Family violence poorly understood in sexual offence cases, review finds

Police have a narrow understanding of the use of sexual violence in family and domestic violence contexts, the review concluded, and this was found to influence decision-making in cases.

The revelations were part of a report which found police had failed to "properly and appropriately" investigate sexual offences in the ACT.

As part of the report, there was an independent review undertaken of 389 historic cases from 2021, which included 33 interviews with victim-survivors.

This review, led by Swinburne Law School senior lecturer Rachael Burgin, found police had often not completed family violence risk assessments when a sexual offence happened in the context of a relationship.

Dr Burgin said the review found various reasons for why this did not occur, including that police failed to identify the matter as family violence.

"I think the family violence matters are different. I think that's a lack of recognition and understanding that sexual violence is a serious risk factor for family violence," she said.

"Officers often declined to undertake a family violence risk assessment, which is basically a tool to understand what risk is present in this context."

The review of cases undertaken by Dr Burgin was separate to the 684 cases examined in the main report. The overall review was overseen by an oversight committee which was chaired by former Victorian police commissioner Christine Nixon and former ACT magistrate Karen Fryar.

The 389 matters examined by Dr Burgin included 164 cases of adult sexual assault. The review said 51 of those cases were sexual assault in a familial relationship. Police only identified 37 cases as being family violence.

While there were 51 cases of family violence, a risk assessment had only been completed in nine of these cases.

The review found rape myths and stereotypes had influenced the way in which victim-survivors were perceived by officers. Dr Burgin pointed to an example of a complainant being accused of making up a story for revenge.

"[Police said] there was 'insufficient' proof and that I most likely made it up as a revenge of the break-up," one interviewee was quoted as saying.

In another instance, a victim-survivor did not want to proceed with a complaint so police didn't do a family violence risk assessment.

"Her risk of family violence isn't negated because she doesn't want to proceed with the investigation. It actually might point to an increased risk or fear of intervention," Dr Burgin said.

Dr Burgin said family and violence teams and ACT police's specialist sexual assault and child abuse team should work together more closely.

She said while the findings were concerning, ACT Policing were the only police force opening themselves up to this criticism. She said similar findings were likely on a national level.

"This commitment cannot be understated. Much needs to be done, but we have been able to shine a light on the issues - and now we have a chance to change," she said.

ACT Chief Police Officer Scott Lee said the force is committed to improvements. He acknowledged the findings of the review and expressed sincere regret for victim-survivors who had been let down.

"I want to reassure the community that ACT Policing is committed to supporting victim-survivors," he said.