Rosie Batty: There's 'no benefit' in a register of domestic violence offenders.

Australian of the Year Rosie Batty has rejected the idea of a register of domestic violence offenders, saying the focus should be on intervention.

The proposal was made by Victoria Police in its submission to the nation’s first royal commission into family violence which begins public hearings later this month.

The risk register would allow people to check if their partner had a violent history.

The model, based on a UK law, recognises a partner’s right to know and right to ask about someone’s abusive past.

The submission said such an initiative could break the “all-too-common pattern” of perpetrators harming partners and children.

But Ms Batty, who lost her son Luke to domestic violence in 2014, said she did not support the idea.

“I don’t see a lot of benefit from it and I know a lot of other colleagues I’ve spoken to feel the same way,” she said.

Ms Batty said many victims felt let down by the court system and the focus needed to be on intervention.

"It's a process of intervention which starts with firm accountability imposed by the courts, where breaches are breaches and they are considered serious," she said.

Hugh de Kretser, the executive director of the Human Rights Law Centre, also questioned how effective a register would be.

"The sex offender register that we've got in Victoria, it's essentially politically untouchable because no-one wants to wind [it] back," he said.

"But if you speak to police quietly, they say there are masses of resources being wasted on this register which are not being focused on the highest need: prevention.

"So it's too broad."

Mr de Kretser said police attitudes about domestic violence had changed, but there was still work to do.

"Women are going to court sometimes with 10, only 15 minutes before, with a lawyer to prepare them, before actually going to speak to the magistrate about their intervention order application," he said.

"That moment in court, where a perpetrator is there before the judge, being held accountable, is a critical moment for the justice system, for the community to make an intervention that's effective to change the behaviour.

"We're missing those opportunities now because of insufficient investment."

This post originally appeared on the ABC and was republished here with full permission. 

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