1. For the argument that criminal law silences women, see, for example, Scutt (1997): “To be a woman, whether as victim of crime or accused, is to be incredible in the context of the law” (p. 5). Jocelynne Scutt is Australia’s most high-profile legal feminist.

2. “Violence” was defined as “any incident involving the occurrence, attempt or threat of either physical or sexual assault” (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 1996, p. 2). For a discussion of definitional and methodological issues in prevalence surveys of violence against women, see Johnson (1998). In the U.S., the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS), conducted by the Center for Policy Research, similarly found that almost 25% of surveyed women said they had been raped and/or physically assaulted at some time by a current or former partner (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000, p. iii).

3. In the U.S., the equivalent figure from the NVAWS survey was 1.5% (Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000, p. iii).

4. See, for example, the campaign to enact the Violence Against Women Act (1994) in the U.S. (e.g., Goldfarb, 1996).

5. Domestic Violence Act (1986, A.C.T.); Crimes Act (1900, N.S.W.), Part 15A; Domestic Violence Act (1992, N.T.); Domestic Violence (Family Protection) Act (1989, Queensl.); Domestic Violence Act (1994, S. Austl.); Justices Act (1959, Tas.), Part XA (at the time of writing, a new Family Violence Act (2004) had been passed by the Tasmanian State parliament but not yet proclaimed); Restraining Orders Act (1997, W. Austl.). In November 1997, the Domestic Violence Legislation Working Group, a subgroup of the Model Criminal Code Officers Committee established by the Australian federal government, released a Model Domestic Violence Laws: Discussion Paper, which proposed uniform national legislation for domestic violence protection orders; however, the idea of national laws was not pursued. For criticism of the proposed model laws, see Hunter and Stubbs (1999). Note that the 1980s also saw the passage of similar legislation in most U.S. States (Kinports & Fischer, 1992; Klein & Orloff, 1993).

6. On rape law reform in Australia, see, for example, Easteal (1998); Heath & Naffine (1994); Heenan & McKelvie (1997); N.S.W. Department for Women (1996); in the U.S., see, for example, Nourse (2000); Spohn & Horney (1992); in the U.K., see, for example, Lees (1996); Temkin (2000); in Canada see, for example, Gunn & Linden (1997); Sheehy (1996); Tan (1998); in New Zealand, see, for example, McDonald (1994).