Transforming justice

Related Research:

A framework for adapting child interview protocols in complex cases.

Chief Investigator: Professor Martine Powell

This project aims to develop–in collaboration with Aboriginal and other industry co-researchers–a ‘how to’ framework for effectively adapting standard child abuse interview protocols to accommodate the complexities that create barriers to disclosure. Complex cases necessitate interview adaption, but it requires systematic guidance and an interdisciplinary, practitioner-driven approach to be effective. This innovative framework is expected to have long-term benefits for services that support children’s well-being, through improvements in the quality of evidence underpinning decisions. By enhancing interviewer capability, there will also be fewer cases prematurely exiting the justice system before forensic interview or investigation.

Engaging Muslims in the fight against terrorism.

Chief Investigator: Professor Tina Murphy

This project aims to investigate engagement between the Australian police and Muslim communities by emphasising mutual fairness, voice, neutrality and respect. Collaboration from Muslims is essential in strategies to prevent terrorist activities The project will identify how police use procedural justice and when and why Muslims are most receptive to procedural justice. It is expected this will enhance police relationships with Muslims and assist measures in terrorism prevention.

Redress for Institutional Abuse: Australia in International Perspective

Chief Investigator: Professor Kathleen Daly

Institutional abuse of children emerged as a significant social and legal problem in the 1970s. The project has identified over 100 institutional cases that have been the subject of public inquiries, criminal prosecution, civil litigation, or redress schemes. From this large set of potential cases, we  identified 60 cases in 20 countries that met project criteria and have sufficient data for analysis. Some cases are inquiry only, but most (52) have redress schemes (underway or completed) that establish 70 types of payments. The project is joining case studies and quantitative datasets to produce an authoritative analysis of the ‘world of redress’ for abuse and policy wrongs against children and political minorities, with a focus on the elements, purpose, and outcomes of redress schemes. Recent publications have been on Australia’s National Redress Scheme, outcomes of civil settlements and redress schemes in claims against the Catholic Church in Australia, and the concept of money justice. Future publications will analyse the world of redress, theories of redress, typical and unusual cases, and responses by the Catholic Church in Australia and other countries.

Re-making Justice after Sexual Violence: Essays in Conventional, Restorative, and Innovative Justice (Eleven Publishing, The Hague, forthcoming)

Chief Investigator: Professor Kathleen Daly

What are effective responses to sexual violence? A global social movement is once again challenging sexual violence in all its settings: where we live, work, study, sleep, play, and pray. As more victims and survivors report to the police, speak out in street protests and online spaces, and disclose to psychologists, inquiries, and the media, they face inept and insensitive criminal and civil justice systems. What is to be done? This anthology provides an answer.

It shows the evolution of my ideas over three decades (1989 to 2021) on the strengths and limits of conventional, restorative, and innovative justice in response to sexual violence and other crime. The anthology’s 11 previously published works and two new essays draw on feminist, critical race, criminological, and socio-legal theories. I argue that ‘what is to be done’ is to remake justice as if victims and survivors mattered. This entails blending criminal justice with innovative justice mechanisms and providing a menu of options for victims and admitted offenders within and outside conventional justice.

The relationship between investigative interviewing techniques and forensic decision making

Chief Investigator: Dr Natalie Martschuk

This multi-disciplinary research program aims to demonstrate (across multiple forensic contexts) how the process of gathering information in investigative and clinical risk-assessment interviews determines the accuracy and quality of professionals’ decisions. Across legal, health and corrections settings, decisions are routinely made based on highly problematic (e.g., error-prone) interview processes. This research program seeks to generate greater awareness among professional groups about whether and how their decisions are affected by interviewing processes and is expected to stimulate much-needed reform.

Trajectories of Wrongful Conviction and Pathways to Exoneration.

Chief Investigator: Dr Rachel Dioso-Villa

This is the first national study of its kind that investigates the trajectories of wrongful convictions as systems failures by examining decisions from investigation to exoneration. Wrongful conviction is a significant social and legal problem in Australia and other nations. It costs the Australian government millions in police, court and prison services and has health and psychological consequences for exonerees and their families. Expected outcomes for this project include an early warning detection tool to identify at-risk cases and overall improved accuracy in convictions. This will provide significant benefits, for criminal justice agencies, victims and accused individuals while positioning Australia as a world leader in the field.