Australia’s domestic violence commissioner has called out the current system for being weaponised against victims of gendered violence, and says demand for DV services isn’t being met.

But she’s expressed confidence that the nation is on track to meet targets in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, which aims to guide actions towards ending violence against women and children over the next 10 years.

Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin last week gave her inaugural address at the Press Club after handing the government her report card  on how Australia is doing two years after the launch of the plan.

“One of the things I want to call out in terms of thinking about our systems is that we know that systems are weaponised,” she said.  

“Systems are weaponised to harm people, and all of our systems can be weaponised.

“We know child support security payments are weaponised. We know the family court is weaponised. The child protection system is weaponised against women and children.”

The current system is also buckling under strain, she said.

“We need to be increasing service options. We need our systems to do better,“ Commissioner Cronin said.

“We need a much better understanding of demand and where that demand is, and that there needs to be an uplift across the board in terms of service responses.”

She said across Australia, 9000 people are working in the domestic, family and sexual violence sector. On top of that, there are  80,000 in the police workforce and  800,000 in the health sector.

“We need the health sector and the police workforce to recognise that domestic, family and sexual violence is core business,” she said.

Eyes on men

Meanwhile, Commissioner Cronin called for men to be held accountable in ways that are not currently happening.

“We need to have eyes on men in different ways than we do now. We need to be listening to what communities, women and children mean when they say, ‘we need greater accountability’,” she said.

That included using all tools available against DV, in the same way that tools like tracking and surveillance are used against terrorism.

“I think we need to take it as seriously as we take terrorism,” she said. “What we need is for the community to take as seriously threats of domestic, family and sexual violence as they take terrorist threats, and act on them as urgently.”

What we need is for the community to take as seriously threats of domestic, family and sexual violence as they take terrorist threats, and act on them as urgently.

Domestic Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin

Asked whether she considered the national goal of ending gender based violence within a generation was achievable given the current trajectory, Commissioner Cronin said she believed there was a “deep commitment” to achieving that goal.

“I would say that we are on track in many regards. I think that there’s some incredible foundational work being done,” she said.

“What I have seen and heard across the country is deep commitment from the Commonwealth and all state and Territory governments to the national plan, although we have yet to see the formal reporting data.

“I think the commitment that we are the generation that transforms this country’s response to domestic family and sexual violence is absolutely on track. I do feel very hopeful about the future.”

Australia is one of only three countries in the world to establish a National Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission.