- Multi-agency clinical forensic service to support family and domestic violence prosecutions
- $4.5 million trial aims to boost convictions through expert reports and court testimony
- Community service to provide wraparound support for victim-survivors
- Delivering on an election commitment
The Cook Government has begun trialling a family and domestic violence (FDV) service that gives authorities a better chance of convicting offenders, while supporting victims of these crimes.
The $4.5 million pilot includes a clinical component that conducts forensic examinations of victims, provides medico-legal reports to support prosecutions and presents expert opinion and legal testimony at trial.
A community service component will provide FDV victim-survivors safety planning, case management and referrals to medical and other support services.
Under the first phase of the pilot, the North Metropolitan Health Service Sexual Assault Resource Centre (SARC) will prepare medical reports and provide court testimony for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The service will be expanded in mid-2024 to include specialist forensic practitioners from the SARC team who will examine victim-survivors to gather evidence, following referrals from the WA Police Force.
The Department of Justice will engage a not-for-profit organisation to provide the community services from next year. This component will provide victim-survivors wraparound support that is trauma-informed and culturally safe from the point of referral until legal proceedings are finalised.
The pilot was a Labor Government election commitment and will run for three years, with an evaluation of its performance expected to be completed in mid-2026.
According to a 2020 submission, it is estimated that 20.2 per cent of all women and 6.3 per cent of all men have experienced at least one incident of partner violence in WA.
In 2022 there were 24,896 victims of FDV-related assaults in WA 64 per cent of all assault victims, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. In 2021-22 there were 5,923 people found guilty of FDV-related charges in WA.
As stated by Attorney General John Quigley:
“Clinical forensic evidence is increasingly being used throughout the criminal prosecution process and recognised as an important source of evidence.
“This service aims to bolster the amount of high-quality information surrounding an FDV assault case to give authorities the best opportunity to secure convictions against offenders.
“The result should be a fairer justice system where more perpetrators are held accountable for their actions, and outcomes are significantly improved for victim-survivors.”
As stated by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
“The clinical process will support FDV prosecutions by providing expert documentation of their FDV-related injuries and the choice to use that evidence to support any decisions victim-survivors may make.
“This service should support victim-survivors as any criminal proceedings are progressed, alongside better health outcomes.”
As stated by Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Sabine Winton:
“I welcome the development of this service, which shows the Cook Government’s commitment to supporting victim-survivors experiencing domestic violence.
“This community service will be the first touch point for victim-survivors, helping them feel safer, and very supported.
“A forensic service will also assist in holding perpetrators accountable for their actions.”
