Family violence advocates are deeply worried about the mislabeling of victims as aggressors by law enforcement, as well as the downplaying of abuse and discrimination against disadvantaged groups. This alarm comes from a survey of 225 front-line family violence professionals in Victoria, including support workers and legal experts.

Conducted in 2020/21, the survey outcomes were published by Flat Out Inc, a group advocating for women and gender-diverse individuals affected by the justice system. The findings reveal that Victoria Police’s handling of domestic violence issues can sometimes harm victims further or mirror the controlling behaviors characteristic of abuse.

Aboriginal and migrant women ‘overwhelmingly’ being misidentified as perpetrators

In the survey, a staggering 90% of participants reported observing police bias or discrimination, and 83% noted cases where police wrongly identified the victim as the offender. Many respondents highlighted that police disproportionately “target and discriminate” against Indigenous Australians, migrants, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, and other marginalized communities.

According to Caulfield, the research clearly indicates that misidentification issues predominantly impact Aboriginal, migrant, and refugee women. Over half of the surveyed professionals reported scenarios where the individual committing family violence was a police officer, with many encountering such situations multiple times.

Report authors call for move away from police in family violence responses

The authors called for a move away from policing and towards investment in community-led family violence responses.

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