Since 2013, the federal government has spent $1 billion on preventing and responding to domestic violence against women and their children.

This includes $150 million having been allocated to domestic violence prevention at the start of 2020.

The 2020 federal budget also provides funding for the counselling service 1800 RESPECT.

Operation Sierra Alessa

Recently, Queensland Police announced they have commenced a state-wide operation named “Sierra Alessa”.

This operation will focus on making sure serial domestic violence offenders are held to account for their actions.

This will be achieved with police officers arriving at an offender’s place of residence and reminding them that they are being monitored, they are being held to account, their activities are known to police and to expect to see the police.

What is a serial domestic violence offender?

Serial domestic violence offenders are those who have at least three domestic violence orders (“DVOs“) against them – with some having up to seven.

The 300 serial domestic violence offenders in Queensland are directly responsible for 1,100 domestic violence victims.

Domestic Violence Statistics

There are up to 107,000 domestic violence incidents each year in Queensland.

This includes calls for service, domestic violence order breaches, domestic violence applications and the number of orders served.

In 2018-19, Queensland courts issued 24,967 DVOs, and police dealt with 28,396 breaches of orders.

There were 964 prosecutions for choking, suffocation or strangulation since it was introduced as an offence in Queensland in 2016.

Domestic Violence Offenders

Offenders and victims are both male and female.

The Personal Safety Survey, conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, found that:

• Two in five Australian adults had experienced violence since the age of 15.
• One in six women and one in seventeen men experienced partner violence.
• One in two women and one in four men had experienced sexual harassment.
• One in six women and one in ten men experienced abuse before the age of 15.

Services Available To Help You

• 1800 Respect National Helpline: 1800 737 732
• Women’s Crisis Line (NSW): 1800 656 463
• Safe Steps Crisis Line (Vic): 1800 015 188
• Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491
• Mensline: 1300 789 978
• Lifeline (24-hour Crisis Line): 131 114
• Relationships Australia: 1300 364 277

How our domestic violence lawyers can help

Our domestic violence lawyers have expertise in both applying for domestic violence protection orders and defending applications for domestic violence orders.

Our experienced domestic violence lawyers have assisted countless clients to apply for and defend domestic violence orders.

Read more.

Contact Us

Get the best representation. Contact our expert Domestic Violence Lawyers on 1800 999 529, email mail@rmold.newwebsite.live or submit an enquiry below.

We are available to meet with you at any of our local offices (Brisbane, Gold Coast, Beenleigh, Cleveland and Jimboomba) or by telephone or video-conference.

This article is for your information and interest only. It is not intended to be comprehensive, and it does not constitute and must not be relied on as legal advice. You must seek specific advice tailored to your circumstances.

This article was originally published on 12 October 2020. It was last updated on the 12 of July 2022