Dr Rosmarie Winter University Associate Romy.Winter@utas.edu.au

PhD Completion in 2012

Thesis Title
Intimate Partner Violence: The Impact of Discourse on a Coordinated Response

Abstract

The nature of domestic violence service provision has been changing in recent years as a result of the shift towards criminalisation and multi-agency responses. Tasmania introduced criminal justice legislation and an associated policy framework to address intimate partner violence in 2004 which was recognised as best practice.  This thesis provides an Australian context to the international debate on the criminalisation of intimate partner violence. The research demonstrates that professional ideologies and organisational discourses influence the implementation of multi-agency responses to intimate partner violence. Using a grounded theory approach with semi-structured interviews and field observations, I explore the discourses employed by police, the legal fraternity and victim advocates to identify three major categories.  These are the ‘justice’ discourse; the ‘risk management’ discourse; and the ‘genuine victim’ discourse. This research introduced the work of Hajer into sociology and criminology via an exploration of Hajer's concepts of discourse institutionalisation and discourse coalitions. The contribution of this thesis to the literature is the demonstration that discursive and material practices around justice, risk management and victimisation both converge and diverge to a degree between the government agencies involved in a particular discourse coalition; providing insights on the way in which agents construct the cultural conditions that support or countervail an attempt to manifest widespread social change through legislation. While the both the justice discourse and the risk management discourse satisfy the conditions for discourse institutionalisation, the power of the genuine victim is more subtle and rhizomatic and it achieves significant influence through its insinuation into the other two discourses, effectively providing a gatekeeping mechanism for access to justice.  In addition to the findings around discourse, the research has also highlighted issues relating to the implementation of the Safe at Home policy. The results suggest that the risk framework as practiced by Tasmania police is not universally accepted by all members of the policy network around intimate partner violence. Furthermore, the way in which victims are constructed by police and legal professionals in combination with additional ideological discourses around evidence and legal processes may in fact compromise victim safety.

Supervisor

Associate Professor Roberta Julian (TILES, School of Social Sciences, UTAS)

Romy has a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Sociology and Administration, and a Masters of Applied Sociology (Social Research). Her Masters project in 1995 involved developing a social profile for applicants for unlawful termination of employment from an analysis of the case-tracking database of the Industrial Relations Court of Australia.

In terms of research experience, she has undertaken multiple research projects, involving questionnaire design and analysis of responses from written and online surveys, interviews and focus groups – including group interviews with school children which led to the development of the Mercury's Attitude section and was awarded an international Newspaper industry award for reader research. Some recent freelance research and consulting projects include:

• Research into women’s participation in the Tasmanian Building and Construction Industry 2011-12;
• Evaluation of Glenorchy on the Go, a healthy communities initiative (with Community Focus) 2011-13;
• Evaluation of the Happiness project (with Community Focus) 2011-12)
• Evaluation of Aboriginal Healing Project, 2011;
• Evaluation of Community Capacity Building Grant Program (with Community Focus) 2011;
• Evaluation of Communities for Children SE Tasmania, 2011;
• Evaluation of Aboriginal Financial Literacy Program, 2011;
• Literature review on violence and adolescent girls 2011;
• Literature Review on the studying styles of police and law students 2011;
• Research project – Investigating Women’s Understanding of Family Violence Orders in Tasmania, 2011-12;
• Evaluation of Healing Our Way – healing program for Aboriginal males at Risdon Prison and Ashley Youth Detention Centre and their community support networks 2010-12;
• Evaluation of Trial of Voucher System for Respite Care, 2011;
• Research project – Investigating the under participation in the workforce by women in Tasmania 2011;
• Evaluation of the Early Years Foundation Grants Program 2010;
• Literature Review on the learning styles of Police and Law students 2010;
• Qualitative Benchmarks for the Workplace Standards Inspectorate 2010;
• Evaluations of Multicultural Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Program for Phoenix  Centre, Hobart 2011;
• Analysis of Victoria Police Data on sexual assault 2011;
• Service Activity and Client profile for the Women’s Legal Service 2010-2011;
• Developing funding proposals for E-learning platform for Tasmanian Artists 2011;
• Literature Review on Reassurance Policing 2009;
• Analysis of Resident Survey, Evaluation of Officer Next Door Program 2008;
• Scoping Project on services for alcohol, tobacco and other drugs for the Tasmanian Aboriginal Community 2008;
• Evaluation of Mission Australia’s Youth Beat program 2008;
• Evaluation of Family Support program, Family Drug Program and Mediation service (with Community Focus) 2008;
• Employment Strategy for Murrayfield Farm (with Community Focus) 2008;
• Literature Review on Elder Abuse 2008;
• Analysis of Women on Top survey 2008;
• Readership survey, The Mercury and Sunday Tasmanian 2008;
• Evaluation of Mentoring Program for Cannabis offenders by Mission Australia 2008;
• Development of Community Road Safety Kit for DIER Tas, with Community Focus 2007;
• Extension of Women Get Active Program to Men, with Community Focus 2007;
• Survey Analysis ‘Women on Wheels' Project – Population Health, DHHS Tas 2007;
• Evaluation of Private Rental Tenancy Support Scheme (Housing and Community Research Unit, University of Tasmania , 2007);
• Literature Review on Court Mandated Drug Diversion Programs for Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, and Departments of Psychology and Rural Health, University of Tasmania 2007;
• Evaluation of the Community Sector Skills Development Program for Department of Health and Human Services, with Community Focus 2006;
• Evaluation of Women Get Active program for Women Tasmania, in conjunction with Community Focus (November 2005);
• Online survey of readers of Attitude in The Mercury (August 2005);
• Readership profiles of The Mercury, The Saturday Mercury and The Sunday Tasmanian (August 2005);
• Editing the report of Meenah Mienne (Aboriginal Arts Mentorship program) for arts@work (August 2005); and
• Survey of readers of Tasmanian Country (January 2005).

Bachelor of Arts Masters of Applied Sociology (Social Research) 
Unfair Dismissal - A social profile of applicants claiming unlawful termination of employment under the first 12 months of the Industrial Relations Reform Act 1993. University of Tasmania 1996.

Research Interests

Interpersonal violence, risk, intimate relationships, social change, social mapping, social policy, work and industrial relations, criminology, ethnography.

Publications

• Winter. R. E., (2010) Theories of Intimate Partner Violence in Encyclopaedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention, Fisher B (Ed) Sage, Thousand Oaks           
• Winter. R. E., (2009) Policing Domestic Violence section in Dictionary of Policing Wakefield A and Fleming J (Eds) Sage, Thousand Oaks

2006

• Winter, R.E. Researching Family Violence . Briefing Paper 2. Tasmanian Institute of Law E nforcement Studies, Hobart June, 12 pp ISSN: 1832-701X.
  Cited in
• Braaf, R. & Sneddon, C. (2007) Family Law Act Reform: The Potential for Screening and Risk Assessment for Family Violence , (Issues Paper 13) Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse, UNSW.
• McFerran, L. (2007) Taking Back the Castle: How Australia is Making the Home Safer For Women and Children , (Issues Paper 14) Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse, Sydney.
• David, N. (2007) Exploring the Use of Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams (Issues Paper 15) Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse, Sydney.

2005

• Julian R.J. and Winter, R.E. Safe At Home - Family Violence Risk Assessment Screening Tool (RAST): Literature Review and Methodological Analysis. Hobart: Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, University of Tasmania, 65 pp.
  

1999

• Winter, R.E. The Attitudes of Young People to The Mercury's Youth Sections, B&T, February 27, Yaffa Publications, Sydney.

1998

• Winter, R.E. 21st Century Social Trends, In the News, News Limited, Sydney October Winter, R.E. The New Australian Dream – Insulation, In the News, News Limited, Sydney, August.

Conference Papers

• Winter. R. E., Collision Zone: Implementing The Criminalisation of Intimate Partner Violence  ANZSOC Conference, Canberra, November 2008.
• Assessing Risk within Intimate Partner Violence through a Refugee Lens: Implications for policing and refugee communities (with Danielle Campbell), Australia New Zealand Society of Criminology, Adelaide, September 2007.
• Policing Intimate Partner Violence, ANZSOC Postgraduate Conference, Adelaide & UTAS Inaugural Postgraduate Conference, September 2007.
• Safety or Surveillance? The Challenges of Assessing Risk in Intimate Partner Violence, Family Therapy Conference Hobart, 6 September 2007.
• Mandatory Reporting of Intimate Partner Violence: A conundrum for Human Rights, Australia New Zealand Society of Criminology, Hobart, February 2006.
• The Risk of Risk Assessment in Intimate Partner Violence: What's wrong with Actuarial Tools? National Conference of The Australian Sociological Association, Hobart, December 2005 (refereed).
• Damned if they do and damned if they don't: Reporting abuse by an intimate partner ‘Transgressions'; Criminology Postgraduate Conference, Melbourne University, November 2005.
• Client Experience with the Industrial Relations Court: Preliminary Results of the National Survey, presented to Judges Conference, Industrial Relations Court of Australia, Sydney, September 1996.

Seminar Presentations

• Investigation of Women’s Participation in the Tasmanian Labour Market: Qualitative findings (with Dr Megan Alessandrini) School of Government, May 2011.
• Competing discourses in the implementation of a criminal justice response to intimate partner Violence,  School of Government Postgraduate Conference, November 2011
• Policing Intimate Partner Violence: City Cops and Country Cops  TILES Postgraduate Symposium, Hobart , August 2008
• Safety or Surveillance? The Topography of Intimate Partner Violence Risk in Tasmania, Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, March 2007
• Researching Family Violence, DHHS Family, Child and Youth Health Professional Development Seminar, September 2006
• Risk, Surveillance and Intimate Partner Violence, School of Government, May 2006