Domestic Violence Persuasive Speech

New speech

66,152. That is the number of domestic violence incidence that were reported between September 2013 to September 2014 in Victoria. 72,376. That is the number of domestic violence incidence reported between September 2014 to September 2015 in Victoria.
Yes, it is true that after 63 women were killed in Australia last year, the Australian Government finally decided to do something about this issue. They announced a 100 million dollar package, which aimed to provide a safety net for women and children at high risk of experiencing violence. But, is using most of these funds for the monitoring of perpetrators really going to resolve this issue? Is this sufficient to tackle the issue of domestic violence which has become a significant issue in our community with one in six Australian women having experienced violence from a current or former partner. I certainly do not think so.
Domestic violence can happen in various forms such as through physical, emotional and economic violence, and can affect

people of any age. It is a form of violence that can occur within any relationship, whether it be family or intimate relationship.  do I need any of this or is it going to be a waste of words?
While it is true that the recent 100 million dollar package announced by Malcolm Turnbull does seek to provide better protection for victims of domestic violence by providing advanced technology such as GPS trackers to monitor perpetrators, thereby enhancing the safety of victims, it does not protect potential victims. Rather, it serves to provide better protection for those who have already suffered from domestic violence. The government needs to start taking a more preemptive rather than a retrospective approach. I am certainly not implying that the government should implement policies which allow the police to spy on couples or imprison potential domestic violence offenders. Instead, I believe the government needs to distribute funds in a more strategic way.
For instance, there needs to be more funding towards educating potential victims and offenders. The rationale for fostering respectful relationships among children and young people is clear. It has been proven that children and young people are easily influenced by what they see in their household. As such, respectful relationship education can prevent violence and reduce harm. Early interventions with children and young people can have a lasting effect on their relationships in the future. As such, by funding Respectful Relationships education projects nationally, we can assist children in developing the skills they require in order to ensure that they treat their partners well and with respect.
Furthermore, such project aim to raise children’s awareness of ethical behavior and develop protective behaviors. If the government was to fund more domestic violence programs, this would give them the opportunity to provide more domestic violence awareness campaigns and school programs. This would allow teenagers to be educated about dating violence and the various ways of handling conflict. Statistic here. This is therefore likely to lower the rates of domestic violence in the coming years
In addition, there is no doubt that domestic violence has a significant influence on children who may witness the violence. Children that are exposed to domestic violence may not only believe that such violence is acceptable and a ‘norm’ but may suffer from a range of conditions such as mood problems including depression, lower self-esteem and anxiety.

The new funding did provide an additional 5 million dollars for local women’s case workers, in order to coordinate support for women, including housing, safety and budgeting services. However, is 5 million dollars really sufficient? In the past year, the Crime Statistics Agency found that 72,376 family incidents were recorded in Victoria from September 2014 to September 2015. This figure increased by 9.6 per cent compared to the same time period last year. Furthermore, between December 21 and January 3 2016, Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia assisted 1043 individual clients. This figure increased by 32 per cent in comparison to the same period last year. With figures constantly rising, is this 5 million going to be adequate to provide victims with emergency protection and services after an assault?

In order to tackle the rising figures of domestic violence it may also be beneficial to establish a specialized domestic violence court.

There are many benefits of having a specialized domestic violence court. Firstly, having a domestic violence court would ensure that such cases are heard more promptly as the court would only be hearing domestic violence cases, and thus, not other cases such as theft and burglary.
Furthermore, having a specialized court for domestic violence would mean that the judges develop expertise in that area of law. This would be extremely beneficial as domestic violence cases can be very complex and is not as simple as putting the offender behind bars. Imprisoning domestic violence offenders who have children and a good job will not do them any good. In fact, doing so can tarnish their rehabilitation chances. Putting such individuals in prison may mean that they lose their job and can damage their relationship with their

children.
Having a court that specializes with domestic violence cases may mean that the court is at a better position of handling such cases. As they solely deal with such cases, they are more likely to impose a sanction which is specific and beneficial for both the offender and the victim. For instance, the court may place more emphasis in assessing the situation, taking into account the physiological mind of the individual, the event leading up to the incident, the age and family status, such as if they have any children and their job security. Based upon such considerations, the court is able to impose a decision which is in the best interest of both the victim and offender. For example, the specialized court may place a greater emphasis in sending suitable offenders into programs which assist the offender in rehabilitating, rather than just determining whether the offender is guilty, and is so, proceeding to the sanctioning stage.

Furthermore, the cost at national level caused by domestic violence is enormous. According to ‘Access Economics’ domestic violence costed Australia approximately Australia $8.1 billion in 2002 to 2003. In 2009, the ‘National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children’ estimated that violence against women and their children costed the Australian economy $13.6 billion. As the number of domestic violence cases increase every year, it is certain that the cost of domestic violence to the Australian economy will also continue to rise. It is estimated that without action to address violence against women and their children, approximately 750,000 Australian women will experience and report violence in the period of 2021 to 2022. This will cost the Australian economy an estimated $15.6 billion. We must act now before we are burdened by this cost!
In order to reduce recidivism, more emphasis should be put on perpetrator programs rather than just a punishment such as a fine or community service, as they can potentially reduce the risk of known perpetrators committing further offences. Perpetrator programs aim to prevent violence by changing attitudes and behavior. A range of different approaches are employed in perpetrator programs including goal setting, solution focused approaches, counselling, behavior change, narrative therapy, and anger management. Such programs can assist offenders in rehabilitating.
The NSW Domestic Abuse Program (DAP), which won a 2011 Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Award, has shown promising results in assisting offenders in their rehabilitation process. The 20 session rehabilitative group intervention program is utilized for offenders serving community-based orders or custodial sentences for domestic and family violence related offences which is run by the Department of Corrective Services.
The program emphasizes the importance of interagency cooperation, victim safety and offender accountability. An evaluation of the program has shown significant reductions in reoffending rates in the Domestic Abuse Program treatment group and a longer time to reoffend, in comparison to a matched control group.  need to include this somewhere!!!!