Intersecting DFV and Substance Abuse: Policy Implications for Integrated Practice Responses скачать в хорошем качестве

Intersecting DFV and Substance Abuse: Policy Implications for Integrated Practice Responses

Event: 2025 Applied Research in Crime and Justice Conference Date: 5 August 2025 Name of presenter: Cathy Humphreys, University of Melbourne Title: Exploring the intersection between DFV and substance abuse and the policy responses that can be put into practice All the evidence from the past 30 years shows that the severity, intensity and frequency of domestic and family violence (DFV) increases when Alcohol and Other Drugs are present. This finding does not imply that substance use causes DFV, but it does suggest that the intersection of DFV and substance use is highly relevant for policy and practice. Severity counts! Australian statistics on intimate partner homicide indicate that the offender was substance affected in 60% of cases. Substance use coercion is an aspect of coercive control. This presentation will explore a more nuanced approach to the role of substance use as an aspect of the tactics of violence and abuse used by the person using violence. Survivors (adult and child) experience these issues as entwined, yet our policy and practice settings silo and fragment the response. There are now many examples of the different sectors beginning to work together. The presentation draws from a 3 year ARC funded project to discuss the emerging evidence of the problems and possibilities for sustaining collaborations to develop a more effective response to substance use coercion.