A Critical Part of Queensland's Response to DV Fades Away, Leaving Concerns About System Failures and Inadequate Support for Survivors.
A critical component of the Queensland government's response to domestic violence (DV) has quietly stopped routinely reviewing all recent deaths linked to the abuse, sparking concerns about systemic failures and inadequate support for survivors. The Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board, a key part of the state's DV response strategy, was tasked with preventing future avoidable deaths by analyzing comprehensive reports on all DFV-linked deaths.
However, according to an investigation by Guardian Australia, the board has stopped reviewing all recent cases, instead focusing on mostly historic cases that fit chosen "focus areas." This change in focus has raised concerns among experts and survivors, who argue that the board's primary function is being undermined.
The decision to stop reviewing new cases has been met with criticism from a former member of the board, Prof Molly Dragiewicz, who resigned this year citing concerns about the lack of representation from domestic and sexual violence services and First Nations experts. She noted that death reviews play an essential role in preventing future deaths by providing accurate data on DV cases.
The Queensland police service's liaison to the unit, a former senior detective Kate Pausina, expressed similar concerns, stating that she often found no one was there to review reportable deaths every day to identify other cases within the scope. A whistleblower from within the coroner's court also reported concerns about under-resourcing and failing support for coroners and the bereaved.
The investigation has raised questions about the effectiveness of the unit, which found significant concerns about staff wellbeing, processes, and lack of expertise in 2020. The unit's operation has become "significantly worse" since then, with multiple people familiar with its work stating that problems with cases are not being picked up.
The coroner's court has been criticized for failing to provide adequate support for staff who have reported experiencing vicarious trauma, including hair loss and suicidal thoughts. A spokesperson for the coroner's court confirmed that a new leadership structure was put in place but acknowledged that the system's data management issues continued.
The lack of transparency and accountability in decision-making processes has also raised concerns among experts. Survivor Betty Taylor stressed the importance of centering women's experiences and listening to their voices, particularly when it comes to learning from dead women about what has gone wrong.
As the investigation highlights, Queensland's DV response system is facing significant challenges, from inadequate support for staff to systemic failures that are contributing to avoidable deaths. The need for a thorough review of the system's effectiveness and a renewed focus on supporting survivors cannot be overstated.
A critical component of the Queensland government's response to domestic violence (DV) has quietly stopped routinely reviewing all recent deaths linked to the abuse, sparking concerns about systemic failures and inadequate support for survivors. The Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board, a key part of the state's DV response strategy, was tasked with preventing future avoidable deaths by analyzing comprehensive reports on all DFV-linked deaths.
However, according to an investigation by Guardian Australia, the board has stopped reviewing all recent cases, instead focusing on mostly historic cases that fit chosen "focus areas." This change in focus has raised concerns among experts and survivors, who argue that the board's primary function is being undermined.
The decision to stop reviewing new cases has been met with criticism from a former member of the board, Prof Molly Dragiewicz, who resigned this year citing concerns about the lack of representation from domestic and sexual violence services and First Nations experts. She noted that death reviews play an essential role in preventing future deaths by providing accurate data on DV cases.
The Queensland police service's liaison to the unit, a former senior detective Kate Pausina, expressed similar concerns, stating that she often found no one was there to review reportable deaths every day to identify other cases within the scope. A whistleblower from within the coroner's court also reported concerns about under-resourcing and failing support for coroners and the bereaved.
The investigation has raised questions about the effectiveness of the unit, which found significant concerns about staff wellbeing, processes, and lack of expertise in 2020. The unit's operation has become "significantly worse" since then, with multiple people familiar with its work stating that problems with cases are not being picked up.
The coroner's court has been criticized for failing to provide adequate support for staff who have reported experiencing vicarious trauma, including hair loss and suicidal thoughts. A spokesperson for the coroner's court confirmed that a new leadership structure was put in place but acknowledged that the system's data management issues continued.
The lack of transparency and accountability in decision-making processes has also raised concerns among experts. Survivor Betty Taylor stressed the importance of centering women's experiences and listening to their voices, particularly when it comes to learning from dead women about what has gone wrong.
As the investigation highlights, Queensland's DV response system is facing significant challenges, from inadequate support for staff to systemic failures that are contributing to avoidable deaths. The need for a thorough review of the system's effectiveness and a renewed focus on supporting survivors cannot be overstated.
this whole thing is really worrying... i mean, you'd think that after all the progress they made in understanding dv, they'd still have things covered but it seems like there are just too many gaps... especially with the review process - if they're not checking on new cases then how can they be sure they're preventing avoidable deaths? 
it's not just about the technical stuff, though... it's also about the people involved. survivors and staff deserve so much better than this... i mean, hair loss and suicidal thoughts from dealing with dv? that's just heartbreaking 
what kind of system fails to review cases because of lack of resources or support? 
prof molly dragiewicz making sense, death reviews are crucial in preventing future deaths and stuff wellbeing is a huge issue here, coroners and staff are struggling with vicarious trauma and suicidal thoughts... 
what about the whistleblowers who came forward? why werent they taken seriously sooner? 
also, centering women's experiences and listening to their voices is so important, it cant be just ignored or downplayed... 
. Like, I was just talking to my friends at school about how we have our own club for raising awareness about mental health and domestic violence, and it hit home when we heard that a group of experts is saying the same thing - there are huge gaps in support for survivors 
. We need to make sure that everyone's voice is being heard, especially those who've experienced trauma 
. I mean, my friend's cousin was a victim of DV and she said that the support she got after leaving her relationship wasn't even close to what she needed 
. It's all about creating a safe space for people to talk about their experiences and working together to prevent more avoidable deaths 
. We gotta do better, you know? 
she said they needed more rep from domestic & sexual violence services & first nations experts but guess what? dey just dropped her & now dey're doin it all wrong 
or is it? cuz if dey r not, den we got a problem 
. It's like they're ignoring the problem or don't care about the lives that are being lost.
. But now, they're only focusing on historic cases and "focus areas" 
, when experts found issues with staff wellbeing, processes, and lack of expertise. But now, it seems like things have gotten worse 
. The coroner's court is still struggling to provide adequate support for staff who are experiencing vicarious trauma, and they're not even being transparent about it 
.
. Anything less is just unacceptable 
.
. We need some real change here!
. They've basically stopped reviewing cases linked to domestic violence which is like, super important for learning from past mistakes and making sure something like this doesn't happen again. It sounds like the system is failing its own people and that's not okay at all 
. but can we please have a proper review of the system and make sure that survivors are actually being supported?
they're literally taking away the part that reviews new cases, which is supposed to help prevent more deaths from dv... it makes sense that there would be problems since staff wellbeing has been a major issue but like shouldn't we be doing better than this? 
... the fact that they stopped reviewing new cases is a huge red flag 
... and to make matters worse, there are reports of under-resourcing and failing support for coroners and staff who are already dealing with some serious trauma 
... the survivors deserve better 
... we need to make sure that our systems are in place to support them, not just paper over issues 
...
They need to get back on track and focus on supporting survivors rather than just looking at old cases. This is all about accountability, and it's time for them to step up their game. 
Can't they see that this is all connected? We need better support for our frontline workers and a more thorough review of the system. Otherwise, we'll keep seeing avoidable deaths and it's just not right. 
. It seems like they're just patching things up without really addressing the root causes of the problem 
. How can we trust that they're learning from their mistakes and taking action to prevent future avoidable deaths? 
. We can't just sit back and wait for things to get worse; we need to demand change 
.
...