Domestic violence victims 10 times more likely to suffer multiple legal problems

The Law Institute of Victoria advises an Australian-first study has revealed that victims of domestic and family violence are 10 times more likely than others to experience myriad legal problems such as family, civil and criminal law disputes.

These legal problems are often more severe than those experienced by the rest of the population and can cause long-term consequences such as illness, homelessness, loss of income and financial strain, say authors of a ground-breaking report called Quantifying the legal and broader life impacts of domestic and family violence, published by the NSW Law and Justice Foundation.

The report publishes the findings of a national survey that randomly interviewed more than 20,000 Australians aged 15 and over, asking what (if any) legal problems they had encountered in the past 12 months. It is the largest representative population survey of its kind to date in Australia, with more than 2,000 interviews conducted in every state and more than 4,000 conducted in each of NSW and Victoria.

The impact of domestic violence is well-reported across workplaces.  At a recent workshop it was identified that stalking and abuse by former partners in or around a workplace is a risk that security advisers need to address and treat.

A full copy of the above report is available online through the NSW Law and Justice Foundation - http://www.lawfoundation.net.au