SEQURE News

Learn more from Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon and her team of expert consultants.

03/03/2025 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Domestic and family violence, New publication, News Article, Police, Violence against women

‘He knows how to make sure that there is no evidence’: when your domestic violence abuser is a police officer

Ellen Reeves, University of Liverpool; Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University; Sandra Walklate, University of Liverpool, and Silke Meyer, Griffith University People experiencing domestic violence are often urged to report their abuse to police. But what if your abuser is a police officer? Our new research, drawing on 17 interviews with victim-survivors from two studies and published […]

27/02/2025 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Children and young people, News Article, Policy

Children still invisible victims in national response to domestic and family violence

In today’s Herald Sun newspaper (page 21), Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Victorian Commissioner for Children and Young People Liana Buchanan urge the government to invest significantly and urgently to improve whole of system responses to children who experience domestic and family violence. Source: Herald Sun, 27 February 2025. What has Australia learned since the horrific […]

07/02/2025 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Domestic and family violence, Policy, Politics, Uncategorized, Violence against women

Two years on: The impact of paid domestic and family violence leave in Australia

This week marks two years since the introduction of paid domestic and family violence leave—a critical reform ensuring that up to 12.4 million workers, including casuals, have access to 10 days of paid leave each year. For victim-survivors, this leave can mean the difference between safety and financial insecurity. It provides the time and security […]

01/02/2025 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Femicide, Femicide law, Homicide law reform, Policy, Violence against women

Argentina’s president is vowing to repeal ‘woke’ femicide law. It could have ripple effects across Latin America

Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University In a major setback in the fight against gender-based violence, Argentinian President Javier Milei’s government has announced it will repeal the crime of femicide from the penal code. In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week, Milei dismissed femicide laws as a product of “woke” culture and […]

28/12/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Domestic and family violence, Homicide law reform, New publication, New research, Policy, Violence against women

Community attitudes to defences and sentences in cases of homicide and assault in Queensland

Over the past 10 years, criminal legislation in Australia has been reformed substantially, to ensure the law reflects evolving contemporary understandings of different forms of domestic and family violence, including non-physical forms of abuse. This includes recent reforms to introduce an offence of coercive control and affirmative consent legislation On 15 November 2023, the Queensland […]

20/11/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Children and young people, Domestic and family violence, Early intervention, Policy, Sexual violence, Sibling violence, System responses

World Children’s Day 2024

Today is the United Nations World Children’s Day. 20 November marks the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This year UNICEF Australia are encouraging everyone […]

20/11/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Children and young people, Domestic and family violence, Early intervention, New research, News Article, Sibling violence

We can’t solve family violence until we include violence between siblings in the conversation

Hayley Boxall, Australian National University; Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University, and Silke Meyer, Griffith University Domestic and family violence (DFV) has received increasing attention in recent years. It is most commonly associated with intimate partner violence between current and former partners, followed by abuse perpetrated against children by their parents and carers. But what about sibling […]

11/10/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | New publication, News Article, Prevention, Sexual violence, Uncategorized, Violence against women

‘Violence at all levels’: UN report into the abuse of women and girls in sport is a wake-up call for Australia

Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University This week the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls presented a report detailing the violence experienced by women and girls in sport globally. The report provides a global snapshot of the abuse women athletes experience, who is most likely to perpetrate the violence, and makes recommendations […]

17/09/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Domestic and family violence, Femicide, New publication, News Article, Perpetrators, Suicide, Uncategorized

New data reveals rates of family violence among those who died by suicide

Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Monash University and Stefani Vasil, Australian Catholic University Domestic, family and sexual violence is rightly recognised as a national crisis. While the evidence base has built significantly in recent years, one important missing piece of the puzzle is how these forms of violence have impacted people who die by suicide across the country. […]

20/08/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Children and young people, Domestic and family violence, New publication, Policy, Violence against women

Forthcoming book: Our National Crisis

I am extremely grateful to Monash University Publishing for the opportunity to write another book as part of their In the National Interest, building on my earlier contribution to this series. 📌 Violence against women and children is a national crisis. Nearly a decade has passed since family violence was first declared a national emergency […]

16/08/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Children and young people, Domestic and family violence, Early intervention, New research, Uncategorized

New research: Young people’s experiences and use of violence in the home

Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon has co-authored an article published this week in Child Protection and Practice with Professor Silke Meyer (Griffith University) and María Atiénzar-Prieto. Drawing on their ANROWS funded survey of over 5,000 young people in Australia, the article examines children’s experiences of family violence and the role of different types of child maltreatment on […]

11/08/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | Domestic and family violence, Domestic and family violence, Perpetrator Interventions, Perpetrators, Policy

Men’s behaviour change programs are key to addressing domestic violence. Our new study shows how we can improve them

Men’s violence against women in Australia is recognised as a national crisis. We urgently need to better understand what can be done to prevent it and intervene effectively. There is a need to hold perpetrators to account for their abusive behaviour. This is set out in the National Plan to end Violence against Women and […]

11/08/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | New research, Perpetrator Interventions, Perpetrators, Policy

New research released on engagement in perpetrator intervention programs

This week Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon, in her capacity as a Professor at Monash University, has released the findings from Australia’s largest study of men’s engagement with behaviour change programs. This research found the current approach to working with men who use violence is missing opportunities to more effectively engage men in behaviour change, to keep […]

11/07/2024 | Kate Fitz-Gibbon | News Article, Perpetrators, Sexual violence

New research shows 1 in 5 Australians have perpetrated sexual violence in their adult lives. The true rate might be even worse.

Authored by Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Hayley Boxall. Violence against women has been declared a national crisis in Australia. National Cabinet convened its first ever meeting focused solely on the issue in May. Framed by its commitment to delivering the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, state and federal governments have committed to […]

Our Latest Articles

03/03/2025

‘He knows how to make sure that there is no evidence’: when your domestic violence abuser is a police officer

27/02/2025

Children still invisible victims in national response to domestic and family violence

07/02/2025

SEQURE News

‘He knows how to make sure that there is no evidence’: when your domestic violence abuser is a police officer

Children still invisible victims in national response to domestic and family violence

Two years on: The impact of paid domestic and family violence leave in Australia

Argentina’s president is vowing to repeal ‘woke’ femicide law. It could have ripple effects across Latin America

Community attitudes to defences and sentences in cases of homicide and assault in Queensland

World Children’s Day 2024

We can’t solve family violence until we include violence between siblings in the conversation

‘Violence at all levels’: UN report into the abuse of women and girls in sport is a wake-up call for Australia

New data reveals rates of family violence among those who died by suicide

Forthcoming book: Our National Crisis

New research: Young people’s experiences and use of violence in the home

Men’s behaviour change programs are key to addressing domestic violence. Our new study shows how we can improve them

New research released on engagement in perpetrator intervention programs

New research shows 1 in 5 Australians have perpetrated sexual violence in their adult lives. The true rate might be even worse.

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Our Latest Articles

‘He knows how to make sure that there is no evidence’: when your domestic violence abuser is a police officer

Children still invisible victims in national response to domestic and family violence

Two years on: The impact of paid domestic and family violence leave in Australia