How Domestic Violence offenders continue to stalk their victims in jail

Queensland victims of domestic violence continue to be harrassed by their perpetrators despite being behind bars as calls mount for more to be done.

Domestic Violence advocates have called for tougher sentences to stalking laws to allow the perpetrators to go through enough rehabilitation programs before they exit with victims frightened they may be attacked again.

It comes as victims have still been harassed by their perpetrators despite being behind bars who use their associates to check on the victims.

Sicura founder Dr Brian Sullivan who specialises in training and education in Domestic Violence intervention said victims need to feel like there has been a just sentence.

“The containment and the constraining of the perpetrator has to be a focus,” he said.

“I’m on the domestic violence and fatality review board and we know that stalking is in many cases happens in fatalities so it’s one of those lethal predictors of fatalities,” he said.

“Fatalities can happen often six months after separation, so to keep the woman safe in that first year after separation, would be a really safe strategy for her.”

Dr Sullivan said there needed to be more rehabilitation programs available.

“It’s not only I believe giving that man a just a sentence. It’s about what happens when he’s in prison,” he said.

“Dumping him in a prison without actually working with him on change and rehab rehabilitation may make matters worse.”

Support for DV victims generic.

Dr Sullivan said he knew of cases where men continued stalking from prisons via associates.

Laws in 2023 were introduced which strengthened the offence of stalking under domestic violence laws.

Criminal lawyer Nick Dore said the criminal code’s definition of stalking was expansive and covered a wide range of situations.

“As a result, victims suffer varied degrees of psychological injury, which, in my experience, leads to varying outcomes when the sentencing court considers the appropriate penalty,” he said.

“The length and gravity of the behaviour, the motivation for offending, any prior history, and the victim’s psychological and physical reaction are all factors that the sentencing court examine when determining the sentence for the offence.”

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Amanda Camm said the GPS tracker program will begin rolling out after the budget with the first 150 for high-risk DV offenders towards the end of December 2025.

“Victim survivors will also have an option for an alarm system that works with the GPS monitoring device as an optional safeguard,” she said.

“The use of this technology in Tasmania has seen a reduction in stalking.”

Originally published as How Domestic Violence offenders continue to stalk their victims in jail