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Police body-worn cameras in domestic and family violence responses: Merits, risks and impacts

Join Dr Mary Iliadis, Assoc. Prof. Bridget Harris and Dr Naomi Pfitzner for an online presentation on ‘Police body-worn camera technologies in domestic and family violence responses: Merits, Risks and Implications’.

This presentation will be hosted via Zoom, and is the first joint event hosted by the Deakin Network Against Gendered Violence (DNAGV) and the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre (Monash GFVPC).

Abstract

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) have been promoted internationally to enhance responses to domestic and family violence (DFV). When used in the context of DFV, BWC footage may strengthen evidential cases and prosecutions. However, little is known about their utility, benefits, and limitations in DFV incidents and legal proceedings. This presentation addresses the benefits, risks and impacts of BWC use, and outlines implications for their use in DFV cases, including the need for trauma-informed training among police responders.

Speakers

Dr Mary Iliadis

Dr Mary Iliadis is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Deakin University, and a co-convenor of the Deakin Network Against Gendered Violence. Mary’s research expertise are in the areas of domestic, family and sexual violence, victims’ rights, legal representation for victims of sexual offences, and procedural and substantive justice for victim/survivors. Her work is situated within broader debates about the role, rights and treatment of victims of gender-based violence in adversarial legal systems, and outlines prospects for the transfer of policy and practice between national and international jurisdictions.

Assoc. Prof. Bridget Harris

Dr Bridget Harris is an Australian Research Council ‘Discovery Early Career Research Award’ Fellow, Deputy Director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, and Associate Professor of Criminology at Monash University. She is also a Research Associate at West Virginia University’s Research Centre on Violence and an Adjunct at the University of New England and Queensland University of Technology. Bridget works in the areas of domestic and family violence (including in non-urban locations), violence against women, technology-facilitated harm, and the use of technology in responding to and preventing violence.

Dr Naomi Pfitzner

Dr Naomi Pfitzner is a Lecturer in Criminology and a Lead Researcher with the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre at Monash University. Naomi has extensive research experience in family violence prevention and response. She conducts research in the area of family violence, gender, family studies, social policy and law. Her work has a key focus on the primary prevention of family violence, respectful relationships education and gender equality. Naomi is currently leading a national stocktake and gap analysis of respectful relationship education for the Australian Government. Naomi has also evaluated several family violence primary prevention interventions targeted at parents.