| Aboriginal | While acknowledging the diversity of Aboriginal people in Australia, in this document the term ‘Aboriginal’ has been used to refer to all people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descent. |
| Affected family member | A person who has experienced family violence, also known as a victim survivor. The term is predominantly used in police and court proceedings to refer to the person to be protected by a family violence intervention order. |
| Applicant | A person who applies for a family violence intervention order. This can be a Victoria Police member applying on behalf of the affected family member. |
| Central Information Point | Provides timely information to support effective risk assessment and management of perpetrators of family violence. Enabled by the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme, it brings together representatives from Court Services Victoria, Victoria Police, Corrections Victoria and the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to consolidate critical information about perpetrators of family violence into a single report. Reports can currently be requested by The Orange Door network and some Risk Assessment and Management Panels. |
| Collusion | Intentional or unintentional collaboration with a perpetrator by reinforcing, excusing, minimising or denying a perpetrator’s violence towards family members and/or the extent or impact of that violence. Collusion can take many forms (verbal and nonverbal). It can be conscious or unconscious and it includes any action that has the effect of reinforcing the perpetrator’s violence/supportive narratives as well as their narratives about systems and services. |
| Community services | Local support services for individuals and/or families that may include providing information, advice, practical help, financial help or a combination of services. Community services often address the needs of diverse groups. |
| Court Mandated Counselling Order Program |
An order that requires a respondent to attend a counselling program to encourage behaviour change. Counselling orders can be made by magistrates at Specialist Family Violence Courts. If a respondent does not comply with a counselling order they can be charged with a criminal offence. |
| Diverse groups | Groups that may have different experiences of family violence and different needs, and who may be experiencing added barriers to seeking help and receiving support due to their particular background or personal characteristics. These include children and young people, older people, Aboriginal people, people within culturally diverse communities, people within the LGBTIQ+ community, people living in rural, regional and remote communities, people with a disability, people experiencing mental health issues, male victims, women prisoners and women who work in the sex industry. |
| Expert Advisory Committee on Perpetrator Interventions (EACPI) |
Group established in November 2016 as a time-limited committee to advise government on the family violence perpetrator interventions that should be available in Victoria to ensure the safety of women and children. Its report was delivered to government in October 2018 and released publicly in October 2019. It made 22 recommendations, ideally to be implemented within two years. |
| Family Safety Victoria | A Division of the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (comprising some portfolio responsibilities of the former Department of Health and Human Services) with dedicated responsibility for delivering key elements of family violence reform. This includes the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme, The Orange Door network and the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management reforms. |
| Family violence | Any behaviour that occurs in family, domestic or intimate relationships that is physically or sexually abusive; emotionally or psychologically abusive; economically abusive; threatening or coercive; or is in any other way controlling that causes a person to live in fear for their safety or wellbeing or that of another person. In relation to children, family violence is also defined as behaviour by any person that causes a child to hear or witness or otherwise be exposed to the effects of the above behaviour. This definition includes violence within a broader family context such as extended families, kinship networks and communities. |
| Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme | Established in legislation, the scheme enables sharing of information between authorised organisations to support the assessment and management of family violence risk. |
| Family violence intervention order (FVIO) | A court-issued order to protect people from further family violence. |
| Intersectionality | Refers to the structural inequality and discrimination experienced by different individuals and communities, and the impact of these creating barriers to service access and further marginalisation. Intersectionality is the complex, cumulative way in which the effects of multiple forms of identity-based structural inequality and discrimination (such as racism, sexism, ableism and classism) combine, overlap or intersect, in the experiences of individuals or communities. These aspects of identity can include gender, ethnicity and cultural background, language, socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, geographic location or visa status. |
| Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) Framework | A framework to help identify, assess and manage family violence risk. A range of organisations are required by law, under the Family Violence Protection Act 2008, to align their practices and policies with MARAM, which replaced the former common risk assessment framework or ‘CRAF’. The framework is supported by operational practice guidance and risk identification, assessment and management tools. |
| Family Violence Report | Risk assessment and management tool completed by Victorian police officers after every family violence incident. It is informed by the officer’s observations and includes an assessment of the severity of risk based on responses from all parties involved. It automates referrals to The Orange Door, community agencies and/or Child Protection, where required. Also known as an ‘L17’. |
| Keeping perpetrators in view | Services or agencies having oversight of a perpetrator to minimise risk of future harm. |
| LGBTIQ+ | An inclusive initialism that refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender / gender diverse, intersex and queer people. |
| MARAM | See Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management Framework. |
| Men’s behaviour change programs | A psycho-educational group-based program that works with perpetrators to address their use of family violence. |
| Perpetrator | A person who uses, or has used, family violence. Acknowledging that misidentification can occur, perpetrator means ‘the predominant aggressor’ in cases where the victim survivor (the person most in need of protection) fights back. |
| Perpetrator accountability | Perpetrators being kept in view and facing appropriate and consistent responses to their conduct. |
| Person using violence | An alternative term for ‘perpetrator’ preferred by some communities and service providers. It is perceived as more conducive to client engagement and the potential for behaviour change. |
| Perpetrator case management program | A collaborative support service for perpetrators of family violence to address the barriers to engaging in the change process. Case managers assess risk, develop case plans and goals, monitor progress and provide a connection to a range of required services, based on individual needs. |
| Risk Assessment and Management Panels | Formally and regularly convened meetings of key agencies and organisations in local service areas that manage the highest risk family violence cases. The panels develop coordinated action plans to address serious and imminent threats to an individual’s life, health, safety or welfare. There are 18 panels operating across Victoria. |
| Respondent | A term used by police and the courts to describe the alleged family violence perpetrator. |
| Royal Commission into Family Violence | Established in 2015, the Royal Commission was tasked with finding ways to prevent family violence, improve support for victim survivors and hold perpetrators to account. The Royal Commission provided its report, which included 227 recommendations, to the Victorian Government on 29 March 2016. |
| Safe Steps | A 24/7 statewide specialist support service for victims of family violence. Services include information and referral, crisis response, specialist family violence risk assessment, Safety planning, and access to supported crisis accommodation. |
| Specialist Family Violence Court | Specialist courts that provide enhanced safety features including separate entrances for victim survivors and remote hearing facilities. Specialist Family Violence Courts are staffed by specially trained magistrates and court staff, partner agencies and other court-based services to deliver a coordinated response. Magistrates at Specialist Family Violence Courts have powers to mandate counselling orders for perpetrators. |
| The Orange Door | The Orange Door network is for adults, children and young people who are at risk of experiencing or have experienced family violence, and for families who need support with the development and wellbeing needs of their children and young people. It assesses and responds to a person’s needs and risk, and connects people to family violence services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), family services and services for perpetrators (collectively referred to as 'core' services). The Orange Door network also connects people to a broader range of services such as mental health or housing support. The Orange Door also provides services for perpetrators of family violence, engaging to hold them accountable for their choice to use family violence and provide services to assist them to address their use of violence. |
| Violence against women | Any act of gender-based violence that causes or could cause physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of harm or coercion, in public or in private life. This definition encompasses all forms of violence that women experience (including physical, sexual, emotional, cultural/spiritual, financial, and others) that are gender-based.** |
** Definition from Department of Premier and Cabinet (2017): Free From Violence: Victoria’s Strategy to Prevent Family Violence and all Forms of Violence Against Women.
Updated