Stalking: Final Report (html)

5. Supporting people who experience stalking

Overview

• People who experience stalking may be subject to constant, intrusive behaviour that leaves them feeling trapped and terrified.

• Yet victim survivors of stalking do not have access to specialised or tailored support, unlike victims of other types of crime.

• They need support that is practical, timely and ongoing.

• They need specific types of support that are different to many other victims of crime—for example, with safety planning, security devices and new phones.

• Victoria has the foundation of a strong support system. But it needs to be enhanced for victim survivors of non-family violence stalking.

• We recommend expanding support and an independent advocate model for victim survivors of non-family violence stalking.

Victim survivors of stalking need more support

5.1 People who experience non-family violence stalking have diverse and complex needs for support. But the victim support system was not designed with them in mind.

5.2 They are expected to identify, manage and meet their own support needs. They have to find and navigate services on their own. They collect their own evidence. They manage their safety, often installing security measures at their own expense.^[2] If they get a personal safety intervention order (PSIO), it is they who alert the police if it is breached (see Chapter 7).

5.3 The repetitive and constant nature of stalking may make all this a significant burden.^[3] Victim survivors should not have to carry the burden alone.

5.4 One of the most important things that needs to change is for victim survivors of non-family violence stalking to receive more support. For many people ‘justice’ is not about what happens at the end, but about how they experience the process. As we discuss in Chapter 1, victim survivors may see support as a form of justice.

5.5 It may be less traumatic for people to navigate and engage with the justice system if they have more support.

5.6 Over time, victim support systems have been adapted and improved for victims of different types of offending. For example, in 2016 the Royal Commission into Family Violence identified challenges that victim survivors of family violence stalking face when they try to access support and the justice system. A range of measures have been implemented since then to address these issues.

5.7 We are recommending that these adaptations and improvements should also be implemented for victim survivors of non-family violence stalking. For example, victim survivors of family violence stalking have access to support that includes safety planning and flexible support packages. Victim survivors of non-family violence should also receive this support.

5.8 In Chapter 4 we address their need for information. In Chapter 6, we discuss legal support. In this chapter, we make recommendations intended to make sure that victim survivors will no longer have to meet their therapeutic, financial, and other practical needs alone.

Where can people get support for stalking?

5.9 Victim survivors of stalking can access some services for support, including the Victims of Crime helpline and the Victims Assistance Program (VAP). These are available to all victims of violent crime.^[4] A victim does not need to have reported a crime to access VAP services.^[5]

5.10 Most people access the VAP through the Victims of Crime Helpline which is the ‘gateway to the victim support system’. Victims of crime are commonly referred to the helpline by Victoria Police, and sometimes by specialist services and community agencies.^[6]

5.11 VAP comprises a network of community-based agencies around Victoria which deliver support services to victims of crime. It is funded by the Department of Justice and Community Safety. Through program agencies, it provides flexible and tailored case management services that aim to:

• address the needs of victims of crime, including emotional and psychological needs

• help manage the impacts of experiencing a violent crime

• promote the recovery process.^[7]

5.12 Services are based on the needs of the victim, but can include:

• assistance with communicating with Victoria Police and making a report

• risk assessment and safety planning

• organising counselling, transport or medical services

• support to help a victim of crime prepare for court

• helping to prepare a victim impact statement

• assisting with finding information about the person who committed the offence.^[8]

5.13 We discuss the new financial assistance scheme for victims later.

5.14 The length of the service provided by VAP is flexible and based on the individual support needs of the victim. VAP also facilitates referrals to other specialist support services when clients exit a VAP service to ensure their long-term support and safety needs are being met.^[9]

5.15 We received mixed feedback about the response of the Victims of Crime helpline and VAP. For example, one victim survivor reported a positive experience:

5.16 However, a person with a disability, reflecting on her experience in 2021, told us about a poor experience:

5.17 There is some specific support to engage with the justice system, for example Court Network, the Child Witness Program, and (in the higher courts) the Victims and Witness Assistance Service (VWAS).^[12] Given 95 per cent of stalking charges are sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court,^[13] the VWAS will not be available for most victim survivors of stalking.

5.18 Some organisations provide services for people who have experienced cyberstalking. But these are often only available to people who experience family violence stalking, or they need to be paid for by the user (see Chapter 3).

5.19 Aside from the Victims of Crime Helpline and VAP, there are no agencies in Victoria that address the broad needs of people who experience non-family violence stalking.

People who experience stalking need specific kinds of support

5.20 People who experience stalking may have additional or different needs to victims of other crimes. This may be because of:

• the nature of stalking—for example, they may interact with the police after each stalking incident and over a longer period of time^[14]

• the lack of awareness about stalking—it may be harder to understand that a crime has happened or to know what to do (see Chapter 4)

• the support they have available—they may not be taken seriously by friends and family (see Chapter 4)

• the impacts of stalking—stalking may have a range of negative impacts including economic, social, physical and psychological impacts^[15] (see Chapter 2).

5.21 These needs call for practical, timely and ongoing support. In Chapter 3 we discuss why support for cyberstalking must also be regulated and safe.

Support needs to be practical

5.22 People who experience stalking need support that is tailored to their specific needs (see Table 10). This should include support for safety planning and safety interventions, financial assistance and therapeutic support.

Table 10: Practical support for stalking

Support needs to be timely

5.23 Victim survivors of stalking should get the support they need as early as possible. That was a strong theme in this inquiry, and is supported by research.^[32] In our interim report we recommended that police refer victim survivors to services so that they receive support early.^[33]

5.24 An aim of victim support should be to ‘reduce the probability of issue escalation’.^[34] Without timely support, the negative impacts of stalking can become more serious.^[35] As the Federation of Community Legal Centres told us:

Without access to legal assistance and other supports at an early stage, victim survivors of stalking can be left to manage the stalking alone, which can place them at heightened risk and increased distress levels.^[36]

5.25 Timely support also means the stalking may be stopped as soon as possible.

5.26 Emerging research suggests other benefits of early support, which include reducing:

• the long-term effects of victimisation^[37]

• pressure on other parts of the service system^[38]

• costs to government and victim survivors.^[39]

5.27 However, we heard that victim survivors of stalking rarely get the early support they need.^[40]

5.28 In Chapter 3 we discuss why support must be timely for people who experience cyberstalking.

Support needs to be ongoing

5.29 The impacts of stalking are serious (see Chapter 2). There may be a need for support long after the stalking has stopped.^[41] We heard from friends of Celeste Manno about her ‘harrowing ordeal’, their continuing grief and sadness at her loss, and the need for stalking ‘to be viewed as a serious crime that has serious consequences’.^[42]

5.30 Di McDonald, a victim survivor, told us about the patchy support she received:

5.31 It can take a long time to get an outcome in the justice system. The need for support does not start or end with the formal criminal justice process; support is needed before and after (and at times without) a criminal justice outcome. We agree that people who experience stalking need ongoing support.

Reforms of victim services are under way

5.32 In November 2020, a major review of Victoria’s victim services published by the Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ), Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (the CIJ review), recommended doubling the Victorian Government’s investment in victim support services.^[44]

5.33 The Victorian Government has acknowledged that the CIJ review ‘suggests an ambitious “once in a generation” reform agenda that will take time to fully consider and implement’.^[45] It has taken ‘the first critical steps for progressing these reforms’.^[46]

5.34 The CIJ review proposed a new model based on three tiers of support:

• A Victims Support Centre to replace the current Victims of Crime Helpline. The service would go beyond its current focus on referrals by providing a risk and needs assessment, psychological first aid, and funds to meet immediate needs.^[47] The service has the capacity to provide ‘light touch’ case coordination to victim survivors who ‘do not require referral into more intensive case coordination’.^[48]

• Clients with ongoing or complex needs would be connected to the Victims Support and Recovery Program. This would replace the existing Victims Assistance Program and would provide more active case management.^[49]

• A specialised service for bereaved family members.^[50]

5.35 The model would include a Victims Legal Advice Service consisting of a network of funded legal services co-located with the Victims Support Centre and Victims Support and Recovery program providers.^[51] In May 2021, the Victorian Government announced funding for a Victims Legal Service.^[52] However, this is more limited than what the review called for. We discuss legal support in Chapter 6.

5.36 We received submissions urging the Victorian Government to implement the recommendations of the review.^[53] The Victims of Crime Commissioner told us that if these and the financial assistance scheme reforms (discussed later) were implemented, they would ‘undoubtedly improve access to more timely and appropriate support for victims of stalking, helping them stay safe and assisting them in their recovery process’.^[54]

5.37 In March 2022, the Legal and Social Issues Committee of the Victorian Parliament published its report, Inquiry into Victoria’s Criminal Justice System (Criminal Justice Inquiry). It endorsed the model proposed in the CIJ review^[55] and recommended that the Victorian Government:

• fund VAP to meet demand

• expand service availability, especially in regional and rural Victoria

• improve accessibility, including by increasing culturally safe services and more Koori Engagement Workers to support Aboriginal Victorians

• improve referral pathways

• give training and guidance to key agencies on referring victims of crime to VAP sooner.^[56]

5.38 The Victorian Government is developing a dedicated Aboriginal victims of crime strategy and working on safe and inclusive services for LGBTIQA+ victims of crime.^[57]

The financial assistance scheme for victims of crime is the subject of
current reforms

5.39 On 6 April 2022, the Victorian Government introduced laws into Parliament to set up a new financial assistance scheme for victims of crime. The Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022, when enacted, will see the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (VOCAT) replaced with an administrative Financial Assistance Scheme built around the needs of victims.

5.40 The reforms were informed by the recommendations made in our report Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (2018),^[58] which addressed a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Family Violence.^[59]

5.41 The proposed scheme would make the process of getting financial assistance easier for victims. The scheme includes:

• victim survivors receiving a victim recognition statement that acknowledges the effects of the crime

• victim survivors being able to request a victim recognition meeting where they can talk about the harm caused to them and have their experience acknowledged on behalf of the government

• financial assistance for counselling services, medical expenses, loss of income and ‘safety-related’ expenses.^[60]

5.42 Under the Bill, victim survivors of stalking can receive financial assistance.^[61]

5.43 The scheme would sit within the Department of Justice and Community Safety. This would help streamline and coordinate financial assistance with other parts of the victim support system.^[62]

5.44 If the Bill is passed, the scheme is expected to start operating in the second half of 2023.^[63] In the meantime, the government has announced funding to clear the VOCAT backlog.^[64] Recently, protections for victim survivors of stalking in the VOCAT process were also introduced, preventing people accused of stalking from being notified about, or appearing at VOCAT hearings.^[65]

5.45 Together, if implemented, the reforms from the CIJ review, the Criminal Justice Inquiry and the new financial assistance scheme would greatly improve support for people who experience stalking. These reforms would:

• help people to find and navigate services

• improve the quality of the responses, including therapeutic support and financial assistance

• result in more recognition of the harm they have experienced.

5.46 Some victim survivors need more intensive support. The proposed Victims Support and Recovery Program in the CIJ review could be a way of meeting their needs.

5.47 The Victorian Government should implement these reforms with enhancements for people who have experienced stalking (discussed next).

We recommend enhanced support for victim survivors of stalking

5.48 In our consultation paper, we asked about the best way to provide support to victim survivors of stalking.

5.49 We received suggestions on potential models of victim support, ranging from building a stalking-focused victims’ service^[66] to building on current models of victim support.^[67]

5.50 We decided against recommending a standalone, stalking-focused victim service. Stalking often occurs alongside other offences (see Chapter 7) so it would make sense for any victim support to also meet the support needs that other crimes might give rise to. Further, while non-family violence stalking is a serious crime with serious impacts, it is less common than stalking that occurs as part of family violence,^[68] reducing the need for a standalone service.

5.51 We were cautious about expecting a family violence agency or the family violence sector to provide support to people who experience non-family violence stalking. This would add pressure to these services, which are already under strain. It is also important that victim support for non-family violence stalking feels accessible to male victim survivors.^[69]

5.52 Finally, we are keen to make sure the response is flexible. For example, some people may want to engage with a private security firm for safety interventions, rather than the police.^[70] The police do not have the capacity to do all the safety work needed (see Chapter 3).^[71]

5.53 The best way to provide support to victim survivors of non-family violence stalking is through an enhanced generalist model of victim support. This is a model based on the CIJ review and the Victims of Crime Commissioner’s submission.^[72] The main components are:

• an improved victim support service model, as outlined in the CIJ review

• a new Financial Assistance Scheme, implementing recommendations in our report on financial assistance^[73]

• support that is practical, timely, tailored and ongoing for people who experience stalking (discussed earlier)^[74]

• specialist support through victim advocates (discussed below).

5.54 These components would address the support needs of victim survivors, while fitting in with reforms under way. The model would be flexible enough to bring in other services, such as private security services, that could address stalking. It would also allow for an intensive response in especially serious cases.^[75]

5.55 In the next section we discuss design features the government should consider in implementing this model. They are in line with the research on what is important for victim support in stalking, and focus on making sure that support is integrated, immediate, accessible and informed.^[76]

Support should be integrated

5.56 The current model for supporting victim survivors of stalking has some limitations. Most referrals happen through Victoria Police, so when a victim survivor does not contact police they are less likely to get the support they need.^[77]

5.57 In implementing reforms, the government should make sure that pathways to support are available to people experiencing stalking, including cyberstalking, whether or not they report to police. The connection to services needs to happen as early as possible.

5.58 When victim survivors seek support, they should receive a consistent and integrated response. As supporters of Celeste Manno told us, victim survivors ‘need to receive useful advice that is best going to protect them’.^[78] Research indicates that victim survivors of stalking often ‘receive conflicting advice from traditional sources of help’.^[79]

5.59 The lack of integrated support for victim survivors of stalking has been acknowledged for decades by researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the United Kingdom,^[80] the United States^[81] and Australia.^[82]

5.60 An integrated response to stalking provided by ‘professionals with a range of skills and expertise’, may enable a ‘holistic service response’^[83] tailored to victim survivors’ individual support needs.

5.61 Integrated support is especially important for victim survivors of stalking because they may have to frequently and simultaneously manage ‘their emotional wellbeing, practicalities around legal decisions … and physical safeguarding’.^[84]

5.62 We note that the CIJ review model is meant to be integrated, so that as victims ‘step through’ the model, ‘they experience it as a single, seamless service’.^[85]

Financial assistance should be immediate

5.63 As the Victims of Crime Commissioner told us, it is important that financial assistance happens fast, because safety planning is an urgent matter.^[86] We agree that victim survivors of stalking should have access to fast financial assistance while the new financial assistance scheme is being implemented.^[87]

5.64 In our Victims of Crime Assistance Act report we recommended that the new financial assistance scheme include help with immediate needs.^[88] The Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 provides for a duty for decision makers to ‘act expeditiously’ (ie quickly) and for safety-related expenses that have not yet been incurred.^[89] But whether victim survivors will receive financial assistance immediately under the scheme is unclear.

5.65 In its model, the Centre for Innovative Justice also identified opportunities to integrate financial assistance and victim support services.^[90]

5.66 Victim survivors should have access to a flexible support package or a small grant of financial aid, known as ‘brokerage’, to meet their practical needs, such as buying a replacement phone (which they may need if they have been cyberstalked). Currently the amount of brokerage available seems to be quite limited.

Any barriers to eligibility should be removed

5.67 The Department of Justice and Community Safety, which runs VAP, told us that victims of violent crimes can access VAP whether or not they have made a police report. VAP can pay for small expenses for victims related to the impact of crime, such as home security, immediate counselling and travel to and from court hearings.^[91]

5.68 In this inquiry a few victim survivors told us they did not get the support they needed because they were not eligible. For example, one person with a disability, who lived in a rural or regional community, reflecting on her experience in 2020, said:

5.69 Another person, who lived in a rural or regional community, reflecting on her experience with police in 2021, said:

5.70 As the Criminal Justice Inquiry noted, VAP is likely to be ‘subject to overall case load and resources’.^[94]

5.71 The Department of Justice and Community Safety noted that victims can access VAP support for as long as required.^[95] However, one victim survivor, reflecting on their experience, said that VAP is ‘restricted by funding constraints (staff and case load) to assist in lengthy matters’.^[96]

5.72 Victim survivors are required to have reported to police within a reasonable time or else explain in a statutory declaration why they did not.^[97] In our Victims of Crime Assistance Act report we recommended removing the reporting requirement.^[98] While the new Bill retains the reporting requirement, it says a report is not necessary if there were special circumstances for not reporting, or if the victim is in a prescribed category.^[99]

5.73 It is important to remove the barriers that stop victim survivors of stalking from getting support. Anyone who has experienced stalking should be able to get victim support. It should be ongoing because, unlike many other crimes, the risks to safety may still be present.

Some groups are under-served and need more support

5.74 Some victim survivors may need more support than others. For example, those living in regional and rural Victoria may be more isolated and need additional support to access services.^[100]

5.75 Unmet demand for support is especially serious for victims of crime in regional and rural Victoria where often there are limited services.^[101] The lack of victim support services is compounded by gaps in other services such as health and mental health.^[102]

5.76 We heard about gaps in therapeutic psychological support for young people, particularly in regional Victoria.^[103]

5.77 This gap is serious given how common PSIOs are in regional and rural Victoria, especially for children (see Chapter 2).

5.78 A general gap in services for children was noted by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation:

The [VAP] does enable families to access good support services, but it is not specifically designed to work directly with children. For instance, the program does not include brokerage for counselling for children.^[104]

5.79 The way people living with disability are treated by victim support services also needs to improve. We were told that people with disabilities (particularly those in psychiatric units) who report stalking are:

• often not believed or viewed as ‘too unwell to determine what is real’^[105]

• often not listened to, given resources, or supported^[106]

• told that reporting is a ‘police response’ rather than a service provider response.^[107]

5.80 When it implements victim support reforms, the Victorian Government should focus on strengthening support for under-served groups, especially:

• people in rural and regional Victoria

• children

• people with disabilities.

5.81 The support services should take advantage of advancements in technology, especially following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, where appropriate and if this is what the victim survivor prefers. For example, victim survivors could access services online via video-conferencing.

Victim support staff must be supported to understand stalking

5.82 As we discuss in Chapter 4, stalking is not well understood. It is important that any victim support service is staffed with people who understand stalking, including what it is, how it presents,^[108] and its effects.^[109] This would help guide the victim survivor to the right services and get them the support they need.^[110]

A new model of victim advocates could provide ongoing support

5.83 We recommend that the Victorian Government move towards a model of victim advocates who are trained to provide holistic and individualised support for people who have experienced non-family violence stalking. This would bolster the support provided through the generalist victim support model.

5.84 Ideally, the model would provide for one victim advocate who would assist the victim survivor throughout the process of seeking support and the justice system.

5.85 ‘Victim advocate’ does not mean a legal advocate or lawyer, but a person who gives information, helps people navigate a range of services and supports, and ensures they get their rights and entitlements.

5.86 People who experience stalking may need more intensive support. Stalking can be ongoing and it is challenging to collect evidence on every stalking incident. Victim survivors might need to navigate a range of criminal and civil processes and services.

5.87 The negative mental health impacts of stalking can make it difficult, if not impossible, for victim survivors to navigate all these things on their own. Stalking affects physical and mental health, sometimes in unexpected ways.^[112] This prevents people from seeking help or carrying out risk management (for example, following up with referrals or documenting the evidence).^[113] An independent advocate could assist with these matters.

5.88 Victim advocates could help to identify what is happening to the victim survivor and help make sure that timely action is taken to stop the stalking and any risk of harm.^[114]

5.89 Victim advocates could provide the ongoing, ‘joined up’ support that victim survivors need. Coordination with services is ‘associated with victim reports of more helpful services’.^[115]

5.90 In our report Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences (2021), we recommended a similar model of victim advocates.^[116] We made this recommendation partly because research indicates that victim advocates help keep victims engaged with the justice system.^[117]

5.91 Victim engagement with the justice system is needed to support prosecutions and convictions. If the person who stalks is not prosecuted and convicted, where appropriate, they might offend again. So by supporting victims, we are likely to get better justice outcomes. Resources dedicated to improving victim support are cost-effective, when assessed holistically across the criminal justice system.

5.92 Research has similarly indicated that victim advocates can help address the support needs that people have beyond the criminal justice system, which can minimise the negative impacts of stalking.^[118]

5.93 One study found that victims perceive the crisis intervention provided by victim advocates as ‘validating and empowering’.^[119] Other benefits include reduced feelings of isolation and reframed perceptions of fear.^[120]

5.94 The evaluation of victim advocates for stalking in England and Wales (discussed later) indicated that ‘intervening in high-risk stalking cases was cost-beneficial to the state … and was often cost-beneficial to the victims too’.^[121]

Victim advocates have worked well overseas

5.95 Advocates for stalking victim survivors exist in international jurisdictions such as England and Wales,^[122] Denmark,^[123] and the United States.^[124]

5.96 In England and Wales the Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Program includes victim advocates (see box). England and Wales also has the smaller scale Independent Stalking Advocacy Caseworkers.^[125]

Victim advocates ‘would be a game changer’[127]

5.97 There was strong support in this inquiry for an advocacy role for victim survivors.

5.98 Some victim survivors called for support to come in the form of a support person.[128] Erin Scrimshaw, a close friend of Celeste Manno, who has also experienced stalking, told us that case workers should be ‘assigned to victims of stalking … who follow up and stay in contact with victims throughout the process of getting an [intervention order] to provide support, advice and easy access to escalating further reports’.^[129]

5.99 Another victim survivor, who identified as a migrant, told us:

Being stalked creates an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness. You are constantly watching wherever you go, the rear vision mirror in your car, you don’t feel safe in your own home. The most important initial support would be for someone to take you seriously and to help you work out what to do without judgement and to help you work out practical steps you can take.[130]

5.100 Di McDonald, a person who experienced stalking, suggested:

Assign a victim a support person that will see them through all of the processes. Police, Victim Services and Court. They may not have anyone to be there for them, so their own personal support person, who deals with all the legal things would be a godsend…[131]

5.101 We also heard support for an advocacy role from the Victims of Crime Commissioner, Victims of Crime Consultative Committee, Springvale Monash Legal Service, the Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science and Forensicare.^[132] We heard from multicultural and multifaith lawyers and legal stakeholders that ‘sometimes victims need someone to talk to rather than having someone prosecuted’.^[133]

5.102 The Victims of Crime Commissioner supported the introduction of advisers based on the model in England and Wales.^[134]

5.103 However, a participant in a small group meeting on stalking and people with disabilities noted that even with a victim advocate, police could shut a complaint down. In our interim report we made recommendations to improve the police response to stalking.

5.104 Others we consulted identified potential problems with victim advocate programs. A participant at a meeting with multicultural and multifaith organisations noted potential problems if the advocate did not understand the person they are working with, such as their faith, culture, or barriers they might be facing. It was also noted that a government-run advocacy program would need to build trust with the community.^[135]

5.105 The Centre for Multicultural Youth, which works with young people from culturally diverse backgrounds, told us that victim advocates should work collaboratively with multicultural specific services, have experience working with people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and be hired from various cultural backgrounds.^[136] We discuss accessible design next.

What should be the features of an independent advocate model?

5.106 We do not propose to design specific models of service delivery. These matters require close consultation, community engagement and co-design with victim survivors.

5.107 However, a lot can be learned from the model of victim advocacy used in the United Kingdom by MASIP (discussed earlier).

5.108 Based on the research and what people told us, we consider these features to be important:

• The victim advocate should be available as soon as a disclosure of stalking is made.^[137]

• Eligibility should not depend on engagement with the justice system, as many victim survivors do not report to police (see Chapter 2).^[138]

• Victim survivors should be able to access victim advocates using strengthened referral pathways (discussed earlier).

• Pathways should also be built from the victim advocate to other services, such as legal services.^[139]

• The program should be accessible and designed with people from diverse backgrounds in mind.^[140]

5.109 Building on the MASIP victim advocacy role, the role of the victim advocate should include:^[141]

• providing information on justice options and progress through the justice system

• supporting victim survivors to understand and exercise their rights, including their rights to information about the progress of their cases under the Victims’ Charter Act 2006 (Vic)

• safety planning, for example helping victim survivors to think about how to be safer when experiencing stalking, such as changing normal routines, having a safe place to go and having a code word with a trusted person so that calls can be made (in the case of phone tapping)^[142]

• supporting their individual needs, such as advice on documenting stalking behaviour or help reporting to police or applying for a PSIO

• liaising with, and advocating for them to, services and the justice system.

5.110 In cases in which the victim survivor engages with the criminal justice system, victim advocates should have a role in providing victim survivors with information on their case. As was the case in the United Kingdom, we heard that victim survivors in Victoria lacked information about the progress of their case:

It was frustrating the Magistrates’ Court wouldn’t tell me anything about my stalker when he was charged. They told me to call up my officer to find out the results which I did but didn’t hear from my officer straight away. It was a few days later. I almost wish I was allowed to go to court on the day my stalker was charged so I could hear the results then and there.[143]

5.111 As victim survivors told us, the role might include checking in with victim survivors on the phone regularly or attending appointments with them.^[144]

Under-served groups should be a focus

5.112 As we recommended in the sexual offences report, the design of the model should prioritise those who are under-served by existing services and the justice system.^[145] These people often face the most complex interactions between services and systems and therefore need more support in navigating them.

5.113 In stalking, we have identified people in rural and regional Victoria,^[146] children and young people,^[147] LGBTIQA+ people,^[148] people with disabilities,^[149] Aboriginal people,^[150] and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds^[151] as priority groups.

5.114 The Child Witness Service also acts as an independent advocate for the children’s voices and wishes. However, the service does not include support before charges are laid, and its scope of advocacy is narrower because its focus is on supporting a person to give evidence.^[152]

5.115 The model should be built with diverse access points in mind, in consultation with those communities.

Recommendation 9. a. The Victorian Government should consult on and co-design a model of victim support that uses advocates to provide continuous support for people who have experienced non-family violence stalking. These independent advocates should: • provide information about justice options and progress through the justice system • support victim survivors to understand and exercise their rights • assist with planning for their safety when they are experiencing stalking • support their individual needs • liaise with, and advocate for victim survivors to, services and the justice system. b. The model of an independent advocate should: • be available as soon as a disclosure of stalking is made and not depend on a person’s engagement with the criminal justice system • include diverse points of referral and access to such support • enable advocates to provide individualised support, including specialised expertise and understanding of working with people from diverse backgrounds • give priority to people who are currently underserved.

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1. Consultation 11 (Members of the Victims of Crime Consultative Committee).

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2. Submission 70 (Di McDonald).

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3. Tim Boehnlein et al, ‘Responding to Stalking Victims: Perceptions, Barriers, and Directions for Future Research’ (2020) 35(7) Journal of Family Violence 755, 762.

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4. Email from Victim Services, Support and Reform, Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic) to Victorian Law Reform Commission, 6 May 2022; Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Vic) s 3 (‘relevant offence’ which includes stalking). Under the legislation implementing a new financial assistance scheme to replace VOCAT, stalking is also recognised as a ‘relevant offence’: Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 (Vic) cl 3.

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5. Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 110.

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6. Email from Victim Services, Support and Reform, Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic) to Victorian Law Reform Commission, 6 May 2022.

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7. Ibid.

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8. Ibid.

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9. Ibid.

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10. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

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11. Ibid.

    ↑

12. Court Network is a service provided by volunteers that helps court users, including victims, in the lower courts. Court Network volunteers can explain how the courts operate, accompany victims in the courtroom, and explain decisions that affect them. The Child Witness Service provides support and preparation for children and young people, including victims, who may be required to give evidence at court in cases that involve a violent crime: Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic), Improving Victims’ Experience of Summary Proceedings (Final Report, 2021) 40–41.The Witness Assistance Service is run by the Office of Public Prosecutions. It supports adult victims and witnesses of serious crime through the court process, including by giving them information about how courts work and providing practical support. The service gives priority ‘to families who have lost loved ones; victims and witnesses in sexual assault and family violence matters; and vulnerable victims’: Office of Public Prosecutions (Vic), Witness Assistance Service: We Can Help You (Brochure, 2014).

    ↑

13. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) x.

    ↑

14. Suzan van der Aa and Anne Groenen, ‘Identifying the Needs of Stalking Victims and the Responsiveness of the Criminal Justice System: A Qualitative Study in Belgium and the Netherlands’ (2010) 6(1) Victims & Offenders 19, 20.

    ↑

15. Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27, 12; Emily Spence-Diehl, ‘Intensive Case Management for Victims of Stalking: A Pilot Test Evaluation’ (2004) 4(4) Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 323, 327; Lisa Tompson, Jyoti Belur and Kritika Jerath, MASIP Evaluation (Final Report, Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Program, University College London, 2020) 8.

    ↑

16. Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27.

    ↑

17. Consultation 15 (Forensicare (No 1)).

    ↑

18. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

19. See generally Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27, 1–2, 16–22.

    ↑

20. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner); Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 222.

    ↑

21. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

22. Submission 21 (Antoinette Lim); Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

    ↑

23. Submission 98 (Law Institute of Victoria).

    ↑

24. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

25. Ibid.

    ↑

26. Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27, 14.

    ↑

27. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

28. Submission 70 (Di McDonald).

    ↑

29. Michele Pathé and Paul E Mullen, ‘The Impact of Stalkers on Their Victims’ (1997) 170(1) The British Journal of Psychiatry 12.

    ↑

30. Submissions 26 (KB), 31 (Name withheld), 59 (Name withheld), 70 (Di McDonald).

    ↑

31. Submission 65 (Code Black Threat Management).

    ↑

32. Centre for Innovative Justice, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 60–61.

    ↑

33. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking (Interim Report No 44, December 2021) [3.37] Recommendation 8.

    ↑

34. Centre for Innovative Justice, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 98.

    ↑

35. Submission 70 (Di McDonald); Consultation 14 (Confidential). See also Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27.

    ↑

36. Submission 97 (Federation of Community Legal Centres). The Australian Association of Social Workers also submitted that the Victorian Government recognise the importance of early support and provide victim survivors with support before their situation escalates: Submission 76 (Australian Association of Social Workers). This submission primarily addresses the issue of family violence stalking, although it also discusses the problem of social workers being stalked by clients.

    ↑

37. Centre for Innovative Justice, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 60, 76–7.

    ↑

38. Ibid 77.

    ↑

39. See Submission 97 (Federation of Community Legal Centres).

    ↑

40. Submission 70 (Di McDonald); Consultation 14 (Confidential).

    ↑

41. Submission 70 (Di McDonald); Consultation 14 (Confidential).

    ↑

42. Submission 61 (Naciyelara Erel).

    ↑

43. Submission 70 (Di McDonald).

    ↑

44. Centre for Innovative Justice, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 18–19.

    ↑

45. Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic), Victim Support Update (Report, December 2021) 41.

    ↑

46. Ibid. For example, it has committed funds for the establishment of a new Victims Legal Service, as we discuss below, and has developed a ‘Victim Support Workforce Capability Framework’: at 13, 17.

    ↑

47. Centre for Innovative Justice, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 16, 82–8.

    ↑

48. Ibid 82.

    ↑

49. Ibid 16, 109–138.

    ↑

50. Ibid 17, 138–46.

    ↑

51. Ibid 17, 147–55.

    ↑

52. Natalie Hutchins, Minister for Corrections, Crime Prevention, Victim Support and Youth Justice (Vic), ‘Better Outcomes for Victims and Young People’ (Media Release, 20 May 2021).

    ↑

53. Submission 56 (Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party).

    ↑

54. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

55. Legal and Social Issues Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Inquiry into Victoria’s Criminal Justice System (Report No 326, Session 2018–2022, March 2022) Recommendation 48.

    ↑

56. Ibid Recommendations 36, 37: see also 311.

    ↑

57. Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic), Victim Support Update (Report, December 2021) 12, 17, 28–9.

    ↑

58. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Report No 36, July 2018).

    ↑

59. Royal Commission into Family Violence: Summary and Recommendations (Report, March 2016) Recommendation 106.

    ↑

60. Explanatory Memorandum, Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 s 10(2)(e).

    ↑

61. Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 (Vic) cl 3(1) ‘relevant offence’ (e).

    ↑

62. Victoria, Parliamentary Debates, Legislative Assembly, 7 April 2022 1418 (Natalie Hutchins, Minister for Victim Support).

    ↑

63. Natalie Hutchins, Minister for Victim Support, ‘Landmark Reforms To Support Victims Of Crime’ (Media Release, 6 April 2022).

    ↑

64. Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic), Victim Support Update (Report, December 2021) 7, 16.

    ↑

65. Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Vic) ss 34(4)(aa), 35(1A).

    ↑

66. Consultation 15 (Forensicare (No 1)).

    ↑

67. See, eg, Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

68. As discussed in Chapter 2 of this report, most stalking recorded by police since 2011 (52 per cent) and sentenced in Victorian courts since 2015 (68 per cent) has been part of family violence: Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Stalking in Victoria (Report, March 2022) [3.11], [5.4] (stalking cases sentenced in the Magistrates’ Court). See also xi.

    ↑

69. Submission 100 (Forensicare).

    ↑

70. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner); Consultation 8 (eSafety Commissioner).

    ↑

71. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

72. Ibid.

    ↑

73. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Report No 36, July 2018).

    ↑

74. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

75. The Victims of Crime Commissioner suggested that the Victorian Government should consider integrating within existing services a specialised support service for high risk victims of stalking: Ibid.

    ↑

76. See, eg, Michele Pathé and Paul E Mullen, ‘The Impact of Stalkers on Their Victims’ (1997) 170(1) The British Journal of Psychiatry 12.

    ↑

77. Centre for Innovative Justice, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 70.

    ↑

78. Submission 54 (Riana Leonardi, Hannah Smith, Dahlia Mahmoud, Melissa Caligiore).

    ↑

79. Michele Pathé and Paul E Mullen, ‘The Impact of Stalkers on Their Victims’ (1997) 170(1) The British Journal of Psychiatry 12, 16.

    ↑

80. Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27, 3.

    ↑

81. Emily Spence-Diehl, ‘Intensive Case Management for Victims of Stalking: A Pilot Test Evaluation’ (2004) 4(4) Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 323, 324.

    ↑

82. Michele Pathé and Paul E Mullen, ‘The Impact of Stalkers on Their Victims’ (1997) 170(1) The British Journal of Psychiatry 12, 15–16.

    ↑

83. Submission 97 (Federation of Community Legal Centres).

    ↑

84. Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27, 23.

    ↑

85. Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 17.

    ↑

86. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

    ↑

87. Ibid.

    ↑

88. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Report No 36, July 2018) xxxv, Recommendation 34.

    ↑

89. Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 (Vic) cls 10(2)(e), 29.

    ↑

90. Centre for Innovative Justice, RMIT University, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 18.

    ↑

91. Email from Victim Services, Support and Reform, Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic) to Victorian Law Reform Commission, 6 May 2022.

    ↑

92. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

    ↑

93. Ibid.

    ↑

94. Legal and Social Issues Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Inquiry into Victoria’s Criminal Justice System (Report No 326, Session 2018–2022, March 2022) vol 1, 309.

    ↑

95. Email from Victim Services, Support and Reform, Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic) to Victorian Law Reform Commission, 6 May 2022.

    ↑

96. Submission 6 (Name withheld).

    ↑

97. Victims of Crime, Department of Justice and Community Safety (Vic), Applying for Financial Assistance from Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal (Web Page, 2022) <https://www.victimsofcrime.vic.gov.au/going-to-court/applying-for-financial-assistance-from-victims-of-crime-assistance-tribunal>. This is consistent with the requirements under the new Bill.

    ↑

98. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Review of the Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Report No 36, July 2018) Recommendations 59(b) and 60.

    ↑

99. Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Bill 2022 (Vic) cls 22(2), 31(2).

    ↑

100. TK Logan et al, ‘Victim Service and Justice System Representative Responses About Partner Stalking: What Do Professionals Recommend?’ (2006) 21(1) Violence and Victims 49, 50–1.

     ↑

101. Centre for Innovative Justice, Strengthening Victoria’s Victim Support System: Victim Services Review (Final Report, November 2020) 113.

     ↑

102. Legal and Social Issues Committee, Parliament of Victoria, Inquiry into Victoria’s Criminal Justice System (Report No 326, Session 2018–2022, March 2022) vol 1, 309.

     ↑

103. Consultation 16 (Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare: Young People and Stalking).

     ↑

104. Consultation 29 (Alannah & Madeline Foundation).

     ↑

105. Consultation 22 (Small group meeting on stalking and people with disabilities).

     ↑

106. Ibid.

     ↑

107. Ibid.

     ↑

108. Consultation 15 (Forensicare (No 1)).

     ↑

109. Submission 93 (Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists).

     ↑

110. Ibid.

     ↑

111. Consultation 11 (Members of the Victims of Crime Consultative Committee).

     ↑

112. For example, the impacts can include gastrointestinal issues, dental issues (from excessive jaw clenching), pelvic issues, hypervigilance, chronic sleep disturbance, headaches, intrusive recollections, and the onset or worsening of physically debilitating conditions such as psoriasis or asthma attacks: see Michele Pathé and Paul E Mullen, ‘The Impact of Stalkers on Their Victims’ (1997) 170(1) The British Journal of Psychiatry 12, 14.

     ↑

113. Lauren Bennett Cattaneo, Sarah Cho and Shelly Botuck, ‘Describing Intimate Partner Stalking Over Time: An Effort to Inform Victim-Centered Service Provision’ (2011) 26(17) Journal of Interpersonal Violence 3428, 3448.

     ↑

114. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

     ↑

115. Lauren Bennett Cattaneo, Sarah Cho and Shelly Botuck, ‘Describing Intimate Partner Stalking Over Time: An Effort to Inform Victim-Centered Service Provision’ (2011) 26(17) Journal of Interpersonal Violence 3428, 3448.

     ↑

116. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences (Report No 42, September 2021) Recommendation 45.

     ↑

117. Oona Brooks-Hay et al, Evaluation of the Rape Crisis Scotland National Advocacy Project (Briefing No 01/2018, Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research, January 2018) 3 <https://www.sccjr.ac.uk/publications/evaluation-of-the-rape-crisis-scotland-national-advocacy-project-summary-report-jan-2018/>; Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, Victim Advocates: A Rapid Evidence Assessment (Report, February 2019) 6 <https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/published-reviews/victim-advocates-a-rapid-evidence-assessment/>.

     ↑

118. Emily Spence-Diehl, ‘Intensive Case Management for Victims of Stalking: A Pilot Test Evaluation’ (2004) 4(4) Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 323, 338.

     ↑

119. Ibid.

     ↑

120. Ibid.

     ↑

121. Lisa Tompson, Jyoti Belur and Kritika Jerath, ‘A Victim-Centred Cost–Benefit Analysis of a Stalking Prevention Programme’ (2021) 10(1) Crime Science 21, 9.

     ↑

122. Kritika Jerath, Lisa Tompson and Jyoti Belur, ‘Risk Management in Stalking Victims: A Multi-Agency Approach to Victim Advocacy’ [2020] Journal of Interpersonal Violence 10.1177/0886260520980402:1–27, 3.

     ↑

123. Heng Choon Chan and Lorraine Sheridan (eds), Psycho-Criminological Approaches to Stalking Behavior: An International Perspective (Wiley, 2020) chs 197, 199.

     ↑

124. The VictimConnect Resource Centre provides information and assistance to victim survivors of stalking: ‘Stalking’, Victim Connect Resource Center (Web Page, 2022) <https://victimconnect.org/learn/types-of-crime/stalking/>.

     ↑

125. Paladin Service, Paladin Vision (Web Page, 2022) <https://www.paladinservice.co.uk/our-mission>.

     ↑

126. Lisa Tompson, Jyoti Belur and Kritika Jerath, MASIP Evaluation (Final Report, Multi-Agency Stalking Intervention Program, University College London, 2020).

     ↑

127. Submission 70 (Di McDonald); Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

128. Submission 67 (Erin Scrimshaw).

     ↑

129. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

130. Submission 70 (Di McDonald).

     ↑

131. Submissions 32 (Centre for Forensic Behavioural Science), 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner), 55 (Springvale Monash Legal Service), 100 (Forensicare); Consultation 11 (Members of the Victims of Crime Consultative Committee).

     ↑

132. Consultation 30 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith lawyers and legal stakeholders).

     ↑

133. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

     ↑

134. Consultation 31 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith community organisations).

     ↑

135. Email from Centre for Multicultural Youth to Victorian Law Reform Commission, 25 November 2021.

     ↑

136. Consultation 11 (Members of the Victims of Crime Consultative Committee).

     ↑

137. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

     ↑

138. Submission 95 (Springvale Monash Legal Service).

     ↑

139. Email from Centre for Multicultural Youth to Victorian Law Reform Commission, 25 November 2021.

     ↑

140. Submission 49 (Victims of Crime Commissioner).

     ↑

141. ‘Safety Planning Checklist’, 1800RESPECT (Web Page) <https://www.1800respect.org.au/help-and-support/safety-planning/checklist>.

     ↑

142. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Stalking: Summary of Responses to Online Feedback Form from People with Experience of Stalking (Report, August 2021).

     ↑

143. Ibid.

     ↑

144. Victorian Law Reform Commission, Improving the Justice System Response to Sexual Offences (Report No 42, September 2021) Recommendation 45.

     ↑

145. Sentencing Advisory Council (Vic), Sentencing Breaches of Personal Safety Intervention Orders in Victoria (Report, February 2022) [4.14].

     ↑

146. Consultations 16 (Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare: Young People and Stalking), 17 (Small group meeting on stalking and young people).

     ↑

147. Submission 39 (Victorian Pride Lobby).

     ↑

148. Consultation 22 (Small group meeting on stalking and people with disabilities).

     ↑

149. Submission 41 (Djirra).

     ↑

150. Consultation 31 (Roundtable with multicultural and multifaith community organisations).

     ↑

151. ‘Child Witness Service’, Victims of Crime (Web Page, 10 June 2021) <http://www.victimsofcrime.vic.gov.au/going-to-court/child-witness-service>.

     ↑