The framing of federal domestic violence policy responses

This paper analyzed the Australian Government’s response to the 2010 Report on Family Violence produced the by Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) which, at the time, represented one of the most significant documents framing the problem of domestic violence in Australia (Bacchi 2009). By focusing on two specific sites of purported ‘policy reform’ in response to the Commission report, Bacchi’s (2009) problemitisation framework revealed how the Government framed their action and inaction on the issue of domestic violence. An examination of how the social problem of domestic violence was residualised (Jamrozik & Nocella 1998) found that the Government framed their response to the recommendations as behavioural and technical concerns amenable to educational and administrative solutions. Consequently the aim of the report to improve the safety of victims has not been achieved.