Victims’ Views on the Sentencing of domestic Violence Offences in Queenslandplate
Project Team
Project director: Dr Jasmine McGowan
Project team: Associate Professor Silke Meyer (Griffith University), Hannah Taylor (Monash), Associate Professor Bridget Harris (Monash), Dr Naomi Pfitzner (Monash) and Dr Sarah McCook (Monash)
Project manager: Dr Sarah McCook
Project contact: Dr Jasmine McGowan, jasmine.mcgowan@monash.edu
About this project
In 2016 a legislative amendment was introduced in Queensland requiring judicial officers to treat domestic violence offences as an aggravating factor on sentence. This means an offence must be treated as being more serious when it occurs in the context of domestic and family violence and that the perpetrator may receive a harsher sentence. In 2023, the former Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Women and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, the Honourable Shannon Fentiman MP, requested that the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council review how this change is operating and any impacts of this change on victim-survivors’ satisfaction. The MGFVPC was commissioned to undertake this review.
Research aims & Method
The research team conducted a mixed methods project that examined victim-survivor views on the sentencing of domestic violence offenders in Queensland in light of the legislative amendment. The research assessed awareness, victim-survivor and stakeholder views, satisfaction levels with the amendment with the aim of developing an evidence base to inform policy-making and sentencing practices related to DFV in Queensland.
Funding Acknowledgment
Monash University acknowledges the funding support of the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General and the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council.