Women's safety and justice

We welcome the opportunity to make a submission to the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce. The core of our submission addresses Part 2 in Discussion Paper 1: How do other jurisdictions address coercive control (police responses)? Our submission is based on our research into Argentina’s unique approach to responding to domestic and family violence through specialist police stations designed explicitly to receive victims/survivors. We highlight what can be learned from these stations to improve the policing and prevention of domestic and family violence (DFV) in Queensland. Evidence from two Australian surveys (a Community survey (n = 566) and a DFV Workforce survey (n = 277)) shows support for aspects of how specialist police stations in Argentina operate. Evaluations for Australian co-located service trials involving police also shows support from police, workers and victims/survivors for innovative multidisciplinary responses to DFV. It is our view that the Queensland response to DFV should incorporate key aspects of Argentinian specialist stations to improve women’s safety.