Family of woman found dead in car in London accuses police of failing to protect her

Exclusive: Sister says Harshita Brella reported abuse but ‘police processes made her feel more scared and alone’

The family of a woman found dead in a car boot in east London have accused police of not doing enough to protect her, saying she had filed a complaint alleging domestic abuse by her husband weeks before.

The body of Harshita Brella, a 24-year-old Indian citizen who was living in Northamptonshire, was discovered last Thursday in a car in Ilford. Police have named her husband, Pankaj Lamba, as the main suspect for the killing. Officers believe he has fled the country.

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‘It was awful’: Annie’s worst fears came true after she accused her police officer partner of DV

Since 2017 in NSW, 120 officers have been charged with domestic violence offences. But advocates believe many victims are too scared to report

Annie* was in a relationship with a police officer for more than a decade. During that time, she says, he was manipulative and assaulted her.

When she finally got the courage to report her allegations of domestic violence to the police, a different command to where her partner worked investigated it. But then she realised that some of the officers in that command knew him.

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Alleged domestic violence perpetrators to wear ankle bracelets under NSW bail reforms

Corrective services will electronically monitor whereabouts of people released from custody while charged with serious offences

Alleged perpetrators charged with serious domestic violence offences in New South Wales will wear ankle bracelets and have their movements tracked around the clock if they are granted bail.

The NSW government announced the changes would take effect on Friday, and would involve corrective services electronically monitoring alleged perpetrators against geographic bail conditions using GPS technology.

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One in 20 Australian adults found to have suffered reproductive coercion and abuse

Australian Study of Health and Relationships finds 3.9% of women aged 16-69 had experienced contraceptive interference and 4.9% forced abortion

One in 20 Australian adults have experienced reproductive coercion and abuse.

That is among the findings of the Australian Study of Health and Relationships (ASHR), released this week, the first time researchers in Australia have estimated the national prevalence of behaviour used to control a person’s reproductive autonomy.

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Domestic abuse specialists to be embedded in 999 control rooms

The measure – part of ‘Raneem’s Law’ – will speed up referral of domestic and sexual abuse victims to support services

Domestic abuse specialists will be embedded in 999 control rooms from early next year in the first step towards the government’s goal of halving violence against women and girls in a decade, the home secretary has said.

The advisers will make risk assessments on cases involving rape, domestic and sexual abuse claims to ensure that victims are referred to support services as quickly as possible, as part of an initiative to be announced by Yvette Cooper on Friday.

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Nearly one in 10 NSW men have faced legal action for domestic and family violence, study finds

According to the research, the first of its kind in Australia, 1.2% of people born in the state were responsible for more than 50% of recorded offences

Nearly 10% of men in New South Wales have had police take some form of legal action against them for domestic and family violence, according to the first Australian population study of prevalence of offending, published on Monday.

The research published by the Australian Institute of Criminology found that 6.3% of people – 9.6% of men and 3% of women – born in NSW were found to have been proceeded against by police for a family and domestic violence offence by the age of 37.

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Gold Coast man found not guilty of helping murder workmate’s estranged wife

Jury finds Bradley Bell, 27, was not responsible for Kelly Wilkinson’s April 2021 death

A man accused of helping a workmate carry out the murder of his estranged wife has been found not guilty by a jury.

Bradley Bell, of Pimpama, faced trial in Brisbane supreme court after pleading not guilty to the murder of Kelly Wilkinson, 27, on 20 April 2021.

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Police ‘left to deal with fallout’ of poorly planned early release of 1,700 prisoners

Police association chief says criminals potentially being freed in England and Wales without proper rehabilitation plans

Police are at “the centre of a storm” caused by poor planning after 1,700 prisoners were released early across England and Wales to ease overcrowding, a senior officer has said.

Amid concerns that hundreds of inmates could end up homeless or return to crime, the president of the Police Superintendents’ Association, Nick Smart, said some inmates were being set free without a programme and that the police would be left to deal with the consequences.

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Some crime victims ‘unaware’ of offenders’ early prison release in England and Wales

‘Sizeable minority’ of survivors of crime have not been informed that perpetrators will be freed on Tuesday

Hundreds of survivors of crime are unaware that their perpetrators will be freed on Tuesday despite requests that this would not happen, the victims’ commissioner has claimed.

As the government prepares to release 1,700 offenders to ease overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales, Helen Newlove said some victims were “unaware of their offender’s release” and could not seek protective measures.

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Albanese to propose ‘substantial funding uplift’ for family violence services at national cabinet

PM says plan to end family domestic and sexual violence in a generation will require an ‘all-hands-on-deck approach’ but funding questions remain

Anthony Albanese will propose a “substantial package” at national cabinet to fund frontline services for those fleeing family and domestic violence, including accommodation and legal help.

The package responds to recommendations of the rapid review of prevention approaches, which called for a “significant funding uplift” in certain frontline areas.

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Australia’s family court ‘keeps women unsafe’ and is used against them, inquiry hears

Single Mother Families Australia CEO asked why magistrates and courts don’t share information live, saying the technology already exists

Family violence workers have told a parliamentary inquiry the family court system is “keeping women unsafe” and is being weaponised by perpetrators to subject victims to further harm.

The inquiry heard examples of perpetrators using the threat of family court proceedings to keep women in abusive relationships, including to instil fears they will be bankrupted or lose access to children.

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Social support payment systems may be reviewed as DV commissioner warns they are being ‘weaponised’ against women

Micaela Cronin highlights concerns that payment systems are used to punish current and former intimate partners

The federal government is considering an across-the-board audit of social support payment systems to identify whether they are putting people at risk, as the commissioner monitoring its national anti-violence plan warns they are being “weaponised” against women.

The domestic, family and sexual violence commissioner, Micaela Cronin, suggested on Wednesday that the government was reviewing all of its payment systems out of concern that they were being used to punish current and former intimate partners.

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Australia news live: Palaszczuk appointed to Australia Post board; Shorten says Dutton ‘implying all Gazans are terrorists’

Palaszczuk, who retired from politics in December after almost nine years as QLD premier, will serve a three-year term as a non-executive director. Follow today’s news headlines live

‘We have to have a constant reminder’

The committee also called for a culturally appropriate and nationally significant recognition and remembrance of murdered and disappeared First Nations women and children. Dorinda Cox said this would be “significant” if the government accepted the recommendation:

It would … have some permanent features to remind us the role that history has played for missing and murdered or disappeared women and children and First Nations women and children in this country, because there’s a story there that needs to be told, and we have to have a constant reminder.

Like we do … with the Australian war memorial of the safety that we have as a country, but also that this part of our history – this is now ingrained in and sketched into. And if we want to continue to work on this and continue to maintain safety for women and children and the most vulnerable, which is First Nations – as we know, we’re in an emergency for all women, but First Nations women and children are at the front of that – we have to have some permanent features, otherwise we become invisible.

What we hear too often is that this is a state and territory problem. States are responsible for their police forces, in particular … We have to centre our approaches and our outcomes in [addressing these issues] and we have to look at the culture of the organisations, such as police.

There’s lots of reporting on the media in relation to the attitudes of police across Australia, and that has to get better, but we have to have a measure against that – we can’t just put in the attorney general [to] have a chat to the police ministers, and nothing changes … Because if we don’t look at this in a way of wanting change, nothing ever changes.

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Starmer ‘shocked’ about prisons crisis as early release scheme prepared

Government to announce terms which could free more than 20,000 inmates in coming months to manage capacity

The “shocking” prisons crisis is even worse than feared, Keir Starmer has said as the government prepares to release tens of thousands of inmates early in a bid to prevent jails becoming full.

The prime minister suggested he was opposed to freeing violent criminals and sex offenders when ministers announce the terms of a new prisoner release scheme for England and Wales on Friday.

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Irish woman charged with ‘attempting suicide’ by Dubai court

Public figures call for release of Tori Towey, 28, who says attempt was response to alleged domestic violence attack

A 28-year-old woman from Ireland has been charged with “attempting suicide” by a court in Dubai, with politicians and campaigners calling for her release.

Tori Towey, who works in the United Arab Emirates as an airline cabin crew member, was allegedly attacked and left with severe bruising and other injuries in a violent incident.

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Victoria police make 2,700 arrests in five-month domestic violence blitz in south-east Melbourne

Police say 7,500 charges laid, including against a man, 42, who allegedly stabbed a woman and assaulted a teenager in front of two younger children

A man who allegedly stabbed a woman and assaulted a teenager in front of two children was among 2,700 arrests by Victoria police during a five-month blitz targeting family violence offenders in Melbourne’s south-east.

Victoria police on Thursday said 7,500 charges had been laid as a result of the blitz, between January and June of this year.

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Birmingham general election hopeful joked about domestic violence on podcast

Independent Akhmed Yakoob, who polls suggest is closing gap on Labour, also said ‘70% of hell will be women’

An independent candidate standing in Birmingham said “70% of hell will be women” and joked about domestic violence on a podcast earlier this year, it has emerged, as polling suggests he is closing the gap with Labour.

Akhmed Yakoob, who came third in the West Midlands mayoral election in May with just over 10% of the vote, is standing against Labour’s Shabana Mahmood in Ladywood, one of the most deprived constituencies in the country.

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One in four cases before NSW local courts last year related to domestic violence, data reveals

Average time taken to finalise domestic family violence matters in local courts balloons to 266 days, as legal services cry out for more funding

A quarter of all matters before local courts in New South Wales last year were related to domestic violence, new data shows, as community legal services warn of a critical lack in funding to help victim-survivors seek justice.

Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Bocsar) showed 26% of matters finalised in local courts in 2023 were related to domestic violence, up from 20% in 2019.

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Molly Ticehurst was promised state help to ‘intruder-proof’ her home. Two weeks later she was dead

Exclusive: Grieving parents say NSW government’s Staying Home Leaving Violence scheme ‘failed’ their daughter

Molly Ticehurst was promised help to “intruder-proof” her Forbes home as part of a state government domestic violence program two weeks before her former partner allegedly murdered her, with her grieving parents now accusing the scheme of offering her “false hope”.

Ticehurst’s parents, Tony and Kate, say their 28-year-old daughter was let down by the system and the people who promised to install lights, cameras and tough window screens at her home after she reported her ex-boyfriend Daniel Billings to police.

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Ballarat to be ‘saturated’ with ads in bid to stop violence against women after spate of deaths

Victorian premier Jacinta Allan announces Australia’s first ‘saturation model’ after family violence prevention package unveiled

Ballarat will be “saturated” in messaging to change the attitudes that drive violence against women in the wake of three killings.

Victoria’s premier, Jacinta Allan, announced Australia’s first “saturation model” to prevent the increasing scourge of domestic violence on Friday. It would include a widespread advertising campaign and the use of “influencers”, and was pitched as a four-year model to be tested in the regional city before being scaled up across the state.

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