From Recognition to Action: Delivering for children and young people through the Second Action Plan to end Violence against Women and Children
This consultation report presents the findings of a rapid national consultation project commissioned by 54 Reasons to inform the development of the Second Action Plan. This Consultation Report identifies a range of actions that can be implemented now.
Authors: Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Matt Tyler
Family violence and women’s deaths by suicide : A Victorian study
This study explores the overlooked link between family violence and women’s deaths by suicide in Victoria. Reviewing coronial cases and expert interviews, it identifies gaps in recognising family violence and highlights opportunities to strengthen prevention, intervention, and investigative processes to better protect women at risk.
Authors: Stefani Vasil, Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Marie Segrave
Silence and inaction: Children and young people’s experiences of violence and systemic failure in South Australia
This study was commissioned as part of the South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence to examine the experiences of children and young people who have lived through violence and navigated support systems in South Australia.
Innovative Perpetrator Responses in the ACT Scoping Study
The Innovative Perpetrator Responses in the ACT – Scoping Study (2024) examines existing and potential programs to support perpetrators of domestic, family and sexual violence to change their behaviour.
Community attitudes to defences and sentences in cases of homicide and assault in Queensland
The key findings from our study highlight community attitudes relevant to the terms of references for the QLRC review. This includes the community’s view of factors relevant to assessing culpability and appropriate sentencing.
In her capacity as a Professor at Monash University, Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon has also authored numerous reports and publications. We are pleased to share some of her prominent public reports.
The criminalisation of coercive control: A national study of victim‑survivors’ views on the need for, benefits, risks and impacts of criminalisation
This study represents the first in-depth national examination of victim‑survivors’ views on the benefits, risks and impacts of the criminalisation of coercive control. Specifically, it presents findings from 130 in-depth interviews conducted with female victim‑survivors of coercive control from across Australia.
Engaging in Change: A Victorian study of perpetrator program attrition and participant engagement in men’s behaviour change programs
This project reveals that engagement is a nuanced process influenced by readiness, motivation, referral pathways, and support systems. It aims to inform future advancements in these programs to enhance victim-survivor safety, improve perpetrator engagement and accountability, and ultimately to reduce repetition of abusive behaviours and escalation of family violence.
Securing women’s lives: examining system interactions and perpetrator risk in intimate femicide sentencing judgments over a decade in Australia
This report presents findings from the collection of over 250 intimate femicide sentencing judgments and the in-depth analyses of 235 of these. These judgements were used, in part, to identify potential points of intervention that might have provided an opportunity to prevent such killings.
Informed and safe, or blamed and at risk? Examining the merits and limits of domestic violence disclosure schemes in Australia and New Zealand.
This project represents the first study in Australia and New Zealand to examine the degree to which a DVDS provides an effective intervention for victim-survivors of intimate partner violence in enhancing their safety.
Submission in response to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Education Inquiry into the factors driving educational attainment
This submission has been prepared by Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Matt Tyler and Silke Meyer. Drawing on our extensive research, policy and practice expertise, this submission focuses on the impact of experiences of childhood victimisation on educational attainment.
From Child Victimisation to Youth Justice: Practical opportunities to address the intersection of youth justice involvement and domestic, family and sexual violence victimisation
This submission has been prepared by Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Matt Tyler drawing on a growing body of Australian and international evidence regarding children’s experiences of domestic, family and sexual violence, child protection, out of home care, and youth justice systems.
Submission to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs: Inquiry into the relationship between domestic, family and sexual violence and suicide
This submission is organised to provide responses to the Inquiry Terms of Reference (TOR). We draw on our study findings to respond to each of the Inquiry TORs, and provide insights from this evidence-base into systemic challenges and opportunities to improve understanding, reporting and intervention in this under-researched area.
Submission in response to Issues Paper 49 Justice Responses To Sexual Violence
This submission is focused specifically on victim-survivor experiences of workplace sexual harassment in Australia, and offers analysis of data from our national study to inform the findings of the Inquiry. The national study entitled Workplace sexual harassment: A national study to inform new prevention and early intervention strategies captured inputs from 1,465 individuals respondents to the survey, including 1,412 victim-survivors of workplace sexual harassment.
Submission in response to Issues Paper 49 Justice Responses To Sexual Violence
Drawing on data obtained via our national study, this submission aims to provide insights into the lived experience of the criminal justice system among victim-survivors of sexual violence in the context of coercive control. The submission also focuses predominately on the reporting, investigation, and charges laid phase of the criminal justice system’s response to sexual violence, with a specific focus on policing.
Submission in response to The Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024
This submission is focused specifically on three key aspects of The Making Queensland Safer Bill 2024:
1. The proposed introduction of ‘adult crime, adult time’,
2. The proposed removal of the principal of detention as a last resort,
3. The proposed amendments to the Children’s Court Act 1992 to enable the media to be present during criminal proceedings by omitting the ability of a court to make an exclusion order
under section 20(2).