The contribution of domestic and family violence death reviews in Australia: From recommendations to reform?
| Published date | 01 June 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/26338076231223580 |
| Author | Emma Buxton-Namisnyk,Althea Gibson |
| Date | 01 June 2024 |
The contribution of domestic
and family violence death
reviews in Australia: From
recommendations to reform?
Emma Buxton-Namisnyk and Althea Gibson
School of Law, Society and Criminology,University of New South Wales,
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Abstract
A key aim of domestic violence death reviews (DVDRs) is to recommend improvements to
domestic violence service responses, thereby preventing future domestic violence-related
deaths. However, there is little scholarship examining the implementation of DVDR recom-
mendations. This study analyses all recommendations made by two Australian DVDR bodies,
from the time of each body’s establishment until September 2023, alongside government
responses and implementation information. Our findings show that despite high levels of initial
government acceptance of DVDR recommendations there remains a considerable implemen-
tation gap. We consider implementation barriers, suggest improvements to recommendation
monitoring and identify areas for future research.
Keywords
Domestic violence homicide reviews, domestic violence death reviews, domestic violence fatality
reviews, policy implementation, violence against women, recommendation implementation,
domestic homicide reviews
Date received: 18 July 2023; accepted: 14 December 2023
Introduction
Domestic violence death reviews (DVDRs) are now a familiar feature of the domestic violence
prevention landscape, operating in at least seven high-income countries worldwide. Also
known as domestic homicide reviews (DHRs) or domestic violence fatality reviews
Corresponding author:
Emma Buxton-Namisnyk, School of Law,Society and Criminology, Room 371, Faculty of Law and Justice, University of
New South Wales, High Street, Kensington, New South Wales 2052, Australia.
Email: e.buxton-namisnyk@unsw.edu.au
Article
Journal of Criminology
2024, Vol. 57(2) 161–186
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/26338076231223580
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(DVFRs), these multi-agency bodies have been established over the last three decades in
response to increasing concern about high rates of domestic violence fatalities, especially of
women. While recent data show that most homicides worldwide involve a male victim
(81%), females are far more likely to be killed by an intimate partner or family member in
the private sphere (United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, 2022). In 2021, 56% of all
female homicides worldwide were perpetrated by an intimate partner or family member, and
an estimated 45,000 women and girls were killed in this context (United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, 2022). While these statistics paint a sobering picture, they likely underesti-
mate the true prevalence of domestic violence-related deaths, with four out of every 10 female
homicides in 2021 lacking the necessary contextual information to determine whether they
could be classified as gender-related killings (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,
2022).
The establishment of DVDRs in multiple functioning democracies worldwide reflects a
shared understanding that domestic violence-related deaths “exhibit predictable patterns and
etiologies”and, as such, are preventable (Websdale et al., 1999, p. 61). DVDRs examine
domestic violence-related deaths to identify “learnings”that may help to prevent future
deaths –that is, they “illuminate the past to make the future safer”(Mullane, 2017, p. 261).
By examining the life of the victim and perpetrator in the weeks, months or years preceding
a fatality, DVDRs can, for example, identify common features or dynamics of domestic vio-
lence deaths as well as highlight gaps or limitations in system responses to domestic violence.
DVDRs accordingly represent a “paradigm shift”, viewing domestic violence deaths through
“the lens of preventative accountability”(Websdale et al., 1999, p. 61). DVDRs focus not
on attributing blame, but on improving responses to domestic violence in particular localities
or jurisdictions. In this way, they create “new democratic spaces, opportunities, and practices”
(Websdale, 2012, p. 27).
While DVDRs vary greatly in their remit, composition and procedures (Bugeja et al., 2015),
most attempt to leverage their learnings by making recommendations. These are generally
aimed at changing the policies, practices and processes of government agencies, non-
government organisations (NGOs) or individuals involved in domestic violence service provi-
sion. Despite the obvious importance of this recommendation-making function, there has been
limited scholarship analysing the extent to which DVDR recommendations are implemented
(Chanmugam, 2014; Cook et al., 2023; Dawson, 2017, 2021; Jones et al., 2022).
In this article, we empirically investigate the monitoring and implementation of the recom-
mendations made by two Australian state-based DVDRs –namely, the DVDRs in New South
Wales (NSW) and Queensland (QLD). We briefly outline the development of DVDRs inter-
nationally and in Australia, before discussing concerns that have been raised about the mon-
itoring and implementation of DVDR recommendations worldwide. We then present an
implementation analysis of all 197 recommendations made by the NSW and QLD DVDRs
from the point of their establishment in 2010 and 2016 respectively, until September
2023, highlighting key findings, suggesting improvements and identifying areas for future
research.
The establishment of DVDRs worldwide
DVDRs first emerged in the United States in the 1990s. By 2020, there were between 200 and
225 such bodies –known typically as DVFRs –operating at local, regional and state levels
162 Journal of Criminology 57(2)
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