Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology and a Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Law and Social Justice at University of Liverpool. She is a member of the Monash Gender and Family Violence: New Frameworks in Prevention Research Program and the Research Impact Director for the School of Social Sciences (Monash University).
Kate completed her PhD at Monash in 2012, following which she was appointed as a Lecturer in Criminology in School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Deakin University. Kate has been a visiting scholar in the Centre for Criminology at Oxford University (2013), The Faculty of Law at University of Auckland (2015) and the School of Justice at Queensland University of Technology (2015).
Kate conducts research in the area of family violence, legal responses to lethal violence, youth justice and the effects of homicide law and sentencing reform in Australian and international jurisdictions. This research is undertaken with a key focus on issues relating to gender, constructions of responsibility and justice.
Labelled 'the shadow pandemic' by UN Women, violence against women received considerable global p... more Labelled 'the shadow pandemic' by UN Women, violence against women received considerable global public attention during 2020-21. Underpinning this moment of public concern, there lies a substantial history of efforts to document the nature of, and campaign against, the extent of violence against women globally. This is also the case in relation to femicide. Whilst we recognise that this is a contested term, for the purposes of this paper we use femicide to refer to the killing of women and girls because they are female by male violence. Femicide, as a death to be specifically counted in law only exists in a small number of jurisdictions. Where it is so recognised, primarily in South American countries as feminicidio, such deaths represent only the tip of the iceberg of such killings globally. This paper, in drawing on empirical data from a range of different sources (including administrative data, media analysis, and Femicide Observatory data) gathered throughout 2020, considers: what it means to call a death femicide, what implications might follow if all the deaths of women at the hands of men were counted as femicide, and the extent to which extraordinary times have any bearing on this kind of ordinary death.
"I have never had a case that involved a female perpetrator of coercive control, and no such case... more "I have never had a case that involved a female perpetrator of coercive control, and no such cases are documented in the literature" (Stark, 2007, p. 377). Stark's observation has become somewhat of a "truism" in the wider debate surrounding coercive control. Yet simultaneously coercive control is asserted as a gendered process, understandings of which appear to have
The term femicide, while contested, focuses attention on women killed by men's violence. This foc... more The term femicide, while contested, focuses attention on women killed by men's violence. This focus has generated work on its nature and extent much of which examines the lethal act and the lethal actor in which the death is counted. These counts are themselves incomplete. Despite their shortcomings, these 'thin' counts have contributed to the increasing impetus for a wide range of global and local prevention and response initiatives designed to draw attention to femicide. 'Thin' counts, measuring as they do, who does what to whom, while justified and justifiable, are a surface manifestation of the deeper embrace of social ecological theory within this field of work. This theory, originating in the work of Brofenbrenner, has functionalist tendencies which fail to assign explanatory power or salience to any one variable. This approach provides a narrow vision of what counts as femicide: a 'thin' count. However, if femicide was viewed through a wide-angled lens and incorporated all those lives curtailed and shortened as a result of living with men's violence(s), that which Walklate et al. have called 'slow femicide', femicide counts might look somewhat different. Here, we explore why these might be called 'thick' counts. These counts would focus attention on not only who does what to whom but also on with what implement, in what place and at what point in time. Thus, 'thick' counts would broaden our understanding of the nature, extent and impact of femicide.
Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2021
The focus of this article is the nature of the non-violent homosexual advance within the partial ... more The focus of this article is the nature of the non-violent homosexual advance within the partial defences to murder. Tracing the use of this type of incident as provocative conduct in recent years alongside recent reforms introduced in two Australian state jurisdictions, this article argues that there is no justification for such use of the defences. It explores two Australian models of reform: the exclusionary reform approach and the outright abolition of use of the non-violent homosexual advance to build a defence. It examines the limits of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and explores opportunities for law reform in England and Wales. The authors suggest a two-limbed role reversal test to effectively minimise the misuse of the defence.
The partial defence of provocation has long attracted controversy and animated law reform in Aust... more The partial defence of provocation has long attracted controversy and animated law reform in Australia and elsewhere. In June 2012, debate surrounding the provocation defence reignited in New South Wales following the trial and sentencing of Chamanjot Singh for manslaughter (by reason of provocation). In the wake of Singh, the NSW Legislative Council established a Select Committee to undertake a review of the partial defence of provocation. This article builds on the work done by the NSW Select Committee on the Partial Defence of Provocation in 2013. In doing so, it examines the merits of the newly formulated partial defence of 'extreme' provocation and argues that NSW would be better placed to repeal provocation as a partial defence and transfer its consideration to sentencing. It is argued that by reforming sentencing guidelines for murder in NSW, the law may be able to move beyond the problems traditionally associated with the provocation defence and more adequately respond to the gendered nature of homicide. CONTENTS
Legal responses to battered women who kill have long animated scholarly debate and law reform act... more Legal responses to battered women who kill have long animated scholarly debate and law reform activity. In September 2012 after 47 years of alleged abuse, Frenchwoman Jacqueline Sauvage fatally shot her abusive husband three times in the back. The subsequent contested trial, conviction for murder, unsuccessful appeal and later presidential pardon of Sauvage thrust the French law of self-defence into the spotlight. The Sauvage case raises important questions surrounding the adequacy of the French criminal law in this area, the ongoing proliferation of gendered stereotypes in law and the need for reform. In the wake of the Sauvage case, this article provides a timely analysis of the gendered law of self-defence in France. Drawing from an in-depth analysis of the judgments imposed in the Sauvage case, this article examines the adequacy of French legal responses to battered women who kill and ignites an argument for further law reform.
In Australia, children as young as 10 are charged, convicted and sentenced for breaches of the la... more In Australia, children as young as 10 are charged, convicted and sentenced for breaches of the law. Drawing on interviews with youth justice professionals in Victoria, this study finds that inconsistencies in practice undermine the extent to which the common law presumption of doli incapax offers an effective legal safeguard for very young children in conflict with the law. This article advocates that the Australian minimum age of criminal responsibility be increased to 14, that the principle of doli incapax be applied consistently to all persons under the age of 18 and that justice responses be supplanted by therapeutic supports for children and families.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2016
The adequacy of police responses to intimate partner violence has long animated scholarly debate,... more The adequacy of police responses to intimate partner violence has long animated scholarly debate, review and legislative change. While there have been significant shifts in community recognition of and concern about intimate partner violence, particularly in the wake of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, it nonetheless remains a significant form of violence and harm across Australian communities and a key issue for police, as noted in the report and recommendations of the Royal Commission. This article draws on findings from semi-structured interviews (n ¼ 163) with police in Victoria and pursues two key interrelated arguments. The first is that police attitudes towards incidents of intimate partner violence remain overwhelmingly negative. Despite innovations in policy and training, we suggest that this consistent dissatisfaction with intimate partner violence incidents as a policing task indicates a significant barrier, possibly insurmountable, to attempts to reform the policing of intimate partner violence via force-wide initiatives and the mobilisation of general duties for this purpose. Consequently, our second argument is that specialisation via a commitment to dedicated intimate partner violence units – implemented more consistently and comprehensively than Victoria Police has to date – extends the greatest promise for effective policing of intimate partner violence in the future.
In 2015 in England and Wales a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour was introduced wi... more In 2015 in England and Wales a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour was introduced with the aim of improving legal responses to intimate partner violence. Recognizing the historical limits of legal interventions in this area, this article examines the efficacy of coercive control as a conceptual device for improving access to law and justice outcomes for women victims. To do so, it considers the problems and possibilities of translating a concept generated from clinical practice into legal practice alongside an exploration of the potential unintended consequences of this new offence. The gendered analysis undertaken here reveals the limitations of framing women's experiences as 'coercive control' in law and concludes that, in the case of coercive control, more law is not the answer to improving responses to intimate partner violence.
Since the 1980s, victims’ voices have been increasingly heard and have been influential in policy... more Since the 1980s, victims’ voices have been increasingly heard and have been influential in policy debates. Since that time, the nature and presence of those voices has changed shape and form from the influence and presence of victim centred organizations to the rise of the high profile individual victim. The purpose of this article is to explore the presence of one victim’s story, Rosie Batty, and to examine her influence on the rise of the policy agenda on family violence in Australia. This article considers the ways in which this story gained traction and influenced the reform of family violence policy in Australia, and considers the extent to which an understanding of this process contributes to an (emergent) narrative victimology.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2018
In May 2015, the judgment of the High Court of Australia in Lindsay v The Queen reignited debate ... more In May 2015, the judgment of the High Court of Australia in Lindsay v The Queen reignited debate surrounding the use of the partial defence of provocation in cases involving a non- violent homosexual advance. Lindsay re-established the legal possibility that a man provoked enough to lose self-control and commit lethal violence in response to a non-violent homo- sexual advance could be convicted of manslaughter by reason of provocation rather than murder. The judgment arrived in the midst of two decades of national law reform activity, whereby all Australian jurisdictions have either introduced or proposed reform to abolish or restrict the application of the controversial partial defence of provocation. In doing so, cases involving a homosexual advance defence are increasingly shifting to the realm of sentencing. This article offers a timely analysis of the sentencing of homosexual advance defence cases in New South Wales and Queensland. In doing so, it examines the judicial treatment of a defendant’s claim of a ‘special sensitivity’ to a homosexual advance, problems arising from the private nature of an alleged homosexual advance and the treatment of intoxication in sentencing. It reveals that reform of legal categories alone may not be sufficient in ensuring a just legal response to homicides incited by alleged homosexual advances.
Recent practices in the administration of youth justice across Australian state and territory jur... more Recent practices in the administration of youth justice across Australian state and territory jurisdictions reveal a powerful tension between the punitive imperative of “tough on crime” political populism, and internationally agreed minimum standards relevant to the treatment of children. In questioning the extent to which human rights standards can and should be used as a useful tool to counter punitive youth justice practices, this article identifies major points of discrepancy between Australia’s international legal obligations and the doctrine and operation of domestic criminal law as it applies to children in conflict with the law. Examining youth justice “crises” in two Australian states, the Northern Territory and Victoria, the article concludes that while child rights are not directly justiciable in Australia, global standards on youth justice provide a unifying discourse that is resistant to the vagaries of populism, and which can guide reform for child rights compliant youth justice legislation and practice.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2018
This article responds to recent calls to better understand and respond to family violence risks t... more This article responds to recent calls to better understand and respond to family violence risks to children. Drawing on the findings of a wider research project on family violence risk which engaged with over 1000 members of Victoria’s family violence system through a survey, focus groups and in-depth interviews, this article examines practitioners’ views on current practices and future needs for reform to improve family violence risk assessment practices for children. The findings have implications both nationally and internationally, given the dearth of evidence-based family violence risks assessment tools. Key findings reinforce the importance of interagency collaboration and a shared responsibility for children impacted by family violence across services and the importance of specialised training in this area. Caution, however, is raised about ongoing patterns of blame for mothers affected by family violence: we conclude that the need to address children’s risk in family violence is critical but ongoing attention to how gendered patterns structure family violence and social responses is also essential.
In July 2016 harrowing images of a child being forcibly restrained in Don Dale Youth Detention Ce... more In July 2016 harrowing images of a child being forcibly restrained in Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Australia’s Northern Territory shone a national spotlight on the conditions experienced by some young persons in custody. The subsequent Royal Commission provides an important opportunity for an independent body with expansive powers to examine the human rights violations that some youth experience in detention. This article examines Australian media coverage of the Don Dale incidents to question whether an international human rights law perspective was embraced and the degree to which such a perspective offers a useful vantage point for understanding and responding to the abuses at Don Dale. The article concludes that the international human rights framework provides a valuable perspective for communicating the gravity of the treatment of young people in detention and from which the Federal Government can draw to ensure an effective response to the violations committed.
Judicial decisions about whether or not to publicly name child homicide offenders have long anima... more Judicial decisions about whether or not to publicly name child homicide offenders have long animated debate in the United Kingdom and internationally. This article draws on case law and in-depth interviews conducted with members of the English criminal justice system to critically analyse the viability of current domestic legislation in the context of the UK’s international human rights obligations. The article identifies ambiguities surrounding the definition of ‘public interest’ in law; the merits of equating the naming of child offenders with open justice, accountability and transparency; and the increasing sabotage of the principle of rehabilitation. By identifying the complexities of this contentious area of judicial discretion, this article highlights the need for a rights-based approach to decisions about publicly naming children in conflict with the law.
In 2011 the high profile murder of Clare Wood led to the introduction of the national domestic vi... more In 2011 the high profile murder of Clare Wood led to the introduction of the national domestic violence disclosure scheme (‘Clare’s Law’) in England and Wales. The scheme aims to prevent the perpetration of violence between intimate partners through the sharing of information about prior histories of violence. Despite already spreading to comparable jurisdictions in the UK and Australia, to date the merits of a domestic violence disclosure scheme have been the subject of limited scholarly review and analysis. This article provides a timely critical analysis of the need for and merits of Clare’s Law. It examines the data impediments to the scheme, the need to balance the right to protection with the right to privacy and the question of victim empowerment versus responsibilization and victim blaming. The article concludes that there is a need to heed caution in adopting this policy elsewhere.
Due to the poor reputation of the private security industry and the multiple lines of concerns ra... more Due to the poor reputation of the private security industry and the multiple lines of concerns raised by scholars over the potentially corrosive costs of commercial security provision, it is important to consider whether for-profit companies are a welcome addition to the network of actors who respond to the needs of domestic violence victims. Using the case study of ‘Protective Services’ in Victoria, Australia, who appear to be one of the first known instances of a private security company offering services to victims of domestic violence, we argue that there may be advantages for victims engaging with commercial providers and reasons for optimism that commercial outfits can improve feelings of safety for a particularly vulnerable and under protected population.
The law’s response to child offenders has long animated debate and sparked doctrinal law reform i... more The law’s response to child offenders has long animated debate and sparked doctrinal law reform in England and Wales. The provision of legal protections for children in trouble with the law has been central to such debates, and questions surrounding the age at which a child should be held criminally responsible remain a contested area of law both domestically and internationally. In 1998 England and Wales abolished the presumption of doll incapax and retained the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 10 years old; two years below the United Nations’ recommended standard. This article examines the legal protections provided for child offenders under English criminal law with a focus on the adequacy of the age of criminal responsibility, the now abolished presumption of doli incapax and the merits of a developmental immaturity defence. Drawing on data obtained from interviews conducted with members of the English criminal justice system, this article analyses the extent to which legal practitioners perceive that the existing provisions are adequate and concludes by reinvigorating debate surrounding the need for future review and reform.
Labelled 'the shadow pandemic' by UN Women, violence against women received considerable global p... more Labelled 'the shadow pandemic' by UN Women, violence against women received considerable global public attention during 2020-21. Underpinning this moment of public concern, there lies a substantial history of efforts to document the nature of, and campaign against, the extent of violence against women globally. This is also the case in relation to femicide. Whilst we recognise that this is a contested term, for the purposes of this paper we use femicide to refer to the killing of women and girls because they are female by male violence. Femicide, as a death to be specifically counted in law only exists in a small number of jurisdictions. Where it is so recognised, primarily in South American countries as feminicidio, such deaths represent only the tip of the iceberg of such killings globally. This paper, in drawing on empirical data from a range of different sources (including administrative data, media analysis, and Femicide Observatory data) gathered throughout 2020, considers: what it means to call a death femicide, what implications might follow if all the deaths of women at the hands of men were counted as femicide, and the extent to which extraordinary times have any bearing on this kind of ordinary death.
"I have never had a case that involved a female perpetrator of coercive control, and no such case... more "I have never had a case that involved a female perpetrator of coercive control, and no such cases are documented in the literature" (Stark, 2007, p. 377). Stark's observation has become somewhat of a "truism" in the wider debate surrounding coercive control. Yet simultaneously coercive control is asserted as a gendered process, understandings of which appear to have
The term femicide, while contested, focuses attention on women killed by men's violence. This foc... more The term femicide, while contested, focuses attention on women killed by men's violence. This focus has generated work on its nature and extent much of which examines the lethal act and the lethal actor in which the death is counted. These counts are themselves incomplete. Despite their shortcomings, these 'thin' counts have contributed to the increasing impetus for a wide range of global and local prevention and response initiatives designed to draw attention to femicide. 'Thin' counts, measuring as they do, who does what to whom, while justified and justifiable, are a surface manifestation of the deeper embrace of social ecological theory within this field of work. This theory, originating in the work of Brofenbrenner, has functionalist tendencies which fail to assign explanatory power or salience to any one variable. This approach provides a narrow vision of what counts as femicide: a 'thin' count. However, if femicide was viewed through a wide-angled lens and incorporated all those lives curtailed and shortened as a result of living with men's violence(s), that which Walklate et al. have called 'slow femicide', femicide counts might look somewhat different. Here, we explore why these might be called 'thick' counts. These counts would focus attention on not only who does what to whom but also on with what implement, in what place and at what point in time. Thus, 'thick' counts would broaden our understanding of the nature, extent and impact of femicide.
Journal of International and Comparative Law, 2021
The focus of this article is the nature of the non-violent homosexual advance within the partial ... more The focus of this article is the nature of the non-violent homosexual advance within the partial defences to murder. Tracing the use of this type of incident as provocative conduct in recent years alongside recent reforms introduced in two Australian state jurisdictions, this article argues that there is no justification for such use of the defences. It explores two Australian models of reform: the exclusionary reform approach and the outright abolition of use of the non-violent homosexual advance to build a defence. It examines the limits of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and explores opportunities for law reform in England and Wales. The authors suggest a two-limbed role reversal test to effectively minimise the misuse of the defence.
The partial defence of provocation has long attracted controversy and animated law reform in Aust... more The partial defence of provocation has long attracted controversy and animated law reform in Australia and elsewhere. In June 2012, debate surrounding the provocation defence reignited in New South Wales following the trial and sentencing of Chamanjot Singh for manslaughter (by reason of provocation). In the wake of Singh, the NSW Legislative Council established a Select Committee to undertake a review of the partial defence of provocation. This article builds on the work done by the NSW Select Committee on the Partial Defence of Provocation in 2013. In doing so, it examines the merits of the newly formulated partial defence of 'extreme' provocation and argues that NSW would be better placed to repeal provocation as a partial defence and transfer its consideration to sentencing. It is argued that by reforming sentencing guidelines for murder in NSW, the law may be able to move beyond the problems traditionally associated with the provocation defence and more adequately respond to the gendered nature of homicide. CONTENTS
Legal responses to battered women who kill have long animated scholarly debate and law reform act... more Legal responses to battered women who kill have long animated scholarly debate and law reform activity. In September 2012 after 47 years of alleged abuse, Frenchwoman Jacqueline Sauvage fatally shot her abusive husband three times in the back. The subsequent contested trial, conviction for murder, unsuccessful appeal and later presidential pardon of Sauvage thrust the French law of self-defence into the spotlight. The Sauvage case raises important questions surrounding the adequacy of the French criminal law in this area, the ongoing proliferation of gendered stereotypes in law and the need for reform. In the wake of the Sauvage case, this article provides a timely analysis of the gendered law of self-defence in France. Drawing from an in-depth analysis of the judgments imposed in the Sauvage case, this article examines the adequacy of French legal responses to battered women who kill and ignites an argument for further law reform.
In Australia, children as young as 10 are charged, convicted and sentenced for breaches of the la... more In Australia, children as young as 10 are charged, convicted and sentenced for breaches of the law. Drawing on interviews with youth justice professionals in Victoria, this study finds that inconsistencies in practice undermine the extent to which the common law presumption of doli incapax offers an effective legal safeguard for very young children in conflict with the law. This article advocates that the Australian minimum age of criminal responsibility be increased to 14, that the principle of doli incapax be applied consistently to all persons under the age of 18 and that justice responses be supplanted by therapeutic supports for children and families.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2016
The adequacy of police responses to intimate partner violence has long animated scholarly debate,... more The adequacy of police responses to intimate partner violence has long animated scholarly debate, review and legislative change. While there have been significant shifts in community recognition of and concern about intimate partner violence, particularly in the wake of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, it nonetheless remains a significant form of violence and harm across Australian communities and a key issue for police, as noted in the report and recommendations of the Royal Commission. This article draws on findings from semi-structured interviews (n ¼ 163) with police in Victoria and pursues two key interrelated arguments. The first is that police attitudes towards incidents of intimate partner violence remain overwhelmingly negative. Despite innovations in policy and training, we suggest that this consistent dissatisfaction with intimate partner violence incidents as a policing task indicates a significant barrier, possibly insurmountable, to attempts to reform the policing of intimate partner violence via force-wide initiatives and the mobilisation of general duties for this purpose. Consequently, our second argument is that specialisation via a commitment to dedicated intimate partner violence units – implemented more consistently and comprehensively than Victoria Police has to date – extends the greatest promise for effective policing of intimate partner violence in the future.
In 2015 in England and Wales a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour was introduced wi... more In 2015 in England and Wales a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour was introduced with the aim of improving legal responses to intimate partner violence. Recognizing the historical limits of legal interventions in this area, this article examines the efficacy of coercive control as a conceptual device for improving access to law and justice outcomes for women victims. To do so, it considers the problems and possibilities of translating a concept generated from clinical practice into legal practice alongside an exploration of the potential unintended consequences of this new offence. The gendered analysis undertaken here reveals the limitations of framing women's experiences as 'coercive control' in law and concludes that, in the case of coercive control, more law is not the answer to improving responses to intimate partner violence.
Since the 1980s, victims’ voices have been increasingly heard and have been influential in policy... more Since the 1980s, victims’ voices have been increasingly heard and have been influential in policy debates. Since that time, the nature and presence of those voices has changed shape and form from the influence and presence of victim centred organizations to the rise of the high profile individual victim. The purpose of this article is to explore the presence of one victim’s story, Rosie Batty, and to examine her influence on the rise of the policy agenda on family violence in Australia. This article considers the ways in which this story gained traction and influenced the reform of family violence policy in Australia, and considers the extent to which an understanding of this process contributes to an (emergent) narrative victimology.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2018
In May 2015, the judgment of the High Court of Australia in Lindsay v The Queen reignited debate ... more In May 2015, the judgment of the High Court of Australia in Lindsay v The Queen reignited debate surrounding the use of the partial defence of provocation in cases involving a non- violent homosexual advance. Lindsay re-established the legal possibility that a man provoked enough to lose self-control and commit lethal violence in response to a non-violent homo- sexual advance could be convicted of manslaughter by reason of provocation rather than murder. The judgment arrived in the midst of two decades of national law reform activity, whereby all Australian jurisdictions have either introduced or proposed reform to abolish or restrict the application of the controversial partial defence of provocation. In doing so, cases involving a homosexual advance defence are increasingly shifting to the realm of sentencing. This article offers a timely analysis of the sentencing of homosexual advance defence cases in New South Wales and Queensland. In doing so, it examines the judicial treatment of a defendant’s claim of a ‘special sensitivity’ to a homosexual advance, problems arising from the private nature of an alleged homosexual advance and the treatment of intoxication in sentencing. It reveals that reform of legal categories alone may not be sufficient in ensuring a just legal response to homicides incited by alleged homosexual advances.
Recent practices in the administration of youth justice across Australian state and territory jur... more Recent practices in the administration of youth justice across Australian state and territory jurisdictions reveal a powerful tension between the punitive imperative of “tough on crime” political populism, and internationally agreed minimum standards relevant to the treatment of children. In questioning the extent to which human rights standards can and should be used as a useful tool to counter punitive youth justice practices, this article identifies major points of discrepancy between Australia’s international legal obligations and the doctrine and operation of domestic criminal law as it applies to children in conflict with the law. Examining youth justice “crises” in two Australian states, the Northern Territory and Victoria, the article concludes that while child rights are not directly justiciable in Australia, global standards on youth justice provide a unifying discourse that is resistant to the vagaries of populism, and which can guide reform for child rights compliant youth justice legislation and practice.
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 2018
This article responds to recent calls to better understand and respond to family violence risks t... more This article responds to recent calls to better understand and respond to family violence risks to children. Drawing on the findings of a wider research project on family violence risk which engaged with over 1000 members of Victoria’s family violence system through a survey, focus groups and in-depth interviews, this article examines practitioners’ views on current practices and future needs for reform to improve family violence risk assessment practices for children. The findings have implications both nationally and internationally, given the dearth of evidence-based family violence risks assessment tools. Key findings reinforce the importance of interagency collaboration and a shared responsibility for children impacted by family violence across services and the importance of specialised training in this area. Caution, however, is raised about ongoing patterns of blame for mothers affected by family violence: we conclude that the need to address children’s risk in family violence is critical but ongoing attention to how gendered patterns structure family violence and social responses is also essential.
In July 2016 harrowing images of a child being forcibly restrained in Don Dale Youth Detention Ce... more In July 2016 harrowing images of a child being forcibly restrained in Don Dale Youth Detention Centre in Australia’s Northern Territory shone a national spotlight on the conditions experienced by some young persons in custody. The subsequent Royal Commission provides an important opportunity for an independent body with expansive powers to examine the human rights violations that some youth experience in detention. This article examines Australian media coverage of the Don Dale incidents to question whether an international human rights law perspective was embraced and the degree to which such a perspective offers a useful vantage point for understanding and responding to the abuses at Don Dale. The article concludes that the international human rights framework provides a valuable perspective for communicating the gravity of the treatment of young people in detention and from which the Federal Government can draw to ensure an effective response to the violations committed.
Judicial decisions about whether or not to publicly name child homicide offenders have long anima... more Judicial decisions about whether or not to publicly name child homicide offenders have long animated debate in the United Kingdom and internationally. This article draws on case law and in-depth interviews conducted with members of the English criminal justice system to critically analyse the viability of current domestic legislation in the context of the UK’s international human rights obligations. The article identifies ambiguities surrounding the definition of ‘public interest’ in law; the merits of equating the naming of child offenders with open justice, accountability and transparency; and the increasing sabotage of the principle of rehabilitation. By identifying the complexities of this contentious area of judicial discretion, this article highlights the need for a rights-based approach to decisions about publicly naming children in conflict with the law.
In 2011 the high profile murder of Clare Wood led to the introduction of the national domestic vi... more In 2011 the high profile murder of Clare Wood led to the introduction of the national domestic violence disclosure scheme (‘Clare’s Law’) in England and Wales. The scheme aims to prevent the perpetration of violence between intimate partners through the sharing of information about prior histories of violence. Despite already spreading to comparable jurisdictions in the UK and Australia, to date the merits of a domestic violence disclosure scheme have been the subject of limited scholarly review and analysis. This article provides a timely critical analysis of the need for and merits of Clare’s Law. It examines the data impediments to the scheme, the need to balance the right to protection with the right to privacy and the question of victim empowerment versus responsibilization and victim blaming. The article concludes that there is a need to heed caution in adopting this policy elsewhere.
Due to the poor reputation of the private security industry and the multiple lines of concerns ra... more Due to the poor reputation of the private security industry and the multiple lines of concerns raised by scholars over the potentially corrosive costs of commercial security provision, it is important to consider whether for-profit companies are a welcome addition to the network of actors who respond to the needs of domestic violence victims. Using the case study of ‘Protective Services’ in Victoria, Australia, who appear to be one of the first known instances of a private security company offering services to victims of domestic violence, we argue that there may be advantages for victims engaging with commercial providers and reasons for optimism that commercial outfits can improve feelings of safety for a particularly vulnerable and under protected population.
The law’s response to child offenders has long animated debate and sparked doctrinal law reform i... more The law’s response to child offenders has long animated debate and sparked doctrinal law reform in England and Wales. The provision of legal protections for children in trouble with the law has been central to such debates, and questions surrounding the age at which a child should be held criminally responsible remain a contested area of law both domestically and internationally. In 1998 England and Wales abolished the presumption of doll incapax and retained the minimum age of criminal responsibility at 10 years old; two years below the United Nations’ recommended standard. This article examines the legal protections provided for child offenders under English criminal law with a focus on the adequacy of the age of criminal responsibility, the now abolished presumption of doli incapax and the merits of a developmental immaturity defence. Drawing on data obtained from interviews conducted with members of the English criminal justice system, this article analyses the extent to which legal practitioners perceive that the existing provisions are adequate and concludes by reinvigorating debate surrounding the need for future review and reform.
The operation of the partial defence of provocation has animated significant debate for more than... more The operation of the partial defence of provocation has animated significant debate for more than two decades among scholars, legal practitioners, politicians and the community. In recognition of the injustices that result from its operation, criminal justice systems worldwide have conducted reviews of the law of provocation and have implemented divergent reforms targeted at minimizing the influence of gender bias in the law's operations. Drawing on the voices of over one hundred members of the Victorian, New South Wales and English criminal justice systems, this book provides a much-needed comparative analysis of the operation of this controversial partial defence to murder, the varied approaches taken to reforming the law of provocation and the effects of these reforms in practice.
Centrally concerned with conceptual questions of gender, justice and the role of denial in the criminal justice system, Fitz-Gibbon's analysis provides a unique view of the injustice of the provocation defence alongside the unintended consequences of homicide law reform that either retains, replaces or abolishes the doctrine. This insightful book offers valuable lessons for future jurisdictions that seek to improve the adequacy of the law's response to lethal violence and to solve the problem of provocation, and will appeal to scholars of Criminology, Socio-Legal Studies and Law, as well as domestic violence advocates and legal stakeholders.
Tina Thomas would have been turning 35 on the day that her husband of less than two weeks stood t... more Tina Thomas would have been turning 35 on the day that her husband of less than two weeks stood trial for her murder in the Jefferson County Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama. Eight years and almost four months had passed since Tina died on her honeymoon, while scuba diving near the SS Yongala wreck on the Great Barrier Reef in Northern Queensland, Australia. During this period, there had been extensive police investigations conducted by local, state and federal agencies in Queensland and the United States; a coronial inquest; a ridiculed plea bargain; a successful appeal against the manifest inadequacy of a 12 month sentence; 18 months served in Borallon Correction Centre in Queensland; a grand jury indictment; several days spent in an Australian immigration detention centre; an international agreement not to seek the death penalty; a deportation and several pre-trial hearings - every step of which was covered by endless public, media and social commentary. As the trial of Gabe Watson on a charge of capital murder for pecuniary gain began, so too did the possible final chapter in this tragic, drawn-out story. Monday 13 February 2012 provided the date for the commencement of Gabe's capital murder trial in Alabama, and the possibility that a second chance for justice could unfold...or could it? From the perspectives of the police, the prosecution, the defence and Tina and Gabe's families, this book examines the ongoing quest for justice in the controversial double prosecution of Gabe Watson for the death of Tina Thomas.
At a time when criminal justice systems internationally are facing new challenges surrounding the... more At a time when criminal justice systems internationally are facing new challenges surrounding the openness, cost and effectiveness of justice, the interaction between those within the system and those researching its operation is increasingly important. For criminologists, a better understanding of the experiences and perceptions of those operating at all levels of the justice system yields valuable insight surrounding the practical operation of the law. Such insight allows research to go beyond an analysis of how the law should operate and justice should be achieved, to understand how this actually occurs in practice. This is increasingly important in light of research that identifies a gap between the intent of legislation and reform, and its subsequent operation. In emphasising the importance of criminological research that penetrates barriers between those researching and those operating within the law, this chapter examines the use of qualitative research interviews with members of the criminal justice system. It considers issues surrounding gaining access to those within the system alongside the value of research that does so. The chapter also emphasises the importance of managing and maintaining research partnerships with members of the criminal justice system.
Homicide, Gender and Responsibility: An International Perspective, 2016
This chapter examines the extent to which discourses of masculinity are influential in the senten... more This chapter examines the extent to which discourses of masculinity are influential in the sentencing of children convicted of a homicide offence in Victoria (Australia). Drawing on an analysis of ten years of sentencing judgments from the Victorian Supreme Court, the chapter explores the judicial construction of dangerous and irresponsible masculinity, judicial responses to collective violence, judicial discourses of understanding and the emergence of judicial discourses of redemption and rehabilitation. This chapter contends that by viewing the actions of young men convicted of a homicide offence through the lens of vulnerable masculinity the intricacies of masculine lethal violence and an offender’s background can be better understood and contextualised.
This chapter examines what can be learnt from the nearly nine-year operation of the offence of de... more This chapter examines what can be learnt from the nearly nine-year operation of the offence of defensive homicide. The first half of the chapter presents a detailed case analysis of the operation of the offence and the contexts of lethal violence in which defensive homicide was raised as an alternative category to murder. As cases of female perpetrated defensive homicide are examined in detail in earlier chapters, this chapter does not go into significant detail in exploring these cases but rather focuses predominately on male perpetrated defensive homicide. Drawing from the case analysis, the second half of the chapter considers what can be learnt from the introduction, operation and abolition of the offence of defensive homicide for future homicide law reform exercises in Victoria and elsewhere.
in Lumsden, K. & Winter, A. (eds.) Reflexivity in Criminological Research: Experiences with the Powerless and the Powerful, Palgrave MacMillan, Hampshire, UK., 2014
Among the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence’s most important recommendations is the... more Among the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence’s most important recommendations is the powerful acknowledgement that family violence has devastating effects on children. Commissioner Marcia Neave described children as the “silent victims” of family violence. This important emphasis has been a long time coming. The commission noted that children have conventionally been overlooked as victims of family violence. This is the legacy of limited or incomplete data-gathering, siloed responses, and complicated referral processes. The result is children enduring harm without the specialised supports to help them cope with the trauma of family violence.
“I have never had a case that involved a female perpetrator of coercive control, and no such case... more “I have never had a case that involved a female perpetrator of coercive control, and no such cases are documented in the literature” (Stark, 2007, p. 377). Stark's observation has become somewhat of a “truism” in the wider debate surrounding coercive control. Yet simultaneously coercive control is asserted as a gendered process, understandings of which appear to have elided and conflated victimhood and perpetration with femininity and masculinity. The purpose of this paper, based on empirical data, is to unpick some of these elisions and conflations and offer a more nuanced understanding of these debates using the lens of hegemonic masculinity. This paper is based on data derived from a national online survey conducted in Australia in 2021. The aim of this paper is to explore, and better understand male reported experiences of coercive control victimisation. The survey was completed by 1261 people, 206 (17%) of whom identified as men. These 206 responses are the focus of this paper. Representing one of the most comprehensive studies of men's self-reported experiences of coercive control, this survey data provides some insight into how male victim-survivors define and understand what they considered to be their experiences of coercive control. The findings provide an opportunity to offer a more nuanced appreciation of men's experiences of being in control, out of control or losing control.
The term femicide, while contested, focuses attention on women killed by men’s violence. This foc... more The term femicide, while contested, focuses attention on women killed by men’s violence. This focus has generated work on its nature and extent much of which examines the lethal act and the lethal actor in which the death is counted. These counts are themselves incomplete. Despite their shortcomings, these ‘thin’ counts have contributed to the increasing impetus for a wide range of global and local prevention and response initiatives designed to draw attention to femicide. ‘Thin’ counts, measuring as they do, who does what to whom, while justified and justifiable, are a surface manifestation of the deeper embrace of social ecological theory within this field of work. This theory, originating in the work of Brofenbrenner, has functionalist tendencies which fail to assign explanatory power or salience to any one variable. This approach provides a narrow vision of what counts as femicide: a ‘thin’ count. However, if femicide was viewed through a wide-angled lens and incorporated all th...
At a time when criminal justice systems internationally are facing new challenges surrounding the... more At a time when criminal justice systems internationally are facing new challenges surrounding the openness, cost and effectiveness of justice, the interaction between those within the system and those researching its operation is increasingly important. For criminologists, a better understanding of the experiences and perceptions of those operating at all levels of the justice system yields valuable insight surrounding the practical operation of the law. Such insight allows research to go beyond an analysis of how the law should operate and justice should be achieved, to understand how this actually occurs in practice. This is increasingly important in light of research that identifies a gap between the intent of legislation and reform, and its subsequent operation. In emphasising the importance of criminological research that penetrates barriers between those researching and those operating within the law, this chapter examines the use of qualitative research interviews with members of the criminal justice system. It considers issues surrounding gaining access to those within the system alongside the value of research that does so. The chapter also emphasises the importance of managing and maintaining research partnerships with members of the criminal justice system.
This book brings together feminist academics, lawyers and activists to present an impressive coll... more This book brings together feminist academics, lawyers and activists to present an impressive collection of alternative judgments in a series of Australian legal cases.
The partial defence of provocation has long attracted controversy and animated law reform in Aust... more The partial defence of provocation has long attracted controversy and animated law reform in Australia and elsewhere. In June 2012, debate surrounding the provocation defence reignited in New South Wales following the trial and sentencing of Chamanjot Singh for manslaughter (by reason of provocation). In the wake of Singh, the NSW Legislative Council established a Select Committee to undertake a review of the partial defence of provocation. This article builds on the work done by the NSW Select Committee on the Partial Defence of Provocation in 2013. In doing so, it examines the merits of the newly formulated partial defence of 'extreme' provocation and argues that NSW would be better placed to repeal provocation as a partial defence and transfer its consideration to sentencing. It is argued that by reforming sentencing guidelines for murder in NSW, the law may be able to move beyond the problems traditionally associated with the provocation defence and more adequately respo...
This opinion piece provides an argument for why the Select Committee of the New South Wales Parli... more This opinion piece provides an argument for why the Select Committee of the New South Wales Parliamentary Inquiry into the partial defence of provocation should reccomend abolition of this controversial partial defene to murder.
The article explores the meaning of ‘justice’ for women with disability who have experienced and ... more The article explores the meaning of ‘justice’ for women with disability who have experienced and reported violent crimes, typically, sexual assault and family violence. It contributes to the small body of literature that considers justice as articulated by those who have experienced violence and represents the only published research that brings to the fore perspectives on justice from the viewpoint of women with disability. Based on interviews and focus groups with 36 women with disability in the Australian states of Victoria and New South Wales, it explores these women’s ‘justice’ ideals and the gap between those ideals and the responses they received from the service and criminal justice systems. Mostly, the women’s desired outcomes in response to reports of violence were focused on recognition of what had occurred, an acknowledgement of their rights and status, and a pathway to security and safety. These desires related to justice were linked to being able to leave a situation o...
Over the past decade, homicide law reform surrounding the partial defences to murder has animated... more Over the past decade, homicide law reform surrounding the partial defences to murder has animated debate among criminological scholars and legal stakeholders in Australia and the United Kingdom. In response to these debates, criminal jurisdictions have conducted reviews of the partial defences to murder and implemented reforms targeted at reducing gender bias in the law which has played out through the operation of the partial defence of provocation. This research examines the different approaches taken to addressing the problem posed by provocation in Victoria, New South Wales and England. In doing so, it explores questions around the need for reform to the law of homicide, the effects of these reforms in practice, and the influential role of sentencing in questions surrounding homicide law reform. Throughout the analysis key frameworks of criminological thought in relation to feminist engagements with the law, the conceptualisation of denial and the influence of law and order poli...
Times of crisis are associated with increased violence against women, often with reduced access t... more Times of crisis are associated with increased violence against women, often with reduced access to support services. COVID-19 is no exception with public health control measures restricting people’s movements and confining many women and children to homes with their abusers. Recognising the safety risks posed by lockdowns the United Nations declared violence against women ‘the shadow pandemic’ in April 2020. In the Australian state of Victoria, residents spent over a third of 2020 in strict lockdown. Based on an online survey of 166 Victorian practitioners between April and May 2020 using rating scales and open-ended questions, our study revealed that women’s experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV) intensified during lockdown. COVID-19 restrictions created new barriers to help-seeking and necessitated the rapid transition to remote service delivery models during a time of heightened risk. This article provides insights into how practitioners innovated and adapted their practi...
This submission brings together the views of scholars from the Border Crossing Observatory and th... more This submission brings together the views of scholars from the Border Crossing Observatory and the Monash Gender and Family Violence Focus Program at Monash University whose past and current research informs the concerns and issues raised in this submission, and InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence who work with women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (CALD) who are victims/survivors of domestic violence in Victoria.
Drawing on expertise and research projects undertaken by members of the Centre, our submission fo... more Drawing on expertise and research projects undertaken by members of the Centre, our submission focuses on:· Standard non-parole periods for murder, · Mandatory life sentences for murder, · Sentences imposed for domestic and family homicides, and· Aggravating factors on sentence. The submission also provides information about a current Australian Research Council discovery project currently being completed by members of the Centre which may be of interest to the Council’s review
This submission has been prepared by members of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention ... more This submission has been prepared by members of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre (MGFVPC), the Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre (GPS), and the University of Liverpool (UK). It focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the nature and prevalence of domestic violence against women as well as service responses to women and children experiencing violence. Our submission is focused on Australia, the Indo-Pacific, England and Wales.
The Royal Commission into Family Violence made 227 recommendations to transform Victoria’s family... more The Royal Commission into Family Violence made 227 recommendations to transform Victoria’s family violence system. These were based on evidence gathered from 1,000 written submissions, 44 group sessions and 25 days of public hearings with 220 witnesses. On the same day as the commission released its report, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews committed his government to implementing all of the recommendations. The Victorian government should be commended for its commitment to delivering the royal commission’s recommendations. But challenges remain. Read the full article on The Conversation.
In 2003, the UK Parliament introduced a presumptive minimum sentencing scheme for the offence of ... more In 2003, the UK Parliament introduced a presumptive minimum sentencing scheme for the offence of murder. Schedule 21 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 sought to achieve greater consistency in the setting of minimum terms of imprisonment, while also providing a clear directive to judges on the need to punish and deter particularly aggravating contexts of intentional lethal violence. This article critically analyses the effects of this approach to sentencing, with 10 years' hindsight, and considers whether the continued imposition of a presumptive minimum sentencing scheme is in the best interests of justice. To examine the impacts of the 2003 Act, the article draws on interviews conducted with 26 English legal practitioners. It concludes that the introduction of a sentencing guideline for murder, alongside the repeal of Schedule 21, would better align sentencing practices for murder with those of other serious offences while also arguably allowing for more proportionate sentences ...
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Journal Articles by Kate Fitz-Gibbon
criminal law with a focus on the adequacy of the age of criminal responsibility, the now abolished presumption of doli incapax and the merits of a developmental immaturity defence. Drawing on
data obtained from interviews conducted with members of the English criminal justice system, this article analyses the extent to which legal practitioners perceive that the existing provisions
are adequate and concludes by reinvigorating debate surrounding the need for future review and reform.
criminal law with a focus on the adequacy of the age of criminal responsibility, the now abolished presumption of doli incapax and the merits of a developmental immaturity defence. Drawing on
data obtained from interviews conducted with members of the English criminal justice system, this article analyses the extent to which legal practitioners perceive that the existing provisions
are adequate and concludes by reinvigorating debate surrounding the need for future review and reform.
Centrally concerned with conceptual questions of gender, justice and the role of denial in the criminal justice system, Fitz-Gibbon's analysis provides a unique view of the injustice of the provocation defence alongside the unintended consequences of homicide law reform that either retains, replaces or abolishes the doctrine. This insightful book offers valuable lessons for future jurisdictions that seek to improve the adequacy of the law's response to lethal violence and to solve the problem of provocation, and will appeal to scholars of Criminology, Socio-Legal Studies and Law, as well as domestic violence advocates and legal stakeholders.