Category Archives: News

Crime and Justice Briefing Paper Series

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We welcome Dr Laura Vitis as the new co-editor of the Crime and Justice Briefing Paper Series, replacing Dr Monique Mann who is leaving QUT.   Laura joins our current co-editor, Associate Professor Michael Flood.

The Crime and Justice Briefing Paper Series provide short, accessible accounts of topics and issues related to crime and justice.  This open access publication features research undertaken by staff, students and affiliated researchers for the QUT School of Justice (formerly Crime, Justice and Social Democracy Research Centre), and are blind peer reviewed.

Our first Briefing Paper was released in July and is titled, “The Case for Decriminalisation:  Sex Work and the Law in Queensland”.  A copy of the Briefing Paper can be found here.  

We welcome Laura to this new role.

 

Event: Thirty years after Fitzgerald: The unfinished business of Queensland’s sex work policy

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In July the CJSDRC launched the first of its briefing papers, The Case for Decriminalisation: Sex Work and the Law in QLD’.

This month the paper will be re-launched at Queensland State Parliament,by Centre Director Melissa Bull, at an event sponsored by Peter Russo, State Member for Toohey. If you are interested in reading and hearing more about decriminalisation, join the Respect Inc and #DecrimQLD in Brisbane Parliament House for a solutions-focused Symposium on the unfinished business of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Report. The Fitzgerald Report recommended significant changes to prevent the continued misuse of police powers. Thirty years later sex work remains in the Criminal Code. At this Symposium you will have the opportunity to hear the concerns and solutions from experts in the field of sex work policy. More about the event can be found below.

Thirty years after Fitzgerald: The unfinished business of Queensland’s sex work policy
Sex industry policy in Queensland remains unfinished business. Thirty years after the 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry found excessive levels of police corruption and misuse of powers over the sex industry, 80% of sex workers in Queensland are still subject to police regulation and monitoring.

In response to the Fitzgerald Inquiry, the Prostitution Act 1999 (Qld) introduced a brothel licensing system but left the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld) intact. The 1999 legislation criminalises sex workers working in pairs and massage parlours, and regulates only 20 brothels. Standard practices such as hiring a receptionist, texting another worker when a client arrives and leaves, are illegal. Police powers include immunity when posing as clients undercover. Police now actively prosecute sex workers for implementing safety strategies, with charges up by 126%, and for incorrect wording in sex work advertising, with charges up 450%. The ‘criminals’ are predominantly women over 30; they are fined up to $6,000. Access to justice is impeded. The unintended consequence of the lack of action on this issue is that basic safety strategies are criminalised. Everyday, sex workers in Queensland must choose between working safely or legally.

The evidence is that decriminalisation is the best model of sex industry regulation. It is a system that would bring all sex industry businesses under Queensland’s existing robust business and industrial regulation. Repealing outdated laws would finish the work of Fitzgerald and provide safer working conditions for sex workers, free from fear of arrest.
This symposium is sponsored by Peter Russo MP, State Member for Toohey.

Photo ID and a ticket are essential for Parliament House events.

Register here

Janelle Fawkes

Student Event: QUT Justice Society and UQ Criminology and Criminal Justice Society Ball

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On behalf of the QUT Justice Society and UQ Criminology and Criminal Justice Society, we’re proud to announce our biggest event ever,

Arabian Nights: Justice and Criminology Ball 2019.

WHO: The event is open to all students of both universities.

WHEN: Friday 20th September

TIME: 6.30 – 11.30pm.

WHERE: Cloudland, Fortitude Valley.

COST: QUTJS Member Tickets are $95 + booking fee. The non-member tickets are $105 + booking fee. You can get your tickets through this link:

https://justiceball-event.getqpay.com.

FOOD AND DRINK: Cold and hot canapes and a 4 hour drinks package.

You can stay updated on our following social media platforms:

EMAIL: qutjusticesociety@gmail.com

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/qutjusticesociety/

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/qutjusticesociety/

EVENT PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/events/619333171891626/

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to message us through our Facebook page or send us an email.

Welcome – Inspector Garry Henkel – Visiting Police Associate

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The School of Justice in the Faculty of Law at Queensland University of Technology would like to welcome Inspector Garry Henkel, who joins the School as a Visiting Police Associate in the university.

Inspector Henkel has been a member of the Queensland Police Service for over 33 years. During this time he has performed roles at various country and metropolitan locations including, general duties, criminal investigations, prosecutions, strategic policy, ministerial liaison, and as the inaugural Police Representative on the Parole Board, Queensland.

Inspector Henkel holds a Bachelor of Education (QUT) and a Graduate Diploma Leadership and Management and is currently enrolled in a Juris Doctor (USQ). Inspector Henkel is also a commissioned officer in the Australian Army (Reserve) holding the rank of Major.

Inspector Henkel’s role at QUT will provide staff with enhanced opportunities to liaise with the QPS for police-related research, whilst also offering students real-world insight and knowledge about policing practices and issues.

Domestic violence and technology: Findings and future pathways

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Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz and Dr Bridget Harris will present findings from the ACCAN funded study Domestic violence and communication technology: Victim experiences of intrusion, surveillance, and identity theft. This free public seminar will present key findings from the report on survivor experiences of technology-facilitated coercive control.

26 June, 2019
4:00 pm-5:30 pm
Room P419, Level 4, P Block, Gardens Point Campus

Download the report and infographics here

Information about the research team, future presentations, and publications is here.

Position Vacant: Lecturer, School of Justice, Faculty of Law

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The School of Justice, Faculty of Law is recruiting for an ongoing full time Lecturer to contribute to real world research and teaching being undertaken in the School.

Further information about the position can be found here:  https://qut.nga.net.au/?jati=6D314F87-1547-71C6-6C9D-AD5D84CD5413

Applications close 15 September 2019.

Ask LOIS webinar on Domestic violence and communication technology

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Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz and Dr Bridget Harris will present an Ask LOIS webinar on Domestic violence and communication technology
20 June, 2019
11:00 am-11:30 am
Register here https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/974592111259198209

Read more

Event: Fixing Fitzgerald – Queensland’s failed sex industry policy

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Please join the QUT School of Justice, Respect Inc and #DecrimQLD, for a special event to mark the 30th anniversary of the handing down of the Fitzgerald Inquiry Report in 1989. The event brings together six leading academic and industry experts to discuss sex industry law reform in Queensland.

3 July 2019

5.30pm for a 6.00pm to 8.00pm presentation
Gibson Room, Level 10, Z Block, QUT Gardens Point

Register here

Abstract

The 1989 Fitzgerald Inquiry found excessive levels of police corruption in relation to sex work, recommending significant reforms and civil regulation to remove police from a regulatory role. Yet in 2019, thirty years from the date the Fitzgerald report was tabled in parliament, these reforms remain unfinished business.
Despite the findings of the Fitzgerald Inquiry, sex workers are still monitored by police today. At least 80% of the sex industry remain under police regulation and are controlled by legislation including the Prostitution Act 1999 (Qld) and the Criminal Code 1899 (Qld). The legislation criminalises sex workers working in pairs and massage parlours. Police powers including immunity when undercover have been extended, and police enforce advertising wording compliance. Is this efficient use of police resources? Is it possible for police to be both prosecutors and protectors? What can be done to improve the safety and health of sex workers in Queensland?

Chairs

Jules Kim
Korean/Australian sex worker and CEO
Scarlet Alliance, Australian Sex Workers Association


Mark Lauchs
Associate Professor
QUT School of Justice

Speakers

Candi Forrest – A Brisbane local and prominent commentator on sex work policy who lives to tell the pre and post-Fitzgerald tale. Founding member of Respect Inc. and member of the Sexual Health Ministerial Advisory Committee.

Dr Lisa Fitzgerald – A public health sociologist at the School of Public Health, University of Queensland who has lead research projects on the impact of decriminalisation on the health and safety of sex workers in New Zealand and authored, ‘Taking the Crime out of Sex Work’ (2010).

Elyse Coles – A sex worker with insight into the Fitzgerald times and current regulation whose passion is equity for sex workers, particularly trans sex workers. Spokesperson for the DecrimQLD Campaign.

Dr Katie Hail-Jares – Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Griffith Criminology Institute and editor of Challenging Perspectives on Street-Based Sex Work (Temple University Press).

Vickki Boon – Speaker from the Respect Inc. Asian Focus Peer Education Project on current policing approaches to Asian & migrant sex workers in Queensland.

Dr Erin O’Brien – Senior Lecturer in the QUT School of Justice researching policy and advocacy surrounding sex work, human trafficking and migration and author of The Politics of Sex Trafficking (Palgrave 2013) and Challenging the Human Trafficking Narrative (Routledge 2019).

 

Domestic violence and communication technology: Insights from Australian survivors

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Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz will present Domestic violence and communication technology: Insights from Australian survivors at the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month Breakfast hosted by Cairns Regional Domestic Violence Service in Cairns, Australia. This is the first presentation of the findings from the ACCAN funded study Domestic violence and communication technology: Victim experiences of intrusion, surveillance, and identity theft.

Read more

Australia Brazil exchange on preventing family violence

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The Australian Embassy in Brazil is funding an exchange of family violence experts.

The first phase of the project, taking place in June 2019, involves five leading gender and family violence prevention scholars traveling to Brazil to engage in a program of visits to family violence and criminal justice agencies. The  Australian experts will also partake in a series of academic and public forums and presentations with Brazilian experts.

The second phase of the exchange will involve more than a dozen Brazilian expert practitioners and academics traveling to Australia to engage in a similar program of activities. One of the Victorian Andrews government’s defining policy contributions and investments ($2.7 b) has been towards ending family violence.

In the wake of the landmark Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (2016), Australia is a world leader in preventing family violence. A

The Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre is a key partner and participant in the exchange. The Australian experts attending the Brazilian exchange also include Professor Kerry Carrington from QUT School of Justice who has been researching the prevention of gender violence and women’s police stations in Argentina – https://research.qut.edu.au/pgv/

The five leading gender and family violence prevention scholars traveling to Brazil in June include, (pictured below from L to R)

Professor Kerry Carrington (QUT), Dr Lisa Harris (RMIT),
Professor Jude McCulloch (Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre),
Dr Jasmine McGowan (Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre), Dr Heather Nancorrow (CEO, ANROWS)