SOCIAL

PROBLEMS IN
AUSTRALIA
 Introduction
• Community development refers to the process where agencies and
individuals come together to take an appropriate action on what is
affecting the society (Straza, 2017).
• In practice, community development entails public agencies and
communities working together to improve community services and
the way decisions are made within the community (Straza, 2017).
• This report aims at discussion domestic violence as one of the
current social problems in Australia, with reference to relevant
theories and principles of community development (Straza, 2017).
The report will also propose recommendations that can help to
address this issue at policy and practice level(Straza, 2017).
Social Problem in Australia

• Domestic violence is one of the current social problems in

Australia which need to be addressed (Campo &Tayton, 2015).
• It entails a behavior where one of the partners in an intimate
relationship tries to harm the other partner either physically or
psychologically (Campo & Tayton, 2015).
• According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, approximately
3 million individuals in Australia have been victims of
domestic violence (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare,
2019; Campo & Tayton, 2015) .
• The problem predominantly affects women and children. The
lifelong impacts of this social problem calls for appropriate
measures to enable the community address this social
problem (Campo & Tayton, 2015)
Relevant Theories and Principles

• One of the theories is the feminist theory (Smith, 2017).

• This theory claims that females are considered to vulnerable beings
both socially, politically and economically (Smith, 2017)
• The feminist approach does not rely on the assumption that
domestic violence is influenced by stress, anger, behavioral or
mental problems or substance abuse, rather,it argues that males
perpetrate violence against females as a way of exercising their
power and control over women (Smith, 2017).
• The model focuses on providing help to perpetrators of domestic
violence by helping them to change their perceptions they must
dominate and have control over their spouses.
•
Relevant Theories and Principles cont.…
• The second theory that resonates with this social problem is the
human rights framework.
• This principle argues that domestic violence should not be treated
as a private matter, rather, it should be treated as a violation of
human rights (Sosa, 2017).
• The human rights framework reveals that the main cause of
oppression and violence against females is the unequal power
relations in societal structures (Sosa, 2017).
• This principle strives to solve the issue of domestic violence
through the influence of international human rights law.
•
Recommendations
• First, I recommend that the Australian government should adopt
mandatory reporting requirements for professional groups like health
care givers (Stanley & Humphreys, 2014) .
• Secondly, I recommend that home visitation programs should be
designed for couples living in social setting with high cases of
domestic violence as part of a comprehensive prevention strategy for
domestic violence (Snead, Bennett & Babcock, 2018).
• Lastly, I recommend that communities should offer mental health
and counseling services to its members (Messing et al., 2015).
Mental health problems have significantly been associated with
domestic violence (Snead, Bennett & Babcock, 2018)
 Conclusion
• Domestic violence is one of the serious social problems in
Australia which require well-designed behavioral interventions
to address.
• I recommend that there should be mandatory reporting
requirements for professional groups like health care givers,
home visitation programs should be designed for couples living
in social setting with high cases of domestic violence and
communities should offer mental health and counseling
services to its members.
References
• "Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence in Australia: Continuing The National Story 2019", Child Family Community Australia (Webpage, 2019)
https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/2019/06/06/family-domestic-and-sexual-violence-australia-continuing-national-story-2019
• Campo, M., & Tayton, S. (2015). Domestic and family violence in regional, rural and remote communities. Melbourne, Australia: Australian Institute of
Family Studies. Retrieved from; https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/sites/default/files/publication-
documents/cfca-resource-dv-
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• Owen, S., & Carrington, K. (2015). Domestic violence (DV) service provision and the architecture of rural life: An Australian case study. Journal of rural
studies, 39, 229-238.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270595629_Domestic_violence_DV_service_provision_and_the_architecture_of_rural_life_An_Australian_case_st
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• Roberts, D., Chamberlain, P., & Delfabbro, P. (2015). Women's experiences of the processes associated with the family court of Australia in the context of
domestic violence: A thematic analysis. Psychiatry, psychology and law, 22(4), 599-615. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268368411_Women
%27s_Experiences_of_the_Processes_Associated_with_the_Family_Court_of_Australia_in_the_Context_of_Domestic_Violence_A_Thematic_Analysis
• Snead, A. L., Bennett, V. E., & Babcock, J. C. (2018). Treatments that Work for Intimate Partner Violence: Beyond the Duluth Model. In New Frontiers in
Offender Treatment (pp. 269-285). Springer, Cham.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329010138_Treatments_that_Work_for_Intimate_Partner_Violence_Beyond_the_Duluth_Model_The_Translation_o
f_Evidence-Based_Practices_to_Correctional_Settings
• Sosa, L. (2017). The Human Rights Framework on Violence against Women. In Intersectionality in the Human Rights Legal Framework on Violence against
Women: At the Centre or the Margins? (pp. 43-60). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316771525.003
• Stubbs, J., & Wangmann, J. (2017). Australian perspectives on domestic violence. In Global responses to domestic violence (pp. 167-188). Springer, Cham.
Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318172052_Australian_Perspectives_on_Domestic_Violence.
• Smith, K. (2017). Domestic Violence From a Feminist Perspective - Feminist Philosophy SP17 Class Magazine - Medium. Retrieved October 24, 2019, from
https://medium.com/feminist-philosophy-sp17-class-magazine/domestic-violence-from-a-feminist-perspective-f04412dc6cb8
• Straza, M. (2017). Community Development: What it is, its Importance, and How to Contribute in Your City - Straza Consulting. Retrieved October 21, 2019,
from https://www.consultstraza.com/community-development-what-it-is-its-importance-and-how-to-contribute-in-your-city/
• Stanley, N., & Humphreys, C. (2014). Multi-agency risk assessment and management for children and families experiencing domestic violence. Children and
youth services review, 47, 78-85.