, as is ordinary procedure for any policy development working group.
It is currently expected that the Working Group will first formally sit in early May.
Please read the draft Terms of Reference and offer any suggestions you might have.
I think we should consider DV in the context of other types of violence that are also bad.
IMO the terms of reference should include something about ‘encouraging the reporting of DV’, if a significant proportion of case are not reported its hard to provide a proportional response to the problem, and talking about it has to be the first step for the victim.
No. This working group is explicitly for considering domestic violence. Violence is a broad concept, and this is a specific instance of it. The results of this working group could however be incorporated into a larger policy surrounding law and order issues, or another policy where relevant, but we have to start somewhere.
That would be a recommendation or policy point. The terms of reference are an attempt to define the problem and a procedure for carefully considering it, without constraining the investigation. It sets the scope, not the solutions.
Your statement is relevant as part of the research process, so once the working group is formed and calls for input, feel free to propose that point there.
I think this is a really good idea for where the policy will end up. I’d be cautious about being too broad, given DV in itself is a massive policy area that tends to be considered separately from other forms of violence for that very reason. The long-term goal should be to reduce overall societal violence.
So a terms of reference from my POV might be to add a line at the bottom
Particularly, the working group acknowledges that DV:
is a particularly significant and urgent issue in the Australian political landscape,
may incorporate both emotional and/or physical abuse, as well as other forms of abuse, and
is a particularly sensitive area for many people, and as such must be treated with sensitivity towards all parties involved in the development process. - is under-reported as compared to other types of violence
