Allegations of stalking are often trivialised by Victorian police with victims left to take out intervention orders themselves, according to a report commissioned after the death of Celeste Manno in 2020.
In its interim report on the state’s legal responses to stalking, the Victorian Law Reform Commission called for police to initiate intervention orders on behalf of stalking victims in a bid to improve early responses.
Anthony North QC, chair of the VLRC, described stalking as an “invisible crime” that was frequently not recognised by both police and people who experience it.
“It is often minimised or trivialised, and victim survivors are often expected to manage the situation on their own,” he said.
“Our recommendations are intended to assist the police to recognise stalking, to take victims seriously, support them, and intervene quickly to stop the stalking.”
The VLRC heard that police’s default position was to tell victims to apply for a personal safety and intervention order (PSIO), leaving them feeling they were left to take matters into their own hands.
This is despite police having the power to apply for a PSIO on behalf of someone when they believe that a person needs protection, including if the person does not want an order to be made.
“Each time I went to my local station, all they would do was say, ‘he hasn’t broken any laws so we can’t do anything’,” one victim told the VLRC. “The general reaction from police was that I was an older anxious woman who lived alone and not worth their time. That I was wasting their time.”
Another victim told the commission: “I am angry that other officers do not take stalking seriously and treat victims like they are behaving irrationally.”
The commission heard that when some victims reported stalking, they were told that taking out a PSIO themselves could compromise their safety. A PSIO is intended to protect people from someone other than a family member who is being violent, stalking, harassing or seriously threatening.
The VLRC report was tabled in parliament on Wednesday, and was commissioned by the Andrews government after the death of Manno, 23, who was stabbed to death in her bedroom where she had been sleeping in Mernda in Melbourne’s north-east. Manno’s former work colleague Luay Sako, 35, has been charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty.
In the wake of her death, Manno’s parents petitioned the state government to overhaul protections for stalking victims, prompting the VLRC review.
The commission recommended Victoria police draw on the expertise of specialists to provide training that enhanced frontline police’s understanding and identification of stalking behaviours under the Crimes Act 1958.
It also recommended the state’s police force develop guidelines for specialist interviewing to improve the recording of information to aid investigation of cases. Additionally, it said police should provide specific guidance to victims, such as how to end cyberstalking.
Stalking affects at least one in six women and around one in 15 men, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2016 personal safety report. Most perpetrators of stalking are men, and most victims are women. Data from Victoria’s Crime Statistics Agency shows police recorded more than 1,100 non-family violence stalking offences over the past year – up 12% on the previous year.
Stalking survivor Di McDonald, who experienced the offence over many years, said it was “horrific” having to take out an intervention order and represent herself in court prior to the offender’s sentencing.
“I’ve never set foot in a courthouse before. So I didn’t know what I was even asking for and then you’re confronting him [perpetrator] in a court room,” she told Guardian Australia.
“It would be such a huge relief for a victim not have to go in and having to tell their story.”
In Victoria, stalking is a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment. It can also be grounds for a personal safety intervention order.
More than 25,000 stalking offences were reported to police in Victoria in the 10 years to 2020.
The final report, due by 30 June, will focus on ways to address the conduct of people who engage in stalking behaviour, including those who breach intervention orders.
It comes after Victorian police on Monday unveiled a nation-first stalker pilot trial that profiles stalkers in an attempt to prevent the behaviour escalating to violence and killings.
Victoria police’s family violence assistant commissioner Lauren Callaway said the force continued to prioritise its response to stalking and had “numerous improvements” under way.
“We are the first police jurisdiction in Australia to equip frontline police with an innovative and structured risk assessment tool to better protect victims from unwanted behaviour as part of a trial introduced at Prahran and Morwell police stations last month,” she said.
“These improvements mean we will investigate and respond to these reports swiftly to improve safety for victims and hold perpetrators to account for their harmful actions.”
Victims of stalking in Victoria can contact the Victims of Crime Helpline on 1800 819 817.
