news July 16 2024

16/07/2024 - Addressing the Heartbreaking Reality of Filicide and Family Violence

Recent research has uncovered a deeply distressing issue that often goes overlooked in discussions about family violence: filicide, the act of a parent killing their own child. This harrowing crime, though less frequently discussed, is now making headlines due to its shocking connections to family violence.

A landmark report from Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety* (ANROWS) and the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Network (the Network) has brought to light the alarming intersection of intimate partner violence and filicide. This national report, the most comprehensive examination of national figures to date, examined 113 cases of filicide occurring from 2010-2018, revealing that 76% had an identifiable history of domestic and family violence.

Key findings include:

• In 9 in 10 cases (88%), there was a history of intimate partner violence.
• In 8 in 10 cases (78%), the children had experienced physical, sexual, and/or emotional violence prior to being killed.
• When fathers killed their children, it often followed a history of perpetrating intimate partner violence.
• When mothers killed their children, it often followed a history of experiencing intimate partner violence.
• Men comprised two-thirds (68%) of the parents who killed their children.
• 106 children were killed, with some cases involving more than one child.
• Nearly half (46%) of the children killed by their parents were aged under two years old.
• Approximately one quarter (26%) of children killed were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, despite these children comprising around 6% of the child population. This statistic highlights the ongoing harm of colonial dispossession, structural violence, and a lack of culturally appropriate support services.

Jaime Chubb, CEO of the Centre Against Violence remarks, “This report breaks our hearts. Though we are sadly not surprised at the findings, the confronting connection between intimate partner violence and the tragic deaths of children is still shocking. It is a sobering reminder that the risk and impact of family violence extends to everyone within the family, and all too often it can have devastating consequences. The rate of filicide is a call to action for all of us to protect and support the entire family as early as possible.”

“We were devastated by the deaths of three young children in Lalor Park in NSW last weekend, in what police have described as a family violence incident perpetrated by their father. And yet, in contexts of family violence, children and young people are so often forgotten or invisible. Filicide is now the second leading cause of death for children in Australia - yet much of the media continues to focus on the impact of violence on adults. Children deserve their own inquiry and funding to cease the violence against them. These deaths could all be prevented.”

“Intimate partner violence impacts children deeply. Child sexual, physical, and emotional abuse often coexist alongside a parent’s use of intimate partner violence. Even where these direct forms of abuse do not occur, children are experiencing the acute and chronic impacts of living in a home where a parent use violence and abuse. It is crucial that the government, the service system, and the broader community recognise children and young people not just as extensions of their parents or caregivers, or ‘secondary victims’ of family violence, but as victim-survivors in their own right. The focus has traditionally been on the parents. In the middle are these children, whose danger and damage are often overlooked. When we know what to look for and how to help mitigate the threat of violence, we can succeed together in saving lives.”

What Action Can I Take? ANROWS fact sheet suggests:

• Recognise children as domestic and family violence victims in their own right and centre them in responses, including those focused on intimate partner violence.
• See any risk of intimate partner violence towards women as a risk of violence towards their children.
• Promote community-wide education to acknowledge the effects of domestic and family violence on children and provide actionable guidance for enhancing their safety.
• Focus on the role of fathers and stepfathers in children’s lives. As caregivers, they are critical to the safety and wellbeing of children, and they need the skills and supports to thrive in that role.
• Invest in integrated, holistic, and multi-agency approaches when responding to families experiencing the complex cooccurrence of DFV alongside, for example, alcohol and other drug use and mental health issues.
• Identify and address the obstacles families encounter in accessing services – ensuring they are tailored to meet diverse cultural, linguistic, location, family and disability requirements – and clarify the eligibility criteria for service acceptance.
• Business as usual cannot continue. All governments need to take urgent action to overhaul how they work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Self-determination needs to be the ultimate goal, and this can only be achieved through sharing power and investing in the safety and cultural connections of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

 Jaime Chubb also adds “If you are reading this and you want to help there are things you can do. Starting with reaching out to your friends, colleagues and families and checking they are ok. It’s time to really listen and look for the signs. Listen without judgement. If they do need support, help them contact an organisation like ours who can offer specialised support. Another action we all can play is to stand against the misogynistic influences that are currently teaching our next generation that not all people are equal. The long-term effects of misogynistic behaviour can lead to unhealthy relationship dynamics characterised by power imbalances, lack of respect, and even abusive behaviours. This perpetuates a cycle of violence and control.”

 If you or someone you know needs our help due to family violence, contact the Centre Against Violence team during business hours at the Orange Door on 1800 271 157. If you require immediate support outside of business hours, please call Safe Steps on 1800 015 188. If you or someone you know have been impacted by sexual violence have questions or need support, call our team at the Centre Against Violence on 035722 2203 during business hours, and for after-hours support, call the State-Wide Sexual Assault Crisis Line (SACL) on 1800 806 292. If you are unsafe, call the police on 000.

Learn more here: https://www.anrows.org.au/publication/australian-domestic-and-family-violence-death-review-network-filicides/

*Australian Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Network, & Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. (2024). Australian Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Network data report: Filicides in a domestic and family violence context 2010–2018 (1st ed.; Research report, 06/2024). ANROWS.