Queensland’s domestic violence shame laid bare by Hear Her Voice report

Hannah Clarke’s parents say a report into how the justice system treats domestic violence claims is a turning point for Queensland. They say it has given “women a voice now”.

Domestic violence perpetrators have been “emboldened” by police, lawyers and the courts in a scathing assessment of the failings of Queensland’s justice ­system contained in a ­landmark review ­recommending sweeping legislative changes.

Sue and Lloyd Clarke, whose daughter Hannah and her three children were murdered last year by her former husband, were in Parliament as the report was tabled to mark the progress so far of their advocacy in recognising coercive control.

“We feel that the taskforce has listened to the women, the women have a voice now, they feel validated, and things are going to start to happen,” Ms Clarke said.

“And it’s not going to happen overnight, it will take time but I think the government’s going to get it right.”

Hannah Clarke’s parents, Lloyd and Sue Clarke. Picture: Sarah Marshall

Justice Margaret McMurdo’s Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce found police, lawyers and the courts were failing to identify domestic violence, were misidentifying victims as perpetrators and were putting the safety of women at risk by ignoring their complaints.

Her report, entitled Hear Her Voice, recommended a new criminal charge of coercive control carrying a 14-year jail penalty, updated stalking laws that recognise how technology is used to terrorise and an independent commission of inquiry into police cultural issues.

VICTIMS OF THE SYSTEM

TERESA BRADFORD
Estranged husband David Bradford broke in and stabbed her to death before killing himself in January 2017. He had been bailed on a previous assault. She was not told.

TARA BROWN
Lionel Patea, who was on a DV order and a repeat offender, chased her car across the Gold Coast before ramming her, then bludgeoned her as she lay in the car wreck. She died two days later in September 2015.

KARINA LOCK
Estranged husband Stephen Lock walked into a McDonald’s, put her in a headlock and shot her in the head in September 2015. Moments after the shooting, Stephen Lock then turned the gun on himself in front of the 30 witnesses. Karina had moved away from Lock for a fresh start.

PAULINE & KELLY MORRIS
Hours after being placed on a domestic violence order in 2009, Wayne Arthur Brennan murdered Cairns mother Pauline Morris and her 14-year-old daughter Kelly. Pauline spent her final moments trying to shield her daughter from the attack.

FABIANA PALHARES
Brock Wall had been served with a varied domestic violence order just hours before he bashed his 11-weeks pregnant former partner Fabiana Palhares unconscious, jumped on her stomach and attacked her with a tomahawk. Wall had previously broken in to watch her sleep.

HANNAH, AALIYAH, LAIANAH & TREY CLARKE
Hannah Clarke and her children were murdered in February last year when estranged husband Rowan Baxter jumped into her car, doused them with petrol and set them alight before killing himself.

But Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll rejected the need for any inquiry, saying there were not “widespread cultural problems” within police ranks, only “some individuals” that “don’t always do the right thing”.

Police Union president Ian Leavers went further, saying Justice McMurdo had produced “another woke, out-of-touch report” and it was “ridiculous” to suggest there were widespread cultural issues.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll. Picture: Josh Woning

Mr Leavers said appointing another retired judge to undertake a review “sounds like a giant retired judges’ version of a Ponzi scheme”, considering Justice McMurdo was already employed by the government to find answers.

The review received 500 submissions from victims, many of them containing horror stories of physical and psychological abuse, including the posting of nude pictures online to intimidate, coercing partners to have sex with strangers and threatening to kill children.

In one submission, a woman described how her partner killed her pet, strung it up in a tree and had their children help him cut it up. He then made her cook the pet and sat and watched her eat it.

Justice Margaret McMurdo. Picture: Claudia Baxter)

Ms McMurdo said the review had been a “process of rapid and intense education”.

“I expected to hear from women about their mistreatment at the hands of perpetrators,” she wrote.

“I did not expect to hear that women perceived their perpetrators are emboldened by police, legal practitioners and judicial officers.

“Many feel the justice system is failing them.”

Justice McMurdo said the taskforce had “great concerns” many victims “won’t even pick up their phone to call the police because they have no confidence in their ability to help”.

“Police are the gateway to the justice system, and we need to do better,” she said.

Despite the efforts of government, police leadership and “many dedicated officers”, a woman who calls police to protect her “enters a raffle – she may get excellent assistance, or she may be turned away”, the report said.

Ms Carroll said her troops would be “devastated” by the findings in the review and it was “incredibly disappointing” that some victims felt let down by the police response.

“If we haven’t met the high standards expected of us, that’s unacceptable,” Ms Carroll said.

“So we haven’t got it right, I accept that we need to get better at this, but I know that my people who work so hard to get this right and are compassionate and do the right thing will be devastated.”

The taskforce recommended that laws criminalising coercive control be introduced by 2023, with the first stage of legislative reform to begin next year as part of 89 recommendations. It also recommended introduction of a diversionary scheme for first-time offenders after some victims said not all perpetrators should go to jail.

The report said there should be a lengthy period before the laws come into effect to ensure police, the criminal justice system, the community and the service sector were educated.

The laws should be reviewed after five years, while the government needed to work with First Nations due to their overrepresentation in statistics, the report said.

Repeat perpetrators of the new coercive control offence and other domestic violence offences should be listed on a non-public disclosable register so police could monitor them.

Mr Leavers said it was disappointing Justice McMurdo had not adopted a single one of the union’s suggestions to fix domestic violence laws, including making “commit domestic violence” a stand-alone crime.

Attorney-General Shannon Fentiman said the government would consider the report and release its response in the new year.

In a message to those who had shared their stories, she said: “We have heard you, we will listen.”

Originally published as Queensland’s domestic violence shame laid bare by Hear Her Voice report