New Approach to Domestic Violence

THE Upper Hunter will soon trial some of the world’s leading programmes to reduce domestic violence from the United States.

Ms Joplin Higgins, local solicitor and passionate advocate for gender equality, was recently awarded one of only ten national Westpac Research Fellowships to further her work in domestic violence reduction programmes.

Joplin will travel to the United States in February to observe their best programmes and learn from their leaders in the field of perpetrator rehabilitation.

Joplin Higgins to take a new approach to domestic violence in Scone and the Upper Hunter

“The American statistics are finding that some of the states have had 85 percent of non-offending in five years,” said Ms Higgins.

“Even though it is a perpetrator programme, that is so victim focused, because it is all about that perpetrator not going from woman to woman and perpetrating violence and family violence with a new partner every time they get one,” she said.

“So that’s a pretty great statistic!

“We will research, review and evaluate the programmes that are taking place in the U.S. and then we will start a programme of battery intervention for perpetrators of domestic violence in the Upper Hunter,” she said.

“We’re committed to bringing this back to the Upper Hunter because this research, this study tour is going to be a massive benefit for the Upper Hunter, because whatever I learn when I am in America I will be passing that knowledge on and I foresee us being a world leader in this area,” Joplin Higgins said.

This is the first year Westpac has had the social change fellowship and Joplin was awarded a fellowship because she  demonstrated an outstanding commitment to reducing domestic violence in rural and remote Australia.

The Upper Hunter, including the Singleton, Muswellbrook and Upper Hunter Shires, will be part of a perpetrator programme which other regional and remote Australian communities can also implement.

During Joplin’s time in America she will meet with attorneys general, judges, journalists, authors, visit their gaols, spend time with the domestic violence units of their police forces, speak with consultants to their armed forces and learn from some of the world leaders in rehabilitating perpetrators.

Joplin said she is enthused by the change in attitude towards domestic violence in Australia and believes the next evolution in addressing domestic violence can now occur.

“For the first time in the ten years that I’ve worked in domestic violence, this is the first time that there has been a platform for domestic violence and it really is on the back of the tragedy of Rosie Batty and from that tragedy I believe that the people and women that have worked tirelessly for decades and decades in domestic violence now have a much bigger voice than we’ve ever had before,” said Ms Higgins.

“We’re actually engaging men on a larger playing field whether it be in sport, in the corporate office, in everyday life it’s no longer a taboo subject it’s out there,” she said.

“We now know that domestic violence has no creed or class.

“I think people sometimes think it is only lower socio economic that this happens, but it’s not it happens in every tier of our society.

“What we have in Australia, is we are extremely victim focused, which I have to stress is right, we should be victim focused, but we don’t do anything about rehabilitating the perpetrators so without rehabilitation and without funding and services made available to the perpetrators, domestic violence will never stop,” she said.

“We can put as much money was we want into victim services but if we don’t fix the core problem of domestic violence it will be something that goes over and over and the cycle continues,” Joplin Higgins said.

Joplin Higgins will be working closely with the Scone Neighbourhood Resource Centre and on her return from the US, plans to base her services in Scone one day a week.