Misidentification of the predominant aggressor [1] occurs when police and other areas of the justice system incorrectly identify a victim-survivor of family violence as the perpetrator. This generally occurs when police officers responding to a family violence incident are unsure which party is the affected
family member and which is the predominant aggressor, and they “criminally charge or apply for a family violence intervention order... against the ‘wrong’ party.” [2] Misidentification was considered by the Royal Commission into Family Violence in Victoria as a significant issue. Recommendation 41 advised that changes be made to policing practices to reduce incidents of misidentification. [3]

This paper focuses specifically on the experiences of misidentification among our clients: women from migrant and refugee backgrounds that have experienced family violence. As will be discussed in this paper, misidentification causes significant and far-reaching harm to victim-survivors of family violence. (From the document). Record #7569