CASE STUDY - Read the case stuyd and fill the risk assessment

Darsh and Anika grew up in the same country of origin, however, at the time they met through an online dating website, Darsh had been living in Australia for 5 years and Anika was still living in her home country with her older sister. Darsh had been married previously and divorced. Anika had been engaged at the age of 18 when her fianc was killed in a car accident. Anika managed her grief by throwing herself into her studies and by the age of 28 she was working as a nurse in a large city hospital and earnt more than double than her husband to be.

Darsh has a 4 year old child, Ira who lives with his former wife and spends regular weekend and holiday time with Darsh. After Anika and Darsh married overseas, Darsh promptly returned to Australia and Anika applied to Australian Immigration for a joint visa with Darsh as the sponsor. When the visa was granted, Anika resigned from the hospital and travelled to Australia to live with Darsh. He told her that it would be easy for her to get a similar job in Australia when they started their new lives together as there was a shortage of health professionals in Australia.

Anika speaks fondly of her early days with Darsh. She described him as kind, respectful, loving and enthusiastic about showing her the sights of the exciting city in Australia she was about to move to. Darsh paid for herself and her older sister to visit Australia before they married booking an expensive hotel for Anika and her sister to stay in during their holiday.

Anika said that her sister was very happy she was marrying Darsh as she said it was bringing shame on the family that she was nearly 30 and not married and she hoped they would soon have a child of their own. Anika was committed to supporting Darsh in caring for Ira, and believes she made a genuine effort to build a relationship. When the child was staying with Anika and Darsh, Anika would take care of the child's needs, prepare meals and do the housekeeping while Darsh went to work. This was not a lifestyle Anika was accustomed to having been employed and independent for many years. Anika was unable to get employment while on a temporary visa and was therefore entirely financially dependent on Darsh. When ever she raised the possibility of starting to network with health professionals or even volunteering her time to build up some references Darsh told her there was no need for her to work now she was married and she needed to focus on important things like their family.

One evening, a few months after moving to Australia, Anika raised again the subject of her returning to work as soon as her visa permitted. Darsh said that there was a problem with her visa and he wasn't sure when it would be sorted out. Anika asked what the problem was and Darsh slapped her across the face telling her to stop raising the subject of work and that her only job was to look after him and Ira. The next day Anika had a visible bruise on her face and Darsh told her she needed to learn to respect his wishes and then this wouldn't happen again. That evening when he returned from work he had a large bunch of flowers for Anika and didn't speak about what had happened the previous evening.

Anika rang her sister a few weeks later after Darsh hit her again for not having his dinner ready when he returned from work early. Anika wanted to tell her sister what was happening but was reluctant to bring further shame on her family.

Darsh's mother came to visit and stayed at their house for a week. One evening whilst she was out walking Darsh started to yell at Anika because the house wasn't tidy. He said that Anika was embarrassing him in from of his Mother and he grabbed her and threw her to the ground. Anika hit her head on the side of the coffee table and began to bleed on the rug. Darsh screamed at Anika that she was causing more mess and she was a stupid lazy woman who couldn't do anything right and that now he was going to have to get on his hands and knees to clean up her mess.

The following day Darsh's Mother noticed the bruises on Anika's arm from where Darsh had grabbed her and thrown her to the ground. She told Anika that bruises will heal and a good wife should do what ever she can to keep her marriage together and show respect to her husband as head of the household. She said that the family could not survive another divorce.

Anika was not allowed a phone of her own; instead, Darsh would give her his personal mobile while he was at work and he would use his office mobile to call her regularly through the day, checking on where she was. He had installed an app on the mobile and would question her daily movements if they didn't match the app. Darsh gave Anika a small allowance each Monday and expected her to pay the bills and do the shopping with it. He demanded that she produce itemised receipts for everything she bought. Once when she bought a coffee whilst out shopping he told her that she could skip her dinner that night since she had overspent and he ate a take away pizza in front of her without offering her any.

One evening about 6 months after the incident when Darsh's Mother was staying with them, Darsh began drinking heavily on returning from work and he argued with Anika and, in full view of Ira, tried to strangle her. Anika called the police but upon their arrival minimised what had occurred, not telling the police what had actually taken place.

Anika's older sister came for a holiday and travelled to Australia with Darsh after he had been on a brief visit to their home country. Originally she was going to stay with Anika, however Darsh told his sister-in-law that Anika wasn't coping well , was experiencing anxiety and in fact he felt she was close to a break down so it would be too much to have a visitor stay in the house and it would be better if she stayed with a family friend that lived over an hour drive away. During her 3 week stay in Australia, Anika only saw her sister twice and both times Darsh was present.

Anika continued to make an effort to look after Ira on the weekends and keep the household going despite suffering diarrhoea, headaches, muscle and back pain, and feelings of stress and depression.

One evening Darsh zoomed his parents and complained about Sita saying she was lazy and even though she didn't work she couldn't even clean the house properly or have his dinner ready on time. During the conversation, Anika tried to correct Darsh's claims and explain her experience of his behaviour. Darsh called her (in their first language) a prostitute and accused her of having sex with a neighbour who had knocked on the door earlier in the evening to pass on a package for Darsh that had accidently been delivered next door . After the zoom ended Darsh picked up a coffee cup and threw it at the wall, almost hitting her in the head. Later, as he became increasingly intoxicated, he told Anika to leave his house and then moments later said she better never leave and bring shame on his family.

Recently Anika found out she was pregnant. Darsh initially seemed very happy about the news but with in weeks he was complaining that they could not afford another mouth to feed. One night when Darsh had been drinking they had another argument about the pregnancy, he told her now that she was fat and disgusting, no other man would want her, he also said her that once the baby was born if she didn't start being more respectful to him then he would send her to live with her sister and the baby could stay in Australia. Anika yelled back that she would never be separated from her baby, Darsh put his hands around her throat and told her they would see about that. When Darsh was asleep, Anika went to the neighbour's as she was scared, the neighbour urged Anika to contact the police, however, Anika resisted. Upon returning to the home, Darsh woke and destroyed the wedding photographs hung on the wall by smashing them in front of Anika. At this point Anika went back to the neighbour's and the neighbour called the police.

The police initiated a violence restraining order on Anika's behalf. The police referred Anika to a family violence service provider so her risk could be assessed and for further assistance.

***Complete the appropriate for your State - Risk Assessment Form***

Ensure all sections of the risk assessment tool are completed. If not relevant write N/A.

Family and Domestic Violence Risk Assessment Tool Service providers that have a role in responding to family and domestic violence are required to conduct a risk assessment considering the adult victim's assessment of the risk, evidenced based key risk factors and the service provider's professional judgement'. 1 Summary Victim details Perpetrator details Name: Click here to enter text. Name: Click here to enter text. Date of birth: Click here to enter text. Date of birth: Click here to enter text. Phone number: Click here to enter text. Phone number: Click here to enter text. Address: Click here to enter text. Address: Click here to enter text. Emergency contact: Click here to enter text. Nature of relationship between victim / perpetrator: Click here to enter text. Name(s) and date(s) of birth of children: Click here to enter text. Completed by: Name: Click here to enter text. Date completed: Click here to enter a date. Agency: Click here to enter text. Phone: Click here to enter text. Initial assessment Level of FDV risk O At HIGH RISK of serious harm O At RISK of harm Levels of risk are defined in Section 5 Assessment / Analysis. Critical or imminent safety concerns Please list any immediate concerns Click here to enter text. This risk assessment tool is based on comprehensive research including multiple examinations of the predictive accuracy of risk factors, victim perception and professional judgement in assessing risk of repeat assault or potential lethality in family and domestic violence cases (Campbell 2003; 2004; 2005). See Fact sheet 5 Key risk factors for further information and references.2 Risk factor identification Violence toward victim/s Source of information if not Risk factor Yes | No | Unknown adult victim (e.g. Police) Was a weapon used by the perpetrator in most recent event* O Click here to enter text. Is the violence becoming worse or more frequent* Click here to enter text. Has the perpetrator ever physically harmed or threatened to harm 0 Click here to enter text. adult victim* Has the perpetrator ever raped or sexually assaulted adult victim* 10 0 Click here to enter text. Has the perpetrator ever choked, strangled or suffocated the adult O 0 0 Click here to enter text. victim or attempted to do so* Has the perpetrator ever tried or threatened to kill the adult victim* Click here to enter text. Is the perpetrator stalking the adult victim (could include harassing 0 0 Click here to enter text. and/or monitoring the adult victim using others and/or technology)* Is the perpetrator jealous and/or controlling toward the adult victim* Click here to enter text. Has there been a recent separation or planned separation in the Click here to enter text. near future* Has the perpetrator ever harmed or threatened to harm or kill 0 0 Click here to enter text. children* Has the perpetrator ever harmed or threatened to harm or kill pets Click here to enter text. or other animals* Has the perpetrator ever harmed or threatened to harm or kill other 0 Click here to enter text. family members Has the perpetrator isolated the adult victim from family, friends Click here to enter text. and/or other social supports Has the perpetrator restricted the adult victim's access to money Click here to enter text. 2Perpetrator Source of information if not Risk factor Yes | No | Unknown adult victim (e.g. Police) Does the perpetrator have access to firearms or prohibited 0 Click here to enter text. weapons* Has the perpetrator ever threatened or attempted suicide* Click here to enter text. Does the perpetrator misuse/abuse drugs and/or alcohol* Click here to enter text. Has the perpetrator ever experienced mental ill health* 0 Click here to enter text. Is the perpetrator unemployed 0 0 Click here to enter text. Is the perpetrator experiencing financial difficulties 0 0 Click here to enter text. Has the perpetrator breached any court orders (i.e. bail, violence Click here to enter text. restraining order and/or police order conditions) Is the perpetrator currently on bail or parole in relation to violent 0 Click here to enter text. offences Has the perpetrator served a time of imprisonment or been 0 Click here to enter text. released recently from custody in relation to violent offences Does the perpetrator have a history of violent behaviour (not family 0 0 0 Click here to enter text. violence) Does the perpetrator's family pose a risk to the adult victim 0 Click here to enter text. Children Source of information if not adult Risk factor Yes No Unknown victim (e.g. Police) Is the adult victim pregnant or is there a new birth* Click here to enter text. Has the child ever been in the adult victim's arms when 0 Click here to enter text. she/he has been attacked* 3Has the child ever tried to intervene in the violence 0 Click here to enter text. Are there child contact or residency issues and/or are 0 0 0 Click here to enter text. there current Family Court proceedings Are there children from a previous relationship present in 0 Click here to enter text. the household # The presence of mental ill health must be carefully considered in relation to the co-occurrence of other risk factors. These risk factors indicate an increased likelihood of a victim being killed. 3 Adult victim's assessment of the risk How fearful is the adult victim of the perpetrator Not afraid Afraid Terrified Unable to answer Click here to enter text. What concerns did the adult victim express? Click here to enter text. What did the adult victim think the perpetrator might do and to whom? Click here to enter text. Other important comments 4 Professional judgement Click here to enter text. Are you aware of any other additional factors, circumstances or details which make you believe there is risk or high risk to the safety of the adult victim, children and/or others? 4Issues to consider may include: the adult Click here to enter text. victim's situation in relation to disability, substance misuse, mental health issues, cultural/ language barriers; whether they are willing to engage with a support service; whether the perpetrator's occupation or interests has given them unique access to weapons etc. Click here to enter text. Do you believe any children in the household are at risk of harm? 5 Assessment/Analysis Level of Select appropriate level of risk based on professional judgement, evidenced base risk factors and the FDV risk victim's own perception of their level of risk where available. At HIGH RISK of serious harm At RISK of harm At high risk of serious harm means there is evidence of a At risk of harm means there is evidence serious risk to the adult victim and children's safety and of a risk to the adult victim and wellbeing and urgent action is necessary to prevent or lessen children's safety and wellbeing. the risk. A victim is identified as at risk of harm A victim is identified as at high risk of serious harm if: if: a number of factors with an (*) are checked 'yes' on the risk one or more risk factors are checked assessment tool; yes' on the risk assessment tool; there is a history of physical violence by the perpetrator toward there is a history of violence by the the adult and child victims (if there are children); and/or perpetrator toward the adult and child in your professional judgement, combined with evidence based victims, and/or risk factors, the adult and child victims (if there are children) the violence is escalating. are likely to be in grave danger if immediate action is not taken. 6 Responding to the level of risk Next steps Details of action Immediate safety addressed Click here to enter text. Safety plans developed Click here to enter text. Agency collaboration & information sharing Click here to enter text. Warm referrals made for: Click here to enter text. 5Adult victim Children Perpetrator Multi-agency meeting convened Click here to enter text. Police contacted Click here to enter text. VRO application Click here to enter text. Child protection notified Click here to enter text. Other Click here to enter text. Are these next steps working toward making it safer for the adult and child/ren victims? Are these next steps holding the perpetrator accountable for their violence? NB: The above is a non-exhaustive list of actions to be taken. Every case is unique and appropriate actions will be dependent on the outcome of the family and domestic violence risk assessment. 6