Terminology and definitions

Language relating to family violence and individual identities is always evolving and can vary for individuals and communities.

As practitioners, it is important to use language that service users are comfortable with. This helps build trust and keep the person engaged.

This section provides guidance about some commonly used terminology. The MARAM Practice Guides also contain information on identity that will help you talk to service users.

Throughout this guide, the term Aboriginal people is used to refer to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The terms diverse communities and at-risk age groups are used broadly, and include:

• diverse cultural, linguistic and faith communities
• people with disability
• people experiencing mental health issues
• LGBTIQ people
• women in or exiting prison or forensic institutions
• people who work in the sex industry
• people living in regional, remote and rural communities
• male victim survivors
• older people (aged 65 years and older, or 45 years and older for Aboriginal people)
• children (0 to 4 years of age are most at risk) and young people (12 to 25 years of age).

A full list of definitions is provided at the end of this document in Section 14, ‘Definitions’.

5.1 Language around gender

The MARAM Practice Guides use an intersectional analysis and feminist lens, which strongly acknowledge that family violence is gendered.

However, gendered language is not used to describe every form of family violence. This is to ensure we encompass the full range of victim survivors who may experience family violence, including those who may have historically had difficulty being recognised.

In line with the Royal Commission and the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme Guidelines, this document and the MARAM Practice Guides refer to victim survivors and perpetrators (or person using violence),recognising that these are the most widely used terms in the community.

The term victim survivor refers to adults, children and young people who experience family violence.

Under the FVPA, children are considered victim survivors if they experience family violence directed at them, or they are exposed directly to family violence and/or its effects.

Women who use force describes victim survivors who, in their intimate partner relationships, have used force in response to violence where there is a pattern and history of ongoing perpetration of violence against them.^[1] This may sometimes be referred to as ‘violent resistance’ or ‘resistive violence’. Section 12.1.13 on ‘Women who use force in heterosexual intimate partner relationships’ provides further guidance.

Some women who use force who are victim survivors do not identify as victims, because this does not match with their experience as ‘strong’ or ‘weak’, and their use of force may be in response to pushing back against a ‘weaker’ identity of victim survivor.^[2]

Women who use force in response to a pattern of family violence and coercive control from a perpetrator/predominant aggressor are not themselves perpetrators. However, if you are uncertain about the identity of a victim survivor or predominant aggressor/perpetrator, refer to Section 12.2.1, ‘Perpetrator/predominant aggressor and misidentification’.

5.2 Variations of language

Recognised variations of language include the following:

• Aboriginal people and communities may prefer to use the term people who use violence rather than perpetrator.
• Aboriginal people and communities may prefer to use the term people who experience violence rather than victim survivor.
• Parts of the service system use the term men who use violence rather than perpetrator, particularly in client/service user–facing practice settings that work exclusively with men.
• For adolescents and young people, the term adolescent or young person who uses family violence is used, rather than perpetrator. This form of family violence requires a distinct response, given the age and developmental stage of the young person and their concurrent safety and developmental needs and circumstances. In addition, it is common for the adolescent or young person to have experiences of past or current family violence perpetrated by other family members. The term is applied across a broad age range from 10 to 18 years.
• Family violence towards an older person is often described as elder abuse. In this document, elder abuse refers to family violence experienced by older people within the family or family-like contexts, including co-resident violence in residential care services and supported residential settings, as it is defined in the FVPA. It does not extend to elder abuse from professional carers occurring outside the family context, such as in institutional or community settings.
• Family violence towards or between persons with a disability or a young person within the family or family-like relationships, such as residential care facilities, is included as it is defined in the FVPA. It does not extend to professional carer relationships outside of the family context, such as in institutional settings.

5.3 Language used in the justice system

Other terms may be used for different functions or points in time within the service system.

These include terms used in the justice system:

• Police-made applications for family violence intervention orders use the term affected family member to describe the person who is to be protected by the order, and the term respondent or other party to describe the person against whom the order is sought.
• In applications for intervention orders that are not made by police, the term applicant is used to describe the person seeking the order who may be an affected family member or another person making the application on their behalf, and respondent is used to describe the person against whom an order is sought.
• The term accused is used to describe a person being prosecuted for a family violence offence, and offender describes a person who has been found guilty of an offence.

5.4 Language relating to perpetrators

The term person using family violence is used through this guide and the MARAM Practice Guides to refer to the person causing family violence harm.

The term perpetrator is used at a legal and policy level in Victoria. The term is used in this guide in relation to policy statements.

When discussing violence across a range of identities and communities, the terms men who use family violence and/or person using family violence can be used, as applicable.

In direct practice with a person using violence, you should not use the term perpetrator. It is a label that de-emphasises the person’s agency for change, and in practice it may make them feel judged and more hostile or resistant to engaging with you.

If you are working with adult and child victim survivors, they may not feel comfortable with the use of the word perpetrator when they are seeking support. Understanding and mirroring the words a victim survivor uses to describe their parent, partner, ex-partner, or family member is also an important part of the engagement process in direct practice.

In addition, the use of the term perpetrator can limit your own capacity to understand or consider the person in their context, that is their presenting needs, history and experiences, risks, strengths and environmental contexts or circumstances that contribute to their use of violence. This label may also impact professionals’ capacity to apply an intersectional lens and adopt trauma and violence–informed approaches (where appropriate).

The term perpetrator accountability^[3] refers to systemic legislative and policy responses that keep perpetrators in view of the service system and held to account for their behaviour. It also refers to how an individual can take personal accountability for safety and change.

This term encompasses a range of actions and approaches that occur at the:

• the individual level (by and with the person using violence) it means that perpetrators are encouraged to take responsibility for their use of violence and its impacts and to change their behaviour to stop using violence.
• the service level (by professionals in applying accountability in practice through risk assessment and management of the person using violence) it means that wherever perpetrators interact with the service system, the primary consideration is to support the safety, wellbeing and needs of victim survivors, and to avoid collusion while providing support for perpetrators to gain awareness, take responsibility and engage in positive behaviour change.
• system level (system-wide policy or direct interventions or other accountability measures) it means there is a collective responsibility to keep perpetrators ‘in view’. This ensures that perpetrators’ use of violence and control is seen as unacceptable at a community level, and there are clear consequences for family violence, underpinned by legislation and compliance measures.

Perpetrator accountability includes:

• understanding and responding to the needs of victim survivors, their experiences of perpetrators’ use of violence, and their views about the outcomes they are seeking to achieve
• prioritising women and children’s safety through effective, coordinated and ongoing risk assessment and management^[4]
• encouraging perpetrators to take responsibility for their actions, including the impact of their actions on family members such as intimate partners and their children
• providing options to assist perpetrators to gain insight into and awareness of their actions and change their behaviour, tailored to their risk profile
• a strong set of laws and legal processes that impose clear consequences and sanctions for perpetrators' violent and abusive behaviour and failure to comply with police interventions and court orders
• fostering collective responsibility among government and non-government agencies, the community and individuals for denouncing perpetrators’ use of violence.