Police constructions and recognition of victim-survivor agency in Family Violence Intervention Order Applications in Victoria.
2:00pm - 4:00pm /
Wednesday 15th April 2026
/ Venue: Seminar Room 11 Rendall Building
Type: Seminar /
Category: Department
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Domestic and family violence is a national crisis in Australia. Between 2022-2024, one woman was killed by an intimate partner every 11 days. Four women have been killed by their partners in the first three weeks of 2026. In collaboration with six Victorian community legal centres, we have been investigating applications for Family Violence Intervention Orders (‘FVIO’s). FVIOs are the main legal mechanism used to interrupt domestic and family violence in Australia. Police are responsible for filing approximately 80 percent of FVIO applications, and these applications have a higher success rate than those not filed by the police. We analysed the ‘narrative’ sections of FVIO application forms, in order to explore representations of victim-survivor agency and the relationship between victim-survivor demographics and police decision-making as evidenced in police-authored applications. We also interviewed community centre lawyers about their experiences and observations of the way police recognise agency in victim-survivors from marginalised communities.
In this seminar we will focus on police constructions of victim-survivor agency in the face of gendered violence. We found that police are able to articulate the agency of victim-survivors who consent to the filing of an FVIO application. However, their own processes compel them to override the wishes of non-consenting victim-survivors. This inability to fully recognise victim-survivor agency is an echo of a long-running theme in law, the erasure of women’s subjecthood.
Dr Kirsty Duncanson is an Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University, Australia. She is currently working with community legal centres investigating Family Violence Intervention Order application processes. Her latest book, Embodiment and Legal Theory, Law in Fifty Shades of Grey (Routledge 2024) explores how we interact with cinematic representations of law with our bodies. With Dr Emma Henderson she explores influences on jury decision-making in rape trials, jury direction, courtroom design, and the operation of rape myths. With international colleagues she has mapped the emotional labour and affective experiences of working in the courts.
Dr Emma Henderson is an Associate Professor in the School of Law at La Trobe University, Australia. Emma researches and teaches in the areas of criminal law, international human rights law, law reform, and critical legal theory. In 2024, Emma was the recipient of a Vice Chancellors Research Excellence Award for her long term research project with Dr Kirsty Duncanson, examining the ways in which rape myths negatively impact justice within rape trials. In 2025, Emma is part of a team examining Domestic Violence Intervention Orders, funded by a Victoria Law Foundation Major Grant. In 2024, Emma was the recipient of a Vice Chancellors Teaching Award for her work redesigning an assessment task in Evidence and Criminal Procedure.
In this seminar we will focus on police constructions of victim-survivor agency in the face of gendered violence. We found that police are able to articulate the agency of victim-survivors who consent to the filing of an FVIO application. However, their own processes compel them to override the wishes of non-consenting victim-survivors. This inability to fully recognise victim-survivor agency is an echo of a long-running theme in law, the erasure of women’s subjecthood.
Dr Kirsty Duncanson is an Associate Professor in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at La Trobe University, Australia. She is currently working with community legal centres investigating Family Violence Intervention Order application processes. Her latest book, Embodiment and Legal Theory, Law in Fifty Shades of Grey (Routledge 2024) explores how we interact with cinematic representations of law with our bodies. With Dr Emma Henderson she explores influences on jury decision-making in rape trials, jury direction, courtroom design, and the operation of rape myths. With international colleagues she has mapped the emotional labour and affective experiences of working in the courts.
Dr Emma Henderson is an Associate Professor in the School of Law at La Trobe University, Australia. Emma researches and teaches in the areas of criminal law, international human rights law, law reform, and critical legal theory. In 2024, Emma was the recipient of a Vice Chancellors Research Excellence Award for her long term research project with Dr Kirsty Duncanson, examining the ways in which rape myths negatively impact justice within rape trials. In 2025, Emma is part of a team examining Domestic Violence Intervention Orders, funded by a Victoria Law Foundation Major Grant. In 2024, Emma was the recipient of a Vice Chancellors Teaching Award for her work redesigning an assessment task in Evidence and Criminal Procedure.