Domestic and family violence (DFV) affects many people across NSW, with an estimated 1 in 4 women (27%) and 1 in 8 men (12%) in Australia experiencing violence by an intimate partner or family member since the age of 15 (BOCSAR).
In NSW, from June 2024 to June 2025, a total of 38,169 domestic violence–related assault incidents were recorded by police (BOCSAR). Yet qualitative research on victim-survivors’ experiences of the justice system is limited. The recent coercive control reforms in July 2024 in NSW provide a unique opportunity to explore victim-survivor experiences in a post-reform context.
This project aims to understand how domestic and family violence victim-survivors experience the justice system in New South Wales, especially following recent changes to the law. Coercive control in intimate relationships is now a criminal offence in NSW.
This project engages with adult DFV victim-survivors and justice system professionals to learn about people’s experiences at different stages of the criminal justice process — from first contact with police, through court, and through support services connected to justice agencies. By listening to people and their insights, the project will help identify what is working well, what needs to improve and where there are opportunities to better support victim-survivors, especially Aboriginal people, people with disability, older people, LGBTQIA+ communities, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and people living in regional and remote areas.
The research is funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice and is being led by the University of Sydney. The project will engage with both key justice stakeholders and DFV victim-survivors through a mix of methods including, surveys, interviews, yarning and group discussions, and other participant-led methods (such as audio or written journalling) to ensure people can share their experiences in a way that feels comfortable and safe. All engagement is grounded in wellbeing, cultural safety and trauma-informed practice.
The findings from this research will help inform strategies to better support DFV victim-survivors in the criminal justice system and improve the justice experience of DFV victim-survivors. It will also inform policy and law reform.
Findings from this project will be published on this webpage in December 2026.
Key justice professionals with significant experience in working in DFV issues in NSW and those who work with victim-survivors can obtain more information about the project and how to participate by contacting Project Officer, Elise Testa at elise.testa@sydney.edu.au.
The project will start to engage with victim survivors who have experience of the justice system post July 2024, in February 2026. More information about how you can get involved in the project will be available here in early 2026.
Professor James Elliott, Researcher, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The Kolling Institute.
James is the Director of the Kolling Institute and the Academic Director of Allied Health and Public Health in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney and the Northern Sydney Local Health District. The primary focus of his interdisciplinary work is the use of high-resolution imaging techniques to quantify altered spinal cord anatomy and whole-body skeletal muscle degeneration as potential markers of recovery following a traumatic injury.
He is also involved in creating the world's leading well-being index. This well-being index has real-world application to improving health and well-being outcomes for victim-survivors of interpersonal violence and those with histories of complex trauma.
Associate Professor Anna Boucher, Researcher, School of Social & Political Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.
Anna has worked as a solicitor, policy adviser, researcher, academic and consultant in a range of settings including in academia, for state and federal government, and for international organisations and non-governmental organisations.
She has a strong interest in immigration policy, sexual violence and migration, research methods, mixed-methods research and qualitative interviewing.
Ms Tanja Hirvonen, (Jaru and Bunuba) Researcher, Clinical Psychologist. Senior Lecturer, School of Psychology.
Tanja is a registered clinical psychologist specialising in Aboriginal mental health, social and emotional wellbeing, and health professionals’ self-care and trauma. In addition to her clinical work, she has been an active research collaborator, with a keen interest in promoting mental health education and understanding, particularly among youth in remote areas. Ms Hirvonen is an advocate for, and a practitioner of, trauma-informed healing and has successfully introduced tenets of the approach into clinical policies in the workplace as well as in counselling clients presenting with a wide variety of psychological concerns.
Associate Professor Helen Paterson, Researcher, School of Psychology, Faculty of Science.
Helen is an Associate Professor in Forensic Psychology at the University of Sydney.
She investigates ways in which psychological research and theory can inform the legal system and assist witnesses and victims of crime. Predominantly focussing on how recalling traumatic events can influence memory accuracy and psychological wellbeing, Helen’s research seeks to enhance victim-survivor memory reliability and perceived credibility, with the goal of strengthening prosecution cases and improving justice outcomes.
Sandra Close - Higher Degree by Research Student
Nicholas Glascott – Research Assistant
Elise Testa – Project Officer
