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2023

Global Study on Homicide

The Global Study on Homicide 2013 seeks to shed light on the worst of crimes - the "unlawful death purposefully inflicted on a person by another person." In 2012, intentional homicide took the lives of almost half a million people. The study of intentional homicide is relevant not only because it is the study of the ultimate crime, whose ripple effect goes far beyond the initial loss of human life, but because lethal violence can create a climate of fear and uncertainty. Intentional homicide also victimizes the family and community of the victim, who can be considered secondary victims, and when justice is not served, impunity can lead to further victimization in the form of the denial of the basic human right to justice.

Full report ››
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Identity crime and misuse in Australia: Results of the 2013 online survey

This report was commissioned by the Attorney-General’s Department (AGD), as part of broader work under the National Identity Security Strategy to develop a national identity crime measurement framework, with the analysis by the AIC. Attorney-General, the Hon. Senator George Brandis QC, released the report at CeBit 2014 in Sydney.

The report is a significant independent survey in 2013 of ID crime and misuse in Australia of 5000 participants. It provides an estimation of the extent of the issue, and describes financial loss of victims of ID crime, as well as examining public perceptions.

The survey asked about the misuse of various types of personal information such as an individual’s name, address, date of birth, place of birth, gender, driver’s licence information, passport information, Medicare information, biometric information (eg fingerprint), signature, bank account information, credit or debit card information, password, personal identification number (PIN), tax file number (TFN), shareholder identification number (HIN), computer and/or other online usernames and passwords, student number, as well as other types of personal information.

Among other survey findings, 21 percent of the 5000 respondents reported misuse of their personal information at some time during their life, with nine percent reporting misuse of their personal information in the previous 12 months.

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Even Casual Cannabis Use Can Affect Health

As support for decriminalising and legalising marijuana is growing, several new studies highlight the potentially harmful effects of the drug on its user’s brain and heart. The findings are particularly revealing in the field of recreational cannabis use. While studying the brains of a group of twenty occasional cannabis smokers, researchers from Harvard University found that as few as one or two uses a week can change the brain. Smoking marijuana was found to primarily affect the areas involved in decision making, emotions and motivations. Along the same lines, a group of French researchers found that marijuana use ups the risk of developing heart problems (i.e. strokes, heart attacks and circulation problems). More research is needed to better understand the health risks associated with marijuana.

Cannabis Use Is Quantitatively Associated with Nucleus Accumbens and Amygdala Abnormalities in Young Adult Recreational Users ››

The Role of Families in Effective Prevention Programmes

Strengthening Families Programme, a family-focused prevention programme used in 26 countries around the world, was found to be nine times more effective than individually-targeted programmes and yielded a $10 return for every dollar spent on it. The programme, designed for youth and their families, aims to improve parent-child interactions, parenting skills and strengthen young people’s social and problem-solving skills.

Learn more about Strengthening Families Programme ››
Strengthening Families Programme for Parents and Youth 10 – 14 ››

Happy hour affects some groups more than others

Happy hour specials are known to significantly increase alcohol intake across a wide range of young adults. A recent study found that certain groups are more influenced by it than others. Drink specials have a greater impact on the drinking behaviour of girls, minors, non-athletes, members of university groups (brotherhoods in the American context), unemployed students and those living in student housing. Happy hour does not only make them drink more, it also makes them more susceptible to risky behaviour (i.e. drinking while under the influence, getting into fights or having unprotected intercourse).

Research: It's five o'clock somewhere: an examination of the association between happy ››

Factors affecting drinking among Brazilian students

Submitted by Livia Edegger on 14th May 2014 - 12:35

A recent study examines the factors influencing alcohol consumption among Brazilian students. The author explores the issue from two different angles: individual and family-related factors. It was found that students in private schools, girls, smokers and those who had used drugs before were among the respondents with the highest alcohol intake. Family-related factors also played an important role in the likelihood of student drinking. Students with limited interactions and lack of communication with their parents were found to be more likely to drink than their peers.

Exposure to alcohol among adolescent students and associated factors ››

Human trafficking involving marriage and partner migration to Australia

Although forced marriage has increasingly gained attention over the past three years and a small number of legal proceedings have proved attempted or actual cases of forced marriage involving girls and young women, less attention has been paid to the exploitation of migrant brides in other ways.

This research is the first in Australia to confirm that marriage has been used to recruit or attract women to Australia for the purposes of exploitation as domestic servants, to provide private or commercial sexual services and/or to be exploited in the home as wives.

The report explores the links between partner migration to Australia and human trafficking and how marriage and other intimate relationships are involved in the trafficking of persons to Australia.

Although exploratory in nature, this research makes a significant contribution to the limited body of knowledge on exploitative marriages in the context of human trafficking, providing an initial insight into the nature of this crime.

Full report ››
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Challenges of responding to online fraud victimisation in Australia

Online fraud occurs when an individual or a business responds in some manner to an unsolicited invitation received via the internet and suffers financial or other detrimental effects as a result. In 2010–11, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2012) found that over 1.2 million Australians (6.7% of the population aged 15 years and over) had been a victim of personal fraud, losing approximately $1.4b in the preceding 12 months. More than half of these victims (55.7%) were contacted via the internet or email (online victimisation). In addition to monetary losses, victims of online fraud suffer serious psychological, emotional, social and even physical problems as a consequence of their victimisation. This paper explores the challenges of responding to online fraud victimisation in Australia and describes some of the specific support services that have recently emerged to support victims of this crime.

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