By  Robert Urquhart and Jennifer Doyle 

The devastating effect of domestic and family violence (DFV) on children and young people has been increasingly researched, and its lasting impact acknowledged. Yet, despite the evidence, children and young people continue to be regarded as onlookers who ‘witness’ DFV, rather than as victims who directly experience DFV. Indeed, recognition of children and young people experiencing DFV as victim survivors in their own right and with their own unique needs is long overdue. It is time to recognise children and young people as equal victim survivors with their own safety and support needs, and to establish appropriate DFV support policy and programs which reflect the presence of multiple victims of DFV.  

Sydney: Barnardos Australia, 2022. 116p.

By  Catherine Mackenzie and Tanya Mackay

Violence against women is one of the most pervasive and dangerous ways in which power imbalances between women and men operate in Australian society. Increasing outrage and pressure from the community service and health sectors, plus compelling evidence on the alarming prevalence of violence against women, led to the launch of The National Plan to reduce violence against women and their children 2010-2022 and associated Action Plans. A great deal of media and policy attention has been directed toward both highlighting the unacceptably high incidence of, and finding ways to reduce, violence against women and their children. Disturbingly, almost a decade after the National Plan was launched, surveys of attitudes towards violence against women are not finding a great deal of positive change, particularly among young people. Attitudes that are supportive of violence against women, particularly those of young men, are especially concerning. Young women are the highest risk group of women for being victims of violence. Young people are the leaders of the next generations and it is crucial that this generation’s leaders take immediate action to ensure that the next generation has the support and empowerment to identify and stop violence against women. If this does not happen, it will be a shameful addition to the long list of intergenerational inequities that will result from the inaction of our generation. Australia-wide studies indicate that higher proportions of rural women have experienced intimate partner violence than urban women.

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  However, most research has sought the accounts of women living in urban environments and policy and funding allocation is therefore skewed toward the needs of urban women (Dillon, Hussain & Loxton, 2015). While some studies have investigated rural intimate partner violence from the perspective of service workers (e.g. Wendt, 2010) few have reported on the perspectives of women (for examples, see Campo & Tayton, 2015; Ragusa, 2017). This project addresses this important gap by aiming to understand young country women’s (16-24 years) perceptions and experiences of intimate partner violence to inform Uniting Country SA (UCSA) Youth and Domestic Violence service worker practices. The project also aimed to provide evidence to assist UCSA coordinate their work across internal and external services and with their local communities to actively reduce violence against women in current and future generations. Interviews were conducted with young country women aged 16-24 years and country women who had experienced intimate partner violence when they were aged 16-24 years, to provide data that would meet project aims.  

Adelaide: The Australian Alliance for Social Enterprise and University of South Australia, 2019     41p.

By Sibel Korkmaz 

Swedish studies on intimate partner violence (IPV) among young people are virtually non-existent, and the European research field on this phenomenon has not been specifically overviewed. This thesis aims to review European research on youth IPV, investigate the extent and characteristics of youth IPV victimization in a sample of Swedish high school students, and explore the dynamics of this victimization. The dissertation consists of four sub-studies employing different kinds of methods and using different sets of data. Analyses are underpinned by a rather extensive theoretical framework, permitting an examination of youth IPV from different perspectives and angles. Study I gives an overview of existing European research, pointing out trends and challenges within the field and providing a frame of reference for the Swedish study. One conclusion of this overview is that an intersectional approach is needed when researching violence among youth, and that gender, especially, is a key variable to explore in research on youth IPV. Study II presents IPV prevalence rates in a regional sample of Swedish young people. Drawing upon survey data, the study shows that over half of participating youth reported experiences of some form of IPV, and that girls experience more repeated IPV compared to boys. Furthermore, the study places youth IPV in a physical context, suggesting that it takes place in different arenas, such as the parents’ house, the partner’s house, and at school. Study III uses data consisting of “teller-focused” interviews with 18 IPV victimized youth (aged 17-23) in Sweden, and…..

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  illustrates the dynamics of IPV victimization, establishing it as a social phenomenon and emphasizing the agency of young people in the midst of abusive relationships. It shows varying responses (including a lack of response) from three different actors: parents, school, and young people themselves, all from the young person’s perspective. Overall, the data show that youth-specific factors (e.g. parental dependency, attending school) have a meaningful bearing on both responses and resilience to IPV. Lastly, study IV draws upon data consisting of “teller-focused” interviews with 18 IPV victimized youth (aged 17-23) in Sweden, and shows how young people’s abusive relationships come to an end. It shows that the ending process for youth may be different than for adults, since youth-specific factors create unique barriers (e.g. the desire to be a girlfriend) and bridges (e.g. parental responsibilities) for young people seeking to end abusive relationships. Overall, this dissertation shows that many Swedish youth experience violence within a romantic intimate relationship, and that such violence, many times, is repeated and severe. The results indicate a gendered dimension to youth IPV— compared to boys, girls report more repeated violence and also describe how gendered norms affect their victimization. Moreover, regarding the physical context of youth IPV, the results show that this social problem takes place in arenas where adults dwell and how they can respond. Hence, it is not possible for the adult world to dismiss youth IPV as something undetectable. In sum, this dissertation shows that IPV does happen “when you’re young too.” Thus, it seems apparent that a wide-ranging response is called for: one that involves parents, schools, social workers, and policy makers alike. Only then will youth IPV as a social problem receive the attention it needs and deserves.  

Stockholm: Stockholm University,  2021. 149p.

By Dominiek Coates, Maria Koleth and Lauren Hamilton   

Sexual violence is highly prevalent globally, and rates of reported sexual violence in Australia continue to rise. It can be both a standalone crime and a form of domestic and family violence. Sexual violence can adversely affect the physical and mental health and social wellbeing of victims and survivors, who might require support from legal, medical, counselling and advocacy services. Various specific interventions have been developed over time to support recovery and reduce the impact after sexual violence. Interventions typically fall into two categories: crisis responses delivered in the immediate aftermath of a sexual violence event, often in specialist sexual assault centres or in healthcare settings and comprising specialised medico-legal and counselling services; and post-crisis responses, typically therapeutic interventions implemented as long-term efforts to address psychological and emotional impacts. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the state of the evidence from existing systematic reviews in relation to the effectiveness of crisis and post-crisis interventions for victims and survivors of sexual violence.  

Sydney: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS), 2022. 32p.

By Charlotte Bell and  Dominiek Coates 

To reduce domestic and family violence (DFV) and intimate partner violence (IPV), interventions for perpetrators are critical. There are two key intervention types for perpetrators: behaviour change interventions and legal and policing interventions. The aim of this review study is to provide an overview of the effectiveness evidence as reported by reviews of interventions for perpetrators of DFV and IPV.  

Sydney: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) , 2022. 62p.

By Megan Rose and Dominiek Coates

 Respectful relationships education and bystander interventions in school and tertiary settings seek to promote health and equal relationships and reduce sexual violence and dating violence experienced and perpetrated by young people, in and out of relationships, by equipping them with attitudes, knowledge and skills to confront violence. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the evidence from systematic reviews in relation to the effectiveness of respectful relationships and bystander intervention programs in school and tertiary education settings.   

Sydney: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS)  2021. 34p.

By Erin Carlisle, Christine Coumarelos, Kate Minter and Ben Lohmeyer  

The 2017 National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey (NCAS) found that although young people have a good overall understanding of domestic violence, particularly its physical forms, there were also some “areas of concern” within young people’s understandings. The NCAS raised concerns about young people’s understandings of:

• the non-physical forms of domestic violence, such as financial and technology-facilitated abuse

• the high prevalence of violence against women in the community

• the gendered nature of domestic violence.

To further explore these findings, the current study unpacked how young people define and make sense of domestic violence. In particular, the study examined how young people distinguish domestic violence from other unhealthy relationship behaviours, how common they perceive domestic violence to be and their understanding of the gendered nature of domestic violence.

Sydney:  Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS), 2022. 114p.

By Australian Institute of Health and Welfare

Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major national health and welfare issue that can have lifelong impacts for victims and perpetrators. It affects people of all ages and from all backgrounds, but predominantly affects women and children. The Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Personal Safety Survey estimated that 2.2 million adults have been victims of physical and/or sexual violence from a partner since the age of 15, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men have been sexually harassed, and 1 in 6 women and 1 in 16 men have experienced stalking. In 2017, police recorded 25,000 victims of sexual assault. This report builds on the AIHW’s inaugural Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia 2018 report. It presents new information on vulnerable groups, such as children and young women. It examines elder abuse in the context of family, domestic and sexual violence, and includes new data on telephone and web-based support services, community attitudes, sexual harassment and stalking. It also includes the latest data on homicides, child protection, hospitals and specialist homelessness services.

Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2019. 162p.

By Carmel Hobbs

In this report you will find pieces of stories of strong young people who together share over 60 years of violence and abuse inflicted by a partner they cared about, trusted and often loved. Their voices are prioritised over other data in the report because the voices of young people who have experienced violence and abuse are sorely missing from research, policy and community-based knowledge about this issue. You will see their voices amplified by the professionals who participated in this project. These workers represent a range of government and non-government services who have direct contact with young people. Teen domestic violence and abuse is reaching epidemic proportions in Tasmania and nationally. Statistical evidence of this is also included in the report, further demonstrating the magnitude of this issue.  

Hobart Tasmania: Social Action and Research Centre, Anglicare, 2022. 168p.

By Masayuki Sakamoto

Africaʼ s elephants continue to be poached for their ivory tusks. To combat the poaching crisis, and to support the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)ʼ s 1990 ban on international commercial ivory trade, nations and jurisdictions around the world have taken steps to close their domestic markets for ivory. By closing the market for ivory, governments send a strong signal that the trade in ivory and killing of elephants is unacceptable, streamline enforcement efforts by eliminating legal cover for illegal ivory, and support ivory demand reduction efforts. Nevertheless, one major consumer market remains open ‒ Japan. With an ivory stockpile of 244 tonnes, Japanʼ s domestic market is the worldʼ s largest and most significant legalized ivory market. Evidence indicates its ivory trade controls are porous, enabling the trade in illegal ivory and illegal ivory exports. At least 76 seizures of ivory from Japan were made between 2018 and 2020, mostly in China by Chinese authorities. To further examine illegal ivory export from Japan to China, the Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund (JTEF) turned to court cases in China, which could include more details than seizure data. JTEF identified court cases on illegal export of ivory from Japan into China, and analyzed them in order to contribute to evidence-based decision-making, constructive dialogue, and decisive outcomes from the Parties at the 19th Conference of the Parties (CoP19) to CITES,. In all, 49 public court decisions on 45 different cases between 2010 and 2019, published by the Government of China, were…..

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  identified and analyzed. Fifteen out of 45 cases occurred in 2018 and 2019, after Chinaʼ s domestic ivory market closure went into effect. In addition to summarizing basic information about each case, any information pertaining to the role of Japanʼ s legal market in illegal ivory export and information regarding the defining characteristics of transnational organized crime was assessed.  

Tokyo: Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund (JTEF) 2022. 88p.

By The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

West and Central Africa continues to raise concerns among Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a significant hub for global wildlife trafficking. This briefing highlights the parallel responsibilities and shortcomings of both West and Central Africa and South-East Asia in implementing their commitments under CITES and outlines what needs to happen to tackle transnational wildlife crime more effectively. At SC74, EIA raised these concerns in our briefing document Joint Responsibilities: The Nigeria- Vietnam wildlife trafficking corridor and compliance with CITES, which similarly highlighted the need for urgent action.

London; Washington, DC: EIA, 2022. 12p.

By Environmental Investigation Agency

In 2017, rhino poaching started to increase in Botswana as poachers began killing rhinos in the vast Okavango Delta region in the northwest of the country. EIA’s situational analysis highlights some of the key issues facing Botswana’s conservation sector and contains EIA’s recommendations for actions to be taken by Botswana and CITES CoP19.

London; Washington, DC: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), 2022. 11p.

By Forest Trends

On February 1st, 2021, the military launched a coup d'état against the newly re-elected government of Myanmar. Over the past year, the military junta has been accused of massive human rights violations, arresting more than 12,000 people, killing more than 1,500, and instigating a growing humanitarian crisis that has seen more than 400,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) (AAPP Burma 2022, UN News 2022). Compounding the impact of COVID-19, the military’s violence has destroyed Myanmar’s economy. Furthermore, the majority of society has engaged in a predominately non-violent Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), including a boycott of companies with military links. Deprived of revenue, the junta has increasingly relied on revenue from natural resources to support their operations and their ongoing campaign to retain power, which has included escalation of armed conflict and attacks on civilians. While much international focus has been given to the revenues generated by the oil, gas, and mining sectors, the forest sector has in the past been an important source of revenue for Myanmar’s governments and entities associated with the military. This report reviews the timber sector’s role in the revenue now being generated for the current military regime.  

Washington, DC: Forest Trends, 2022. 42p.

By The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

In February 2021, Myanmar’s democratically elected ruling party, the National League for Democracy, was overthrown by the Myanmar military in a coup d’état. In the months since the coup, the people of Myanmar (formerly Burma) have been subjected to a continued escalation of conflict and brutal human rights atrocities. To maintain its illegal regime and crush dissent, the military is dependent on a continual flow of hard currency. As for the previous regimes, natural resources provide a source of profit for the military, whereby the forests of Myanmar are defined by their monetary value and have been part of the military and economic elites’ profits and, in some cases, survival for decades.

London; Washington, DC: EIA, 2022. 16p.

By Charles Victor Barber, Karen Winfield, and Rachael Petersen 

Nature crime1 occurs when individuals or criminal networks illegally exploit natural ecosystems to extract natural resources. Nature crimes include illegal logging, illegal mining, illegal fishing, illegal wildlife trade,2 and the illegal conversion of forests and wetlands for agriculture or other uses. These crimes are often associated with financial crime of various types, as well as labor and human violations and official corruption. The prevalence of nature crime and associated corruption and criminal behavior constitutes a serious barrier to progress in tackling climate change, slowing biodiversity loss, reducing the risk of future zoonotic pandemics, and achieving sustainable, peaceful, and equitable human development. The scale of the nature crime economy is immense. It is variably estimated to be the third- or fourth-largest illicit economy in the world (after drug trafficking and trade in counterfeit goods) with an annual value of as much as $281 billion, but this figure underestimates its indirect impacts: governments are deprived annually of some $7-12 billion in timber and fisheries revenues, while the indirect costs of undermining ecosystem services may be as high as $1-2 trillion per year (World Bank 2019a).  

San Francisco: Climate and Forests 2030, 2021. 30p.

By Emerson Y. Sy

The illegal wildlife trade is one of the most lucrative transnational crimes in the world. Numerous wildlife are threatened with extinction due to overexploitation for food, medicine, and as pets. Although it is difficult to quantify the illegal wildlife trade due to its mostly clandestine nature, analyzing seizure data can indicate its magnitude. Wildlife seizure records from the DENR, PCSDS, and other sources for the period 2010–2019 were collated and analyzed to identify species threatened by the illegal wildlife trade, hotspots, and trafficking routes. The 10-year seizure dataset involved 511 incidents, 283 taxa, and 44,647 wildlife individuals. Reptiles (n = 16,237 individuals) and birds (n = 6,042) were the top seized live wildlife, while pangolin scales (>2,100 kg) had the most quantity and seizure frequency among derivatives. Intervention policies on the key source, transit, and destination locations were proposed to address illegal wildlife trade in the country.

Manila: USAID Philippines, 2021. 56p.

By Alastair MacBeath, Simone Haysom, Emerson Sy

In recent years, several studies have raised alarm at the illicit trade pressure on the Philippines’ endemic pangolin species – the Palawan pangolin. Between 2018 and 2019, seizures of Palawan pangolins increased more than ninefold compared with the previous 18 years.1 Around 20 live pangolins have been ‘retrieved’ in and around Metro Manila, a several hundred kilometres boat ride away from their natural habitat, the province of Palawan – also known as the Philippines’ ‘last ecological frontier’. Recent studies have estimated that as many as 26 784 pangolins may be illegally hunted on the islands of Palawan per year,2 with much of the meat and most of the scales making their way to buyers based either in Manila or abroad, making this a national problem driven by international demand. In light of these indications of burgeoning illegal trade, this report was undertaken with three aims in mind: 1) to understand the broader context of drivers and factors that shape pangolin trafficking dynamics; 2) to shed light on the nature of networks driving the trade; and 3) to identify challenges and gaps in the state response. It is intended to complement work undertaken under the rubric of a broader project by the Zoological Society of London and six other organizations, namely 'Combating Palawan pangolin trafficking: Empowering community-based protection and proactive enforcement', funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The primary components of this project focus on community-based responses to illegal hunting, but also seek to improve…..

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  the government response at various levels of the trade chain. The report sets out how trafficking of the Palawan pangolin has grown over the last two decades, with what appears to be a sharp acceleration from around 2016. This rise has been linked both to shifts in the broader illicit economy in the Philippines, burgeoning links between pangolin consumer populations and the country, and global shifts in the patterns of illicit trade. We also describe the challenges facing the Filipino government agencies charged with responding to wildlife trafficking, which have created gaps in the state response that trafficking networks have profited from.  

Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2022. 46p.

By Masayuki Sakamoto

Africa’s elephants continue to be in crisis due to poaching for trading their ivory, and domestic markets for ivory have been closing worldwide to combat this crisis. The 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP18) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) adopted a decision, aimed at promoting the implementation of the recommendation on the closure of domestic ivory markets included in Resolution Conf.10.10 amended at CoP17, which states “the Parties that have not closed their domestic markets for commercial trade in raw and worked ivory are requested to report to the Secretariat for consideration by the Standing Committee to CITES at its 73rd and 74th meetings on what measures they are taking to ensure that their domestic ivory markets are not contributing to poaching or illegal trade.” The Government of Japan (GoJ) submitted reports under the CITES Decision and insisted that “Japan has been implementing stringent measures to ensure that its domestic ivory market is not contributing to poaching or illegal trade”. Most importantly, Japan demonstrates a new business registration requiring ivory dealers to fulfill all requirements for registration and renew their registration every five years; a 100%-registration-mandate on whole tusks when they renew or initially receive their business registrations; maintenance of inventory data including transaction records and traceability information records for cut pieces; and, increased scrutiny of the registration of whole tusks by requiring the result of radiocarbon dating…..

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  However, GoJ’s claims of stringent market controls are flawed and unjustified. Firstly, according to the GoJ’s report, raw and worked ivory dealers must be registered. In this case, they must fulfill all requirements for registration, which requires renewal every five years. But, our analysis of the GoJ’s examination of eligibility of the business registration renewal indicates that businesses are being registered via a token examination with a lack of scrutiny by the competent authorities. Specifically, the reality of the examination of applications for business registration is that the competent authority has left it solely to the authorized private organization, even for the applications by kingpin dealers with track records of illegal trade engagement. Thus, it is obvious that the examination of business registration and renewal is in name only, and it has not exerted any effect on excluding problematic dealers. Secondly, GoJ insists ivory dealers must register all (whole) tusks in their possession when they renew or initially receive their business registrations. This approach is a countermeasure to the problem of unregulated unregistered whole tusks owned by the businesses; the Japanese domestic law requires whole tusks to be registered prior to transactions, however, exempts them from being registered as far as the owner does not intend to transfer them (even the case of tusks stocked by dealers for being consumed as raw material). Thus, it should be questioned whether the 100%-registration-mandate on whole tusks realized the goal of regulating the stockpile of registered dealers through the whole tusk registration or not. Our analysis indicates that registered dealers successfully evaded this requirement by cutting their whole tusks into pieces and then processing them into hanko beforehand. 

Japan: Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund, 2022. 24p.

By Len Engel, Erin Farley, and John Tilley

The drug overdose epidemic that swept through the United States over the past decade commanded the attention of public health providers, researchers, criminal justice practitioners, and policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels. Because of its severity and associated mortality rates, the epidemic became a priority among leaders across multiple sectors. As collaboration across these sectors matured, researchers and practitioners began to develop evidence-informed strategies to slow the spread of the epidemic. But the progress that was underway appears to have abruptly stopped when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and fundamentally altered many aspects of American life.

Washington, DC: Council on Criminal Justice, 2020. 11p.

By Emily Leslie and Riley Wilson

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has pushed people to spend more time at home, amidst increased uncertainty and soaring unemployment rates. The best available evidence tells us that these conditions have the potential to increase domestic violence (Lindo et al., 2018; Card and Dahl, 2011). News outlets around the world reported increased reports of domestic violence as the pandemic spread globally during Spring 2020. We use data on calls for service to the police from 14 large American cities to compare domestic violence calls before and after the pandemic began in the United States, relative to trends during the same period in 2019. The pandemic led to a 7.5% increase in calls for service during March, April, and May. The biggest increase came during the first five weeks after widespread social distancing began, when domestic violence calls were up 9.7%. State-mandated stay-at-home orders and school closures came later, suggesting the increase was not only a response to shelter-in-place policies. The increase came across a broad range of demographic and socioeconomic groups, and includes households without a recent history of domestic violence calls.'  

Washington, DC: Council on Criminal Justice, 2020. 8p.