By Gemma Hamilton, Dirkje Gerryts, Brianna Chesser

The Alexis Family Violence Response Model (Alexis-FVRM) is a coordinated police and social services response to recidivist family violence in Victoria. Following the success of the pilot program, the Alexis-FVRM was expanded to include multiple regions in the South-Eastern metropolitan corridor of Melbourne and is currently active across multiple police divisions.

The evaluation aimed to explore the effectiveness of the Alexis-FVRM since the rollout to other police divisions across Victoria. It also sought to provide an overview of the type of support provided by the Alexis-FVRM, and an exploration of engagement rates and modes of engaging victim-survivors and respondents.

Overall, the Alexis-FVRM provided a range of support to a diverse pool of respondents and victim-survivors in several police divisions across Victoria. The evaluation results are largely positive regarding the efficacy of the Alexis-FVRM. The evaluation results indicate that the Alexis-FVRM helped to reduce the risk of family violence for many of the respondents and affected family members.

Key findings

78% of victim-survivor participants reported that the Alexis-FVRM helped to reduce family violence in their lives.

The risk levels for respondents significantly reduced following Alexis-FVRM intervention. 66% had lower risk levels at case closure compared to their initial risk ratings.

Alexis-FVRM practitioners reported successful contact with respondents in 83% of cases, with assertive outreach used in 85% of cases.

For over a third of respondents (36%), their case was closed because their needs had been met by the Alexis-FVRM.

Melbourne: RMIT University 2025. 26p.

By CSE Aware

  The United Nations and other experts have highlighted that women with learning disabilities (LDs) are at higher risk of experiencing gender-based violence (GBV) because of the lifelong isolation, dependency and oppression they often they experience. These inequalities also put them at risk of commercial sexual exploitation (CSE). Despite global recognition of these impacts, in Scotland to date there is very limited evidence and information on how commercial sexual exploitation affects women with learning disabilities. In the recent report Unequal, Unheard, Unjust: But not Hidden Anymore,the Scottish Commission forPeoplewithLearningDisabilities (SCLD) highlighted SEason of the types of GBV women with learning disabilities experienced. What’s more, this groundbreaking report specifically recommended that the Scottish Government “commission national research examining the commercial sexual exploitation of women with learning disabilities in Scotland,” noting the lack of documented information. While some information does exist about learning disabled women’s experiences of selling or exchanging sex, it is mostly anecdotal and has not been documented nor analysed to truly understand the effects on this population and the effectiveness of, andgaps in, service responses.The present report was born from therecognition that there is a significant knowledge gap on the issue of CSE and its intersection with this particularly vulnerable group of women. Whilst the present report is not the much needed full-scale research which SCLD and ourselves are calling for (see recommendations), it does provide initial findings and recommendations from the exploratory researchweconductedoverthecourseofthreemonths. The Aims Of This research were to: Collect and document evidence of learningisabledwomen’sexperiencesof sellingorexchangingsex. Understandthedynamicsofwomen’s involvement and their specific needs. Explore service responses and challenges and opportunities when addressing women's experiences and needs. Produce Initial Recommendations thattheScottishGovernment and organisations canuseas abasis to design service and policy responses that meet theneeds women with LDs impacted byCSE.

Glasgow: CSE, 3035. 32p.

By Greg Hannah, Caroline Harper, Heather James and Grace Whitehead, under the direction of Oliver Lodge.

 Definitions of the term ‘violence against women and girls’ (VAWG) vary, but the government defines it as “acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and girls”. It covers crimes including rape and other sexual offences, stalking, domestic abuse, ‘honour’-based abuse (including female genital mutilation, forced marriage and ‘honour’ killings), ‘revenge porn’ and ‘upskirting’.  Over one in four women are estimated to be victims of sexual assault or attempted assault in their lifetime, and one in 12 women are victims of VAWG each year, although the actual number is likely to be much higher. The National Police Chiefs’ Council reported that, in 2022-23, 20% of all police-recorded crime was related to violence against women and girls. The victim was female in 86% of all police-recorded sexual offences in the year to March 2022. In the year ending December 2023, over 97% (23,723) of people convicted of sexual offences were male, and crimes are often committed by someone known to the victim. 3 Violence against women and girls can have long-term impacts on victims, affecting them physically, mentally, socially and financially. It is estimated that the economic and social cost of domestic abuse could be as high as £84 billion. The Home Office last estimated the societal cost of rape cases in 2018, based on 2015-16 data, when it estimated that the 122,000 rape cases reported that year could have a societal cost of around £4.8 billion.  In 2021, the then government introduced its strategy, “Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls” (the VAWG Strategy), which outlined a series of commitments focused on: • prevention – to deliver long-term cultural and societal change; • supporting victims – to increase support for victims and survivors including providing support services that are run by and for the communities they serve; • pursuing perpetrators – to transform the criminal justice response to ensure all perpetrators of offences against women are brought to justice; and • building a stronger system – working with multiple government departments to develop a joined-up system across health, justice, law enforcement, housing, social care and education. In 2021, the Domestic Abuse Act received Royal Assent, and in 2022 the Home Office published a separate “Tackling Domestic Abuse” Plan (the Domestic Abuse Plan)   The Home Office leads on the government’s response to tackling VAWG, including domestic abuse. However, achieving progress requires the commitment of multiple government departments. There are important roles for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Ministry of Justice and other parts of the criminal justice system, the Department for Education and NHS England in, for example, identifying victims and supporting them to feel safe, educating young people in safe relationships and ensuring justice through the courts and prison systems.  The new government has committed to halve the prevalence of VAWG within a decade as part of its ‘mission’ to make streets safer. The Home Office will lead this mission and is developing a new VAWG strategy. In this report, we have examined the Home Office’s leadership of the 2021 “Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls” Strategy (the VAWG Strategy) and the 2022 “Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan” (the Domestic Abuse Plan), to identify lessons to support the delivery of the government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls. Key Findings Progress against the 2021 strategy  Violence against women and girls is a serious and growing problem. In 2023-24 the prevalence of sexual assault against women aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales (the percentage of the population estimated to have suffered a sexual assault each year) was higher than in 2009-10 (4.3% and 3.4% respectively). Conversely, the prevalence of domestic abuse against women was lower (9.2% and 7.4% respectively). Over the same period incidents of rape and sexual assault against women and girls recorded by police have increased almost fourfold, from 34,000 to 123,000, although this can in part be explained by improved recording of these crimes. The societal landscape against which these crimes are committed has also become increasingly complex and in recent years online harms (such as revenge porn) have been recognised as crimes in themselves (paragraphs 1.2, 1.4, 1.7 to 1.9 and Figures 1 and 2). 8 To date, the Home Office has not led an effective whole-system response. Successfully addressing the harms caused by VAWG requires the coordinated effort and commitment of many government departments. But the cross-departmental governance in place did not ensure all departments were prioritising the VAWG Strategy’s aims and were pulling in the same direction. The Home Office created a dedicated team to lead the VAWG Strategy, but it has found it challenging to get buy-in from other government departments. The Home Office’s Officials’ oversight group, established to progress the Strategy, did not meet until a year after the VAWG Strategy’s launch. The Home Office has since revised its governance, which has been welcomed by some departments. While strong ministerial support can encourage cross-government working, the Ministerial oversight group for the VAWG Strategy only met four times in three years (paragraphs 1.10, 3.4 to 3.8). 9 The Home Office has not had a full understanding of the scale of resources committed to tackling VAWG across government, limiting its ability to prioritise efforts. As the lead department for tackling VAWG, the Home Office needs to understand the capacity and resources other bodies are committing to the VAWG Strategy so it can effectively coordinate and oversee their work. The Home Office has not centrally coordinated funding for VAWG across government and, in contrast with the 2021 illegal drugs strategy, the relevant departments did not prepare a joint spending review bid during the period of implementing the VAWG Strategy. Our analysis suggests other government departments spent at least £979 million between 2021-22 and 2023-24. The Home Office has historically underspent its own budget allocated to the VAWG Strategy, by an average of 15% between 2021-22 and 2023-24 (paragraphs 2.5 to 2.9 and Figure 7).  The lack of a consistent definition for VAWG across public bodies and their approaches to measuring the scale of VAWG crimes has made it difficult to measure progress in a consistent way. The Home Office’s definition of VAWG includes all victims, across all ages and genders, whereas police forces only include women and girls. The Home Office told us it uses estimates from the Crime Survey for England and Wales to measure prevalence, which does not include children under the age of 16, even though they are included in the Strategy. The Home Office does not consider police-recorded crime an accurate indicator of the prevalence of VAWG, since it is likely to under-report crimes: the police only record one crime per victim/perpetrator relationship, even where multiple VAWG crimes are committed. This, in addition to gaps in data for some VAWG crime types such as ‘honour’-based abuse, limits the data available to measure progress. A consistent definition and approach to measuring the scale of VAWG crimes across all of government and policing would help to create a better shared understanding of the scale of the challenge the government is trying to address (paragraphs 3.16 to 3.21 and Figure 12).  

London: National Audit Office, 2025. 69p.

By Thorn in partnership with Burson Insights, Data & Intelligence 

Since 2019, Thorn has focused on amplifying youth voices to better understand their digital lives, with particular attention to how they encounter and navigate technologyfacilitated forms of sexual abuse and exploitation. Previous youth-centered research has explored topics such as child sexual abuse material (CSAM)1 —including that which is self-generated (“SG-CSAM”)—nonconsensual resharing, online grooming, and the barriers young people face in disclosing or reporting negative experiences. Thorn’s Emerging Threats to Young People research series aims to examine emergent online risks to better understand how current technologies create and/or exacerbate child safety vulnerabilities and identify areas where solutions are needed. This report, the first in the series, sheds light specifically on young people’s perceptions of and experiences with deepfake nudes. Future reports in this initiative will address other pressing issues, including sextortion and online solicitations. Drawing on responses from a survey of 1,200 young people aged 13-20, this report explores their awareness of deepfake nudes, lived experiences with them, and their involvement in creating such content. Three key findings emerged from this researc.  1. Young people overwhelmingly recognize deepfake nudes as a form of technology-facilitated abuse that harms the person depicted. Eighty-four percent of those surveyed believe that deepfake nudes cause harm, attributing this largely to the emotional and psychological impacts on victims, the potential for reputational damage, and the increasingly photorealistic quality of the imagery, which leads viewers to perceive—and consume—it as authentic. 2. Deepfake nudes already represent real experiences that young people have to navigate. Not only are many young people familiar with the concept, but a significant number report personal connections to this harm—either knowing someone targeted or experiencing it themselves. Forty-one percent of young people surveyed indicated they had heard the term “deepfake nudes,” including 1 in 3 (31%) teens. Additionally, among teens, 1 in 10 (10%) reported personally knowing someone who had deepfake nude imagery created of them, and 1 in 17 (6%) disclosed having been a direct victim of this form of abuse. 3. Among the limited sample of young people who admit to creating deepfake nudes of others, they describe easy access to deepfake technologies. Creators described access to the technologies through their devices’ app stores and accessibility via general search engines and social media 

El Segundo, CA  Thorn, 2025. 32p.

By Anne Summers, Thomas Shortridge, Kristen Sobeck

Whichever way you look at it, many women are paying a huge economic price in addition to the physical, emotional and psychological damage done to them by domestic violence. It is no accident that employment and education – the pathway to better employment – are targeted by perpetrators as a prime means of depleting or even destroying women’s ability to be financially self-sufficient.

The data used in this report enables the authors, for the first time, to quantify the economic impact of domestic violence on Australian women. The report sets out in detail how large numbers of women have not attained a degree, have left the labour force, have reduced their working hours, or have taken time off work– all because of domestic violence.

The authors identify changes that need to be made across the following areas: paid domestic violence leave policie tthe operation of paid domestic violence leave multiple avenues of support are needed support to (re-)enter employment the Leaving Violence Program.

Sydney: University of Technology Sydney 2025. 52p.

By European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, FRA; European Institute for Gender Equality

  This report presents, for the first time, selected key results of the EU gender-based violence survey based on data from all 27 Member States. Across the EU-27, 114 023 women were interviewed about their experiences. The report focuses on the prevalence of various forms of violence against women in the EU. The EU gender-based violence survey also collected specific data about women’s experiences of violence, including on the consequences of violence and contacts with different services that provide assistance to victims, as survivors of violence. Data on both the prevalence of violence and the consequences of violence will be analysed in detail in the survey report that Eurostat, FRA and EIGE will publish in 2025. In this report, the results are presented in four chapters, starting with the overall prevalence of physical violence or threats and/or sexual violence by any perpetrator. This is followed by two chapters that focus on violence perpetrated by women’s intimate partners and by other people (non-partners). The fourth chapter examines women’s experiences of sexual harassment at work. Finally, the report includes an annex that summarises the survey data collection methodology  

Vienna: FRA 2024. 48p.

By Daniel Tolstrup, Sarah T. Roberts, Ruth Deya, George Wanje, Juma Shafi, Jocelyn R. James, Geetanjali Chander, R. Scott McClelland, Susan M. Graham

Aim

Unhealthy alcohol use is often correlated with experiences of intimate partner violence (IPV). We investigated how different types of IPV (sexual, physical, emotional, and financial) were associated with unhealthy alcohol use among women engaged in sex work in Mombasa, Kenya.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 283 HIV-negative women who engaged in sex work recruited from an ongoing cohort study. Modified Poisson analysis was used to assess associations between recent (≤ 12 months) or past (> 12 months) experiences of sexual, physical, emotional, or financial IPV and unhealthy alcohol use defined as an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test score ≥ 8.

Results

Among 283 participants, 34.6 % had unhealthy alcohol use. Physical (62.5 %), emotional (60.4 %), and financial (66.4 %) IPV occurred more frequently than sexual IPV (43.8 %). Adjusted risk ratios (ARR) for relationships between physical and financial IPV and unhealthy alcohol use were elevated but not statistically significant. Compared to participants who had not experienced sexual IPV, those who had experienced recent or past sexual IPV had an increased risk of unhealthy alcohol use (ARR 1.56, 95 % confidence interval [1.09, 2.23] and ARR 1.48, 95 % confidence interval [0.97, 2.25], respectively).

Conclusion

Sexual IPV was associated with unhealthy alcohol use among Kenyan women who engage in sex work. Physical, emotional, and financial IPV were also highly prevalent in the study population, though not associated with unhealthy alcohol use. These findings affirm the potential benefit of providing integrated IPV and alcohol treatment services focused on recovery after experiences of IPV for this vulnerable population.

Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, Volume 14, March 2025, 7p.

By Cintya Lanchimba, Juan Pablo Díaz-Sánchez and Franklin Velasco

Introduction: This econometric analysis investigates the nexus between household factors and domestic violence. By considering diverse variables encompassing mood, depression, health consciousness, social media engagement, household chores, density, and religious affiliation, the study aims to comprehend the underlying dynamics influencing domestic violence. Methods: Employing econometric techniques, this study examined a range of household-related variables for their potential associations with levels of violence within households. Data on mood, depression, health consciousness, social media usage, household chores, density, and religious affiliation were collected and subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. Results: The findings of this study unveil notable relationships between the aforementioned variables and levels of violence within households. Positive mood emerges as a mitigating factor, displaying a negative correlation with violence. Conversely, depression positively correlates with violence, indicating an elevated propensity for conflict. Increased health consciousness is linked with diminished violence, while engagement with social media demonstrates a moderating influence. Reduction in the time allocated to household chores corresponds with lower violence levels. Household density, however, exhibits a positive association with violence. The effects of religious affiliation on violence manifest diversely, contingent upon household position and gender. Discussion: The outcomes of this research offer critical insights for policymakers and practitioners working on formulating strategies for preventing and intervening in instances of domestic violence. The findings emphasize the importance of considering various household factors when designing effective interventions. Strategies to bolster positive mood, alleviate depression, encourage health consciousness, and regulate social media use could potentially contribute to reducing domestic violence. Additionally, the nuanced role of religious affiliation underscores the need for tailored approaches based on household dynamics, positioning, and gender.

Front. Psychiatry, 2023, 13p.

By The Australian Law Reform Commission

Sexual violence is one of the most common and serious harms confronting Australia today. When it comes to sexual violence and the justice system there are significant challenges. 9 out of 10 women who have experienced sexual violence do not report to the police. Where there is engagement with the justice system, between 75–85% of reports to police do not proceed to charge. Even fewer reports proceed to court. Once in court, many people report experiencing the justice system as re-traumatising.

This report examines a range of issues with the aim of strengthening and harmonising sexual assault and consent laws in Australia and considers ways to promote just outcomes for people who have experienced sexual violence, including minimising retraumatisation.

The report's 64 recommendations seek to ensure that more people who have experienced sexual violence can access the justice system, meaningfully engage with it and reach a just outcome.

Key findings

Under-engagement with the justice system to be the most significant problem with the justice system’s response to sexual violence.

The justice system is failing to meet the twin goals of access to justice and accountability: it is not supporting those who have experienced sexual violence to engage with the justice system, nor holding those who use sexual violence to account.

Key recommendations

The Australian Government, together with state and territory governments, should fund relevant organisations (including sexual violence services, community legal centres, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, Legal Aid Commissions, and participating legal firms) to provide independent legal services, justice system navigators, and safe places to disclose.

The Australian Government should commission a national inquiry to address the impact of factors such as mandatory sentencing provisions, sentencing discount regimes, and consequences following conviction (such as sex offender registration) on sexual offence matters proceeding to trial rather than resolving via guilty pleas, and measures that may promote early resolution.

The National Judicial College of Australia should be funded to manage and staff an ongoing research team and locate a member of the research team in each of the trial courts to coordinate the building of a shared evidence base.

Flinders Lane, VIC: Australian Law Reform Commission 2025. 72p.

By Dean J. Connolly, Santino Coduri-Fulford c, Katherine Macdonald , Gail GilchristLuke Muschialli

Sexualised drug use (SDU) is a highly prevalent phenomenon of increasing public health significance in communities of men who have sex with men (MSM). This prospectively registered PRISMA-ScR-adherent systematic scoping review examines the current state of knowledge surrounding violence amongst MSM in the context of SDU. A broad search was conducted across four databases, with no restrictions. Studies citing or cited by all database-identified records retained for full-text review were retrieved and screened. Three journals were hand searched across the past five years, and three searches were conducted on Google Scholar. In addition, 13 key opinion leaders were contacted via email to request any additional published or unpublished data. The twentyeight studies included in the final synthesis reported mostly qualitative data from geographically diverse nonrepresentative samples, predominantly relating to sexual violence with other typologies seldom investigated or reported. Although quantitative data were limited, sexual violence appeared common in this context and was directly associated with impaired mental health and suicidality. Some participants reported first- or second-hand accounts of non-consensual administration of incapacitating doses of GHB/GBL to men who were subsequently raped. This was frequently perpetrated by men whose age, status, or financial privilege afforded them power over their victims. While reports from some participants suggested context-specific blurring of the lines of consent, a few quotes demonstrated a dearth of knowledge surrounding the centrality of consent in lawful sex. Given the historical denigration of MSM, any efforts to further investigate or address this issue must be community-led.

International Journal of Drug Policy

Volume 136, February 2025, 104706

By Ingrid Diane Johnson

Purpose: How victims of violence against women (VAW) label their experiences and selves can be important for help-seeking, but descriptive research on the prevalence of experience- and self-labels among VAW victims is limited. This study sought to fll some of the gaps in this quantitative literature using new measurement tools. Method: The current study used quantitative survey data from a weighted sample of 1694 community-based women in Alaska who had experienced VAW (determined using behaviorally specific items) to measure the prevalence of a variety of labels these victims could apply to their experiences and selves. Results Generally, victims of specific forms of violence had minimal agreement on the terms they used to label their experiences. The most commonly endorsed label was 28.5% of those who had experienced alcohol or drug involved sexual assault applying the label rape to their experiences. Across all victims, the most commonly endorsed self-label was survivor, with one-quarter to one-third endorsing this label, depending on the subsample. Roughly one-tenth used the self-label victim across all subsamples. Conclusion: VAW service providers should consider labels used to promote services and how to increase awareness about which behaviors constitute VAW; policymakers should improve the accessibility of healthcare so that labeling oneself or one’s experiences in a certain way is not a prerequisite of help-seeking; and researchers should continue exploring how to measure experience- and self-labels with minimal priming of participants and greater specificity to the actual experiences with violence.

Journal of Family Violence (2024) 39:421–433

By Robin Joy and Megan Novak

It has been a long-time interest in both the victim advocate community and researchers to conduct a study to determine if individuals living in the rural areas of Vermont experience greater severity of injuries. Isolation in the rural areas creates a challenging barrier for a number of reasons: fewer people are around to witness behaviors, victims are removed from services, higher rates of substance abuse and unemployment, issues with transportation, and long distances to domestic violence and health-related services. According to the Vermont Domestic Violence Homicide Fatality Review Committee, at least half of Vermont’s homicides have been domestic violence-related almost every year since 1994 (Commission, 2020) (Vermont Fatality Review Commission, 2018). Research external to Vermont suggests that the rural nature of the state may be contributing to the homicide rate as well as to the level of injury sustained in intimate partner assaults. A study of services provided to victims in Illinois found that rural victims were more likely to experience sexual assault than urban victims. Logan et. al. (2003 & 2005), found that rural victims of domestic violence are likely to be abused earlier in a relationship and be abused more often than urban victims. Factors that contribute to more injurious intimate partner violence (IPV) in rural areas include isolation from other houses, few employment/housing opportunities, and distance from services and supports (Edwards, 2015). These issues are present in the rural state of Vermont with a longstanding affordable housing crisis, lack of accessible public transportation and services outside of larger population centers, and limited hospital options. Working with stakeholders, this study was designed to understand the impact that Vermont’s rural nature may have on the severity of domestic violence in Vermont. The primary research question proposed for this project was: Do victims of domestic violence in the rural areas of Vermont experience more serious injuries than victims in urban and suburban areas? Breaking this down the project proposed to answer: • Do intimate partner assaults result in more serious injuries in areas where there is no local police coverage versus those areas that have a local police force?

Do Emergency Department visits coded with IDC codes for Domestic Violence1 indicate that there is a difference in the severity of injuries of patients from rural areas versus urban areas? • What distance barriers are present for victims of intimate partner violence in accessing services such as shelter, counseling, and economic services? This study uses various data sources to categorize the injuries sustained by victims by their location and evaluates the data sources available to measure the prevalence of serious injuries in rural areas. Part 1 maps out the resources available to domestic violence victims. Part 2 analyzes the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data to understand crimes of IPV reported to the police. Part 3 analyzes emergency room discharge data for domestic violence cases. 

Montepilier, VT: Crime Research Group, 2021. 19p.   

By Holly Bird, Jodie Bradshaw, Roger Grimshaw, Habib Kadiri and Helen Mills

Serious Violence Reduction Orders (SVROs), introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, allow for suspicion-less stop and search of individuals previously convicted of certain knife-related offences. The pilot began in April 2023, in four areas across England.

The briefing finds attempting to track the use of SVROs is hindered by restricted data access. It argues that this lack of transparency undermines public accountability. Helen Mills, Head of Programmes at the Centre and co-author of the briefing, said:

The lack of openness about how SVROs are being used makes it impossible to answer basic questions about how an important new measure has been implemented. Violence reduction is too important an ambition for governments not to match the attention-grabbing claims with which new powers are introduced with transparency about what actually happens next.

With limited information from the pilot, researchers identified through annual stop and search figures, data that showed only 66 searches took place under SVRO powers in the first year of the pilot - significantly fewer than the 1,800 searches anticipated by the Home Office. None of these searches led to the discovery of weapons.

The briefing advocates for a more evidence-based approach to reducing violence. It recommends prioritising place-based investment, interventions for individuals affected by violence, and tackling damaged trust in policing.

Stressing the urgency of the government shifting focus, the briefing concludes:

The fundamental policy choice facing the government on reducing serious violence is clear. Does it develop stronger strategic programmes, based on the well-established evidence, and deliver the reductions in violence we all wish to see. Or does it continue with measures that, while giving the impression of being decisive, ultimately fall very short.

London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2024. 18p.

By Susie Hulley and Tara Young

OWHRs were introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 to address concerns that existing statutory homicide reviews were not formally capturing information about the ‘growing proportion’ of homicides involving offensive weapons. Like other homicide reviews, the purpose of OWHRs is to help national and local agencies understand the causes of serious violence, to better prevent homicides involving offensive weapons and ‘save lives’.

Authors Dr Susie Hulley and Dr Tara Young examine the potential benefits and risks of OWHRs, particularly in regards to young adult safety. Young adults (18- to 25-year-olds) were identified as overlooked by existing homicide reviews, and as such were considered a priority for OWHRs. 

They identify the potential benefits as:

• Serving a symbolic function to victims’ families and the wider community of the Government’s commitment to taking offensive weapon-related homicides seriously.

• Providing a victim’s family and friends with additional information about a homicide.

• Offering valuable local and national data about offensive weapon homicides involving young adults that is not currently available.

• Having the potential to help local and national agencies develop policies and practices to address weapon-related homicide among young adults.

However, there are also some potential risks:

• OWHRs may not be effective, as evidence suggests that existing homicide reviews have not reduced homicide rates.

• Local and national agencies may not engage with or act on the findings from OWHRs, particularly given the lack of a statutory duty.

• 'Hindsight bias’ may be applied by OWHR panels.

• 'Selection bias'  may generate misinformation about offensive weapon homicides and potentially reinforce existing racialised stereotypes. 

While the report does urge the government to instead consider well-evidenced interventions, it also provides five recommendations that could mitigate some of the risks, if OWHRs are to be rolled out.

London: Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2025. 27p.   

By Nicola Helps, Charlotte Bell, Chloe Schulze, Rodney Vlais, et al.

While men’s behaviour change programs (MBCPs) were never meant to be a panacea for domestic, family and sexual violence, their role and effectiveness in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence is often questioned.

This evidence brief provides a summary of the literature on MBCPs, focusing primarily on their role in addressing domestic, family and sexual violence in Australia. It synthesises what is known about MBCPs based on available peer-reviewed and grey literature and practice-based evidence.

A shared understanding of the role and capability of MBCPs is critical for their impact. Expecting significant, transformational change from a single intervention is unrealistic. There is now a growing appreciation and understanding that MBCPs are one piece of the puzzle in a wider system of accountability for people who use violence. Yet the potential outcomes from such collaborative practice are often limited or undermined by how MBCPs have been implemented, or by inadequacies in the broader systemic infrastructure upon which the intended behavioural change relies.

Key findings

• MBCPs are conceptualised as one piece of the puzzle however are yet to be operationalised as part of a fully integrated system.

• MBCPs need to be better funded to provide tailored, holistic and timely services that can support meaningful behaviour change.

• MBCPs need to be embedded collaboratively within the broader domestic, family and sexual violence ecosystem so they can work together with other services towards improved outcomes for victims and survivors including children, as well as improved outcomes for meaningful behaviour change, accountability, increased visibility and risk management.

• MBCPs are only one piece of the response to domestic, family and sexual violence.

Alexandria, NSW: Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety Limited (ANROWS), , 2025. 35p.

By The Parliament of Australia.

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs

Australia has been tackling gendered violence and reviewing and updating the laws and responses that are intended to keep women and children safe. Despite legislative reforms and other measures, the system is failing these women and their children.

This report examines barriers to safety and fairness for victim-survivors in the state and territory family violence order (FVO) system and the federal family law system, the important intersections between jurisdictions, and the accessibility of services and supports that victim-survivors need to navigate both systems safely and fairly. The report provides 11 recommendations.

The Committee found a long-term, systematic approach must be adopted across all jurisdictions to increase safety for women and children as they navigate family separation and to realise the ambition of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032 to end violence against women and children over the next 10 years. Building an effective, systematic and national approach must start with harmonised definitions of family, domestic and sexual violence, best practice and consistent FVO laws and police responses, and enhanced information sharing and risk assessment across jurisdictions, so that all key decisionmakers, agencies and services are speaking the same language about risk.

A long-term systematic approach to increase safety for women and children will require all jurisdictions and agencies, including courts, police and other services to work together.

Canberra: Parliament of Australia, 2025. 125p.

By Heather Wolbers, Timothy Cubitt, Sarah Napier, Michael John Cahill, Mariesa Nicholas, Melanie Burton and Katherine Giunta

Sexual extortion is a form of blackmail in which a perpetrator threatens to release intimate material of a victim unless they comply with certain demands. We examine the prevalence and nature of sexual extortion among a sample of 1,953 adolescents residing in Australia.

More than one in 10 adolescents had experienced sexual extortion in their lifetime (11.3%), one in three of whom experienced more than one instance. More than half experienced sexual extortion before the age of 16, and two in five were extorted using digitally manipulated material. Two-thirds of those who experienced sexual extortion had only ever met the perpetrator online, and there were important differences in experiences between genders.

Preventing children from being sexually extorted should be a priority for social media and messaging platforms, and should be a collaborative effort across multiple sectors.

Trends & issues in crime and criminal justice no. 712.

Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology. 2025. 25p.

By Dan Whitten, Eleanor Neyroud & Peter Neyroud 

Research question - 

Sexual Risk Orders (SRO) have been advocated as a means to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). This is despite significant detriment to the fundamental rights of the legally innocent and a lack of empirical assessment that can speak to preventative efficacy. This study asks; do SROs serve to prevent sexual-harm?

Data - 

The Police National Computer (PNC) was used to identify two samples of SRO subjects. Legal Services’ data from the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) was used to construct a counterfactual group, for whom SRO was considered but not obtained. PNC was used to identify arrests as a proxy for offending and a harm index applied.

Methods - 

Before-after and between-group comparisons are used, along with an interrupted-time-series analysis, to assess the relationship between SRO and sexual-harm prevention. Rank-ordering of harm caused by alleged sexual-offenders in London enables an estimate of how precisely SROs are used against the highest-harm offenders.

Findings - 

SROs are associated with a significant 84.5% reduction in sexual-harm. This increases to a 93.1% reduction in the case of high-harm offenders, controlling for time incarcerated. Despite this, SROs are rarely used and are not systematically targeted against the most harmful offenders.

Conclusions - 

Within the limitations of the methodology we conclude that the evidence supports SRO use as a primary tactic to counter VAWG. Preventative impact may be maximised by increasing use, actively targeting SROs at the highest-harm offenders and considering use at an earlier stage of a subjects sexual-offending. A randomised trial is the next logical step to augment causal inference.

Camb J Evid Based Polic 9, 1 (2025, 19 p.

By Sarah Anderson

Focus on the interconnection of interpersonal violence, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), trauma and justice-involvement has increased interest internationally among policymakers and practitioners working within criminal justice contexts for ‘trauma-informed’ approaches and interventions which facilitate recovery. This article discusses limitations of employing these concepts to make sense of the lives of criminal-justice involved people. Drawing on UK-based research using interviews and collage-workshops to gather autobiographical narratives of 16 repeatedly-criminalised men, a case vignette is presented to show the institutional and structural contexts of interpersonal violence, and the critical role of the criminal justice system (CJS) in obscuring and perpetuating violence. This raises doubt about the CJS's capacity to respond to trauma. The contribution of this article is to integrate theoretical conceptualisations of violence and empirical findings to critique the possibility of trauma-informed practice (TIP) within a criminal justice context.

Howard J. Crim. Justice. 2025;64:24–43 pages

By Patrick Lussier and Evan McCuish

Objectives

There is empirical evidence that sexual recidivism rates have been dropping for several decades, but it remains unclear whether this drop is an artifact of changing research methodologies over the years. The current study, therefore, examines whether the sexual recidivism drop is robust while accounting for various methodological factors.

Method

The study is based on a systematic review and a quantitative meta-analysis of 468 empirical studies published between 1940 and 2019 that reported sexual recidivism rates. A total of 626 estimations (n = 388,994) of sexual recidivism were retrieved for the study period and of those, 238 were independent observations (n = 196,651). A series of sensitivity analyses were conducted using a meta-regression approach.

Results

A series of meta-regression analyses show that, even after accounting for various methodological factors (e.g., study settings, follow-up length, recidivism criteria), there has been a sexual recidivism rate drop of about 45–60% since the 1970s.

Conclusions

The study findings confirm the presence of a sexual recidivism drop while recognizing that sexual recidivism rates are sensitive to methodological details.

Journal of Criminal Justice

Volume 92, May–June 2024, 102188, p. 16