Our Achievements

Australasian Centre for Human Rights and Health (ACHRH) was formed in September 2012 and officially  launched on 16 February 2013 at the Punjabi Masala ant in Nunawading Melbourne. 

Starting off as ACHRH Anti-Dowry Petition, the extensive media and community campaign grew to be fully accepted by the Royal Commission into Family Violence and became Recommendation 156 in the RCFV Report (2016). Following steps led to this extraordinary achievement.

1/07/2013 – ACHRH Launches the Anti dowry abuse petition demanding that dowry abuse is included in the Family violence Protection Act of Victoria as an example of economical abuse under section 6 .

13/03/2014 – The Anti dowry abuse petition is tabled in Victorian Parliament by Former Premier Ted Baillieu

14/12/2014 – Community Protest MARCH led by ACHRH culminating at the  steps of Victorian Parliament

31/01/2015 – ACHRH Participates in Anti-dowry cultural event Hindi poetry evening at Kew Library

30/9/2015 – ACHRH Submits a significant submission to the Victorian Royal commission into Family Violence  titled “Refusal to comply with dowry demands leads to domestic violence and death in Victoria” . including the ACHRH anti-dowry  petition asking for the petition to become law

29/03/2016 –  Report into the Victorian Royal commission into Family Violence is released and  ACHRH anti-dowry petition is adopted as Recommendation 156. The Victorian Government expand statutory examples of family violence to include forced marriage and dowry abuse

14/12/2016 – First National Dowry Abuse summit held in Melbourne in conjunction with The University of Melbourne

6/08/2018 – The Anti-Dowry abuse Bill passes the both houses of Parliament  of Victoria unanimously as part of the Justice Legislation Amendment Bill

26/06 /2018 – Federal Australian Senate inquiry into dowry abuse is announced by the Australian Government

19/9/2018 – ACHRH  Executive Director Dr Manjula O’Connor gives evidence at the Senate Hearing into dowry abuse in Australia

21/2/2019 The Senate Report into dowry abuse is   released and confirms that the definition of dowry abuse ought to be included in the Federal Family Law Act as an example of family violence

22/3/2019 – ACHRH hosts 2nd National Dowry Abuse Summit in Sydney conjunction with UNSW held in Sydney . the Shadow Minister for Prevention of Family Violence Linda Burney gives firm undertaking to implement all the recommendations of the Senate Report into dowry abuse  if elected to the Office (elections announced in April 2019)

2019 – Australian Department of Social Services Website records dowry abuse on its SAFETY PACK to prevent family violence https://www.dss.gov.au/family-safety-pack

On 29 March 2019 ACHRH Petition became law within the Act of Family Violence Protection of Victoria. Demands for dowry, gifts, cash will be deemed as an act of Family Violence

The Victorian legislations now reads The following behaviour may constitute family violence under paragraph (a)— using coercion, threats, physical abuse or emotional or psychological abuse to demand or receive dowry, either before or after a marriage.”;