| Media item | |
| | Repeat abusers target women | Sunday Mail Adelaide,
Adelaide
by Lauren Novak
| 14 May 2023 | | General News - Page 9 - 452 words - ID 1848525545 - Photo: No - Type: News Item - Size: 291.00cm2 | |
Abusive men leaving a string of victims in their wake have been exposed by a police scheme.
Exclusive data shows about 28 men reported to the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme have a history of harming five or more previous partners.
Since January 2021 there have been at least 1000 applications to the scheme.
Analysis shows about 550 subjects of those applications a partner or ex-partner had a history that indicated abusive behaviour in at least one other relationship.
This could include police attending an incident at their home, being subject to an intervention order or arrests or convictions for crimes such as assault.
The findings show the danger posed by abusers who moved from partner to partner repeating the same tactics, and have prompted calls for more investment in men's behaviour change programs.
"Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviour . . . not just physical and sexual violence but control through financial, social and emotional abuse," Flinders University's Sarah Wendt said.
"Women's shelter workers say to me that they have recognised . . . the same perpetrator (with a new partner) and they'll say, 'Oh no, it's him again'." Professor Wendt said perpetrators often tried to "minimise and justify" their abuse and "new partners will get a very different narrative".
"If it was his ex-wife (he will say), 'She's nuts, she's dangerous'. He will have a narrative that suits him and he will not see himself as a perpetrator," she said.
The DVDS was launched in 2018 to enable South Australians worried about their partner's behaviour to ask police to check their criminal history.
Police only release information to an at-risk person about criminal history relevant to domestic abuse.
Since 2018 there have been 1600-plus applications and information released to at least 630 people, including 50 cases where police issued an immediate warning because a person was in imminent danger.
Of the at-risk people, 44 per cent had children in their care and 2 per cent were men.
SA Police Senior Sergeant Sharon Walker-Roberts said officers responding to abusers could report or arrest them, refuse bail or impose an interim intervention order to try to stop their behaviour.
"The action police take should be in balance with the type and severity of offending," Sergeant Walker-Roberts said.
However, she noted "some domestic violence-related behaviours do not meet the threshold of criminal offending and court action is not possible".
Police can refer people to voluntary support services but only the courts can direct offenders to attend mandatory behaviour change programs, such as those run by the Correctional Services Department for about 200 men a year.
Non-government organisations also offer programs but say the funding they receive is not enough to meet demand.
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