Campaign for safety and justice for women and children in Family Law

The campaign focuses on the needs of women and children seeking safe living
arrangements for themselves and their children through the Family Law Court.

Many women and their children suffer ongoing threats to their safety through judgments handed down by the Family Law Court. Their safety is threatened through:

Attending the court itself
Unsafe interim orders
Family Law Court processes such as mediation
Handover/contact and residency arrangement
Unsafe extended family visitation rights

The Howard government is currently considering how they will implement recommendations from a 2003 House of Representatives inquiry into child custody arrangement, go here to read the full report and recommendations.

Some of these recommendations will increase the instances in which women and children are placed in situations of ongoing harm. This is clearly not in the best interests of the child.The Howard Government and the Family Law Court need to improve the safety of women and children by:

The Howard Government and the Family Law Court need to improve the safety of women and children by:

Recognising that women provide at least 80% of the primary care of children
and therefore ensuring that the policy of the Family Law Court is not changed to 50-50 as a starting point for parenting and residency negotiations.
Ensuring that the best interests of the child are held up in the Family Law
Court above the rights of a violent parent.
Guaranteeing that women and children, especial those suffering domestic
violence, have access to legal representation.
Implementing a case management system based on the Magellan Project in
Victoria. To be effective it would need broaden its focus from child abuse to all forms of domestic violence.

CAMPAIGN UPDATES
If you would like to receive e-mail campaign updates, please send an email to po2@wrrc.org.au or call the office on 02 9698 9777.

13 March 2004
The NSW Women Refuge Movement marched in Sydney for international Women's Day.

10 March 2004
Read the statement on Child Safety in Family Law (see attachments below) supported by the NSW Women's Refuge Movement Child Support Conference.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

The WRM has produced two action kits to help refuge residents, workers and others interested in these issues to lobby the Government: write letters to the editors, sign the petitions and distribute information! Download the whole action kits for refuges and refuge workers; organisations and individuals (see attachments below).
Lobby your local member!!
Print the WRM Family Law Campaign Petition (see attachments below), get your friends and family to sign it and then MAIL (do not fax or email)it back to our office: WRRC, Level 1, 619 Elizabeth St, Redfern, NSW 2016.
Read about the National Abuse Free Contact Campaign National coalition of Women's Organisations campaigning for safety for women and children post separation in family law.

For other resources see attachments below.

Attachments