Dr Nina Hudson1,2,3, Dr Rebecca Bradfield1
1Tasmania Law Reform Institute, Hobart, Australia, 2Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, Australia, 3Independent Research Consultant, Belair, Australia
Biography:
Dr Nina Hudson is a socio-legal researcher, with expertise in criminal and family violence laws, sentencing and criminology. Nina’s doctorate was an empirical study of judicial court-craft in communicating sentencing decisions to IPV offenders. She has led law reform reviews on mental impairment/unfitness, violent sex offenders and abuse of older people. In addition to her Senior Research Fellow role, Nina delivers judicial education for the NJCA’s family violence program. Part of the PPL editorial team since 2016, Nina co-edited a 2024 special issue on judicial and lawyer wellbeing/stress and convened two symposia on this topic at the 2024 ANZAPPL Congress.
Abstract:
Ageing affects us all in a variety of ways. Australians are generally living longer than they have before, with Tasmania having the fastest ageing population and the highest disability rates. Coupled with growing economic pressures and the continued prevalence of abuse and violence in families and institutional care settings, this is giving rise to new and evolving issues for society (and the law) to contend with. This paper discusses a Tasmania Law Reform Institute study, funded by the McBurnie Postdoctoral Fellowship, reviewing the Tasmanian legal and service framework for safeguarding against the abuse of older people (people aged 65 years and over and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 years and over). Some services exist in Tasmania with a specialist focus on preventing and responding to such abuse; however, the legal framework consists of a range of laws that have developed separately and incrementally in different areas in recognition of requirements to address the protection needs or rights of people. Although these may include some older Tasmanians, the framework has not been specifically developed with the abuse of older person in mind, informed by an understanding of its nature and dynamics and factors relevant to perpetration and help-seeking. In this context, the paper will present insights, drawn from analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collected in the study, that contribute to an understanding of these issues in the Tasmanian context.