Rates of reported domestic violence have risen exponentially in recent years. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1 in 6 women and 1 in 16 men in Australia have experience physical or sexual violence from a current or previous partner. COVID-19 has also contributed to the crisis, with the Australian Institute of Criminology reporting 10% of Australian women in a relationship had experienced domestic violence during the pandemic.
The Lighthouse Project is an initiative in the Family Court to identify and intervene as soon as possible in cases which involve family violence. The scheme was developed in direct response to a series of law reform submissions calling for early identification and intervention of dangerous family situations.
