Family violence workers hold major concerns about police misidentifying victims as perpetrators, minimising or downplaying violence and discriminating against marginalised groups.
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See subscription optionsThat's according to a survey of 225 frontline family violence experts including support workers and lawyers, published by advocacy group and charity Flat Out Inc.
The report into Victoria Police released on Thursday found officers' responses to family violence can bring harm or replicate power and control dynamics that underpin abuse.
Some 90 per cent of those surveyed said they had witnessed police discrimination or bias and 83 per cent said they had witnessed police misidentifying the victim-survivor as the perpetrator.
They also reported cases of police minimising violence, colluding with perpetrators, avoiding accountability and "institutionally protecting" officers who committed abuse.
Researchers noted many professionals reported police "targeting and discriminating" against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, migrant communities, LGBTQI people, people living with disability and other groups.
"The testimony from family violence workers is a significant indictment of Victoria Police and their role in family violence response across this state," RMIT criminologist and report co-author Peta Malins said.
Family violence sector workers are in a unique position to observe police practices by seeing them firsthand and through the experience of people they support, she said, adding the harms "are not standalone mistakes or failures".
Family violence experts completed the survey in 2020/21 and the results were released by Flat Out Inc, an advocacy and support service for women, trans and gender-diverse people with experience of the justice system.
The authors called for a move away from policing and towards investment in community-led family violence responses.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said the force was not involved in the research and noted it was conducted in 2020/21.
They said police work closely with sector-wide partners and regularly engage with support groups and professionals to strengthen their response to family violence.
"The safety of victims is at the forefront of everything we do," they said.
All police receive extensive family violence training including how to identify predominant aggressors, and more than 90 per cent of officers had completed Aboriginal cultural awareness training, the spokesperson added.
"We know it's especially difficult for victim-survivors to come forward when their perpetrator is a police officer," they said.
"That's why we created a team specifically tasked with tackling this issue, skilled in supporting victims and understanding the tactics police perpetrators use."
About one in four Australian women has experienced family violence involving an intimate partner, according to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare data.
Australian Associated Press
