1. INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM IN CONTEXT
The problem
Feminist theory
Critical race theory and intersectionality
Neo-colonial theory
The context
Part 1: Australia's First Nations Peoples
Part 2: Civil domestic violence law and its operation
What we know about Australia's domestic violence laws
Expanding the prior body of knowledge
References
Endnotes
2. CONCEPTUALISING INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE
Terminology and parametersDebates on the gendered nature of intimate partner violence
Types of violence
Coercive control versus fights
Prevalence and impact of intimate partner violence
Prevalence
Impact
Indigenous Australian women and violence
Traditional cultural practices
Neo-colonial violence
References
Endnotes
3. GENDERED ASPIRATIONS IN DOMESTIC VIOLENCE LAW
Violence against women and feminist law reform
Criminal law response to intimate partner violence
Focus on physical violence
A law to protect women from men's coercive control
The Queensland Domestic Violence Taskforce
The Domestic Violence (Family Protection) Bill 1989 (Qld)
Amendments to the Domestic Violence (Family Protection) Act 1989 (Qld)
Missed opportunities 1989 - 2002
Recent developments in defining domestic and family violence
Summary and discussion
References
Endnotes
4. SEX AND RACE DIFFERENCES IN LAW'S APPLICATION
Analysing sex and race differences
Demographics
Respondent history of orders and breaches
History of orders as the aggrieved
Case character
Group profiles
Indigenous men
Non-Indigenous men
Indigenous women
Non-Indigenous women
Group comparisons
Respondent/perpetrator
Respondent as aggrieved
Case character
Discussion of sex and race differences
References
Endnotes
5. EXPLANATIONS OF INDIGENOUS VIOLENCE AND RECIDIVISMApproach to identifying explanatory themes
Fights
Chaos
Lack of comprehension
Disadvantage
Formulaic response
Race relations
Summary
References
Endnotes
6. RECONCEPTUALISING TYPOLOGIES OF VIOLENCE
Materials and methods
Distribution of types of violence among the four groups
Coercive control
Fights
Sex and race differences in the profiles
Reconceptualising coercive control and fights
Case studies: Reconceptualised typology of violence
Coercive control
Violent resistance
Fights
Summary and discussionReferences
Endnotes
7. GENDERED AND RACIALISED POWER AND THE LAW
Law, implementation and patriarchal power
Erroneous assumptions
Formulaic responses
Racialised power and intersectionality
Fights
Chaos
Formulaic response
Race relations
Recent developments and proposals for change
Criminal law versus civil law
An offence of coercive control and an alternative
Summary
References
Endnotes
8. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Gendered aspirations and racialised realities
Alternative justice strategies
Structural reform for violence prevention
Closing commentsEXPLANATORY NOTES
APPENDIX I
APPENDIX II
Heather Nancarrow is Chief Executive Officer of Australiäs National Research Organisation for Women¿s Safety (ANROWS). She has 35 years¿ experience in research, policy and practice in the violence against women field, including extensive work with Indigenous Australian communities, whose experiences of violence and the criminal justice system feature in this book. She completed her PhD at Griffith University, Australia.