The Decriminalisation of Domestic Violence, by Heather Douglas and Lee Godden, is based on a survey of all domestic violence protection order files in the Brisbane Magistrates Court for 2001. In the 694 files examined, only three perpetrators were charged with criminal offences. To understand why, the researchers also interviewed a number of domestic violence workers, finding that domestic violence continues to be perceived as a private, social issue rather than as a public matter and a concern for the criminal law, leaving violent perpetrators publicly unaccountable for their behaviour.