Minority Groups and the Justice System - Assignment Example

Gender is an important consideration when discussing minority groups in a criminal justice system context. Although males are more commonly both offenders and victims for most offenses, females have a longstanding history of being disproportionately victimized for some offenses. According to the latest facts and figures provided by the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), females are more likely than males to be victims of sexual assault. When assaulted physically or sexually, they are more likely than males to be victimized at home and by a family member or intimate partner (AIC, 2013). The victimization of females through domestic and family violence remains a significant and complex issue in Australia.


1.1 Domestic and Family Violence (2 marks)
a) Describe the different types of domestic and family violence and provide a brief statement explaining why people are motivated to engage in this behavior. (Approx. ½ to 1 page).

According to Anastasio and Costa (2004), the Australian Institute of Criminology reports varied instances of domestic violence. Generally within any society the existing categories of domestic and family violence. Their prevalence says facing physical and sexual abuse against women. Threats of physical and sexual assault experience dominate Australian society. Homicides are reported among married couples with a high percentage of female homicides resulting from their partners. Children face domestic and family violence in the following forms; physical abuse, psychological, sexual, economic, and social (Anastasio & Costa, 2004). The motivational factors for such are marriage, child-parent interaction, and society together with little reporting of cases to the police. Lesbians and gay also face the problem of family violence such as fighting.
The lack of proper ways of dealing with violence influenced the male domination state in which man mistreats the vulnerable harshly consistently experiencing domestic abuse. Some instances of the remoteness of places in rural areas remain a challenge in reporting of violence.


b) Locate, report, and reference relevant statistics regarding the rate and extent of domestic and family violence in Australia. (Approx. ½ a page).

In the cases reported, within the 20 cases, physical violence occurred in 60 percent of families. Between 2000 and 2001, 18 out of the 19 cases reported in Australia were a case of physical abuse and neglect among women and children (Tjaden, & Thoennes, 2006). The data in various articles reveal quite a good number of incidences reported exhibited domestic violence and family abuse including physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and social levels.

c) Use literature to explain the reasons why victims have difficulty reporting and leaving domestic and family violence situations. (Approx. ½ a page)

Victims experience challenges in reporting most cases and accessing counseling, legal, and medical support services due to the closeness of kinship groups who play a significant role in defense of the social culture. The individual victims fear the cases of anonymity and the repercussion of being known (Barry, & McIvor, 2008). Living places play a major role in repeat victimization, as they have no areas to flee. There have been growing trends of perceptions or misconceptions to contribute towards fear and trauma of undergoing the same experience when explaining to others.