Family Violence in Domestic Homicides: A Case Study of Women Who Killed Intimate Partners Post-Legislative Reform in Victoria, Australia. (April 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Tyson, Danielle; Kirkwood, Deborah; Mckenzie, Mandy
• Is Part Of: Violence against women. Volume 23:Number 5(2017)
• Page Start: 559
• Page End: 583
• Publication Date: 2017-04
• Subjects: family violence -- intimate partner murder -- self-defense -- law reform; Abused women -- Periodicals; Women -- Crimes against -- Periodicals; Violent crimes -- Periodicals; Femmes victimes de violence -- Périodiques; Femmes, Crimes contre les -- Périodiques; Crimes violents -- Périodiques; 362.8292
• DOI: 10.1177/1077801216647796
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1077-8012

Abstract

This article examines the impact of legislative reforms enacted in 2005 in Victoria, Australia, on legal responses to women charged with murder for killing their intimate partner. The reforms provided for a broader understanding of the context of family violence to be considered in such cases, but we found little evidence of this in practice. This is partly attributable to persistent misconceptions among the legal profession about family violence and why women may believe it necessary to kill a partner. We recommend specialized training for legal professionals and increased use of family violence evidence to help ensure women's claims of self-defense receive appropriate responses from Victorian courts.