Monash expert: Tasmanian man's alleged murder of his mother not legally considered family violence
Monash University
Last week, a 55 year old man was charged with the murder of his 85-year-old mother in southern Tasmania. Police noted the murder will not be considered a family violence incident under Tasmanian law because of the state’s narrow definition of “family violence”, which excludes most family relationships outside intimate partners. A Monash University expert, who wrote for The Conversation, is available to talk about how this leaves Tasmania out of step with the rest of Australia and creates major barriers for victim-survivors seeking support.
Isabel Dunn, PhD Candidate, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Hub, School of Social Sciences
Contact: +61 497 190 483 or [email protected]
Read more of Ms Dunn’s commentary here.
The following can be attributed to Ms Dunn:
"The recent murder of an 85-year-old Tasmanian woman – allegedly at the hands of her son – highlights a critical legal blind spot. Under Tasmania’s Family Violence Act (2004), the definition of family violence is strictly limited to abuse between spouses or intimate partners. This makes Tasmania’s definition the narrowest in the country, completely excluding violence between parents and children, siblings, extended family, or carers.
"This is not just a matter of legal semantics; these restrictive definitions dictate who gets counted by the system and who receives life-saving support. Excluding non-intimate familial relationships leaves vital services under-resourced and victim-survivors locked out of dedicated safety planning. To effectively protect vulnerable Australians, Tasmania’s laws must be urgently expanded to align with national standards and reflect the realities of harm occurring inside the home."
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