Domestic violence victims deserve better protections

3 hours ago 3

Editorial

November 5, 2025 — 5.00am

When perpetrators of domestic violence are behind bars, you would imagine their victims would feel like they are at their safest.

But mobile phones have provided a weapon of harassment for incarcerated abusers, and perpetrating from behind bars is now a new crime genre perplexing authorities.

There are about 25,000 incidents of ADVO breaches annually in NSW.

Matthew Witek, 40, allegedly attacked his former girlfriend on New Year’s Day and was subsequently charged, remanded in custody, and was not allowed to legally contact her under an apprehended domestic violence order. For six months, Witek allegedly breached the order by calling her 1570 times from prison. He has since been charged with six counts of knowingly contravening an ADVO more than three times, one of two new offences to protect victim-survivors of domestic and family violence laws introduced last year to target individuals who repeatedly breach protective orders.

In a separate case on October 23, Adnan Baradaaji, 41, was refused bail after he allegedly called his ex-partner from jail and made an “implicit threat” to her life, a court heard.

Another abuser, Eden Sperzel, 27, phoned his victim 1553 times on a jail phone in breach of a court order banning him from contacting her. He pleaded guilty to breaching his AVO and using a carriage service to menace or harass, and last February was sent back to jail for eight months.

There are some 25,000 incidents of ADVO breaches annually in NSW. Since the new domestic violence laws have been in place, from March to June this year, 30 people have been charged for knowingly breaching an ADVO, and 23 for knowingly breaching an ADVO more than three times in 28 days.

But as the Herald’s Kayla Olaya discovered, domestic violence experts say there is a splintered correctional monitoring system; one in which offenders can easily get around restrictions aimed at protecting victims, and Corrective Services NSW are powerless to stop it.

According to the agency’s inmate phone policy, inmates can have up to 10 personal numbers and six legal contact numbers on their call list. Personal numbers that inmates wish to add to their call list are checked by a correctional staffer through an initial phone call. However, an issue arises when an inmate uses an alias for a number they wish to add to a call list that is subject to an ADVO, and the victim wittingly or unwittingly confirms the fake identity to authorities.

Corrective Services NSW plans additional measures, including a new recorded message on all outgoing inmate calls announcing the name of the inmate who is placing the call.

Correctional Services Minister Anoulack Chanthivong has directed the Corrections Commissioner to conduct a review to strengthen how the agency manages contact between parties subject to an AVO. And, of course, the new laws are an attempt to address this issue.

Such moves are welcome. However, more resources and enforcement are the key to solving this problem. The NSW prison system is a mess. Understaffing and safety issues are rife. Officers went on strike protesting against a lenient sentence for an inmate who assaulted four guards, causing widespread disruption, lockdowns and chaos in the courts.

The brazenly abusive cell phone calls from prison cells by people like Sperzel have exposed yawning operational gaps in systems aimed at preventing domestic violence. The lapses cannot continue.

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