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Domestic Violence
Domestic violence does not end at home "costing approximately $1.5 billion a year in lost productivity" according to a recent report by the Office of the Status of Women". ("Working Together Against Violence: The First 3 Years of Partnerships Against Domestic Violence).
A national working party has been formed to look at family law legislative change that will include a risk assessment model for children living with domestic violence. For too long, their needs have been ignored, exposing them to emotional, behavioural and psychological symptoms, physical abuse and in extreme cases death.
"More than 316 children died in Australia in the last decade as a result of domestic violence". (Mouzos J. Homicidal Encounters: A Study of Homicide in Australia 1989-1999, Australian Institute of Criminology Research and Public Policy Services).
Domestic Violence does not end at home and it does not discriminate either. It can happen to anyone, particularly women and children of all ages and nationalities and it does not stop at physical abuse. Many are not aware of the non-physical forms that plague victims in Australia on a daily basis. Countless numbers of women and children are suffering, faced with social and financial constraints as well as emotional, verbal and psychological abuse.
Post separation violence is only too real in Australia. "Approximately one third of Australian women killed by male partners are killed after separation". (Carcach & James 1998). Recent research indicates this is when abuse is likely to escalate, with perpetrators using contact orders as a means of power and control over their partners.
"Despite the recent inclusion of domestic violence as a factor to be taken into account under the Family Law Reform Act, no one is prepared to say ‘no contact’ anymore", explains Ruth Busch, Associate Professor of Law at Waikato University in New Zealand.
"In only 3% of cases does the Family Court order no contact at the interim hearing. This contrasts markedly with the finding that in nearly 28% of contact cases which go to a final hearing, the Family Court orders no contact between the perpetrator and the child",
Many cases do not go beyond an interim hearing because increasing numbers of women have to represent themselves.
"Under NSW Legal Aid Guidelines if one partner has received approval for Legal Aid, the other cannot be represented. Women who have suffered violence at the hands of their partner may well be forced to go unrepresented because of the lack of Grants of Aid, which had previously been available. Issues such as this have prompted an increasing lack of confidence in the fairness of the legal system. Indeed the preliminary findings of a study being conducted by the New South Wales Council of Social Services on the impacts of Legal Aid cuts have reflected this discontent".
"With the massive cuts to Legal Aid undertaken by the present Federal Government during their first term, the funding to represent many women is unavailable. Linked to this withdrawal of funding to the court has been the push towards primary dispute mechanisms such as mediation and conferencing. When domestic violence issues are not present, these measures may well be appropriate. However in situations in which domestic violence is an issue, these processes are not only inappropriate and unworkable, but may precipitate violence or create unsafe solutions for women and children", explains Pamela Foster, executive officer of the NSW Women’s Refuge Resource Centre.
Our children are the future and the workforce of tomorrow. Don’t put them at risk !
Amelie House Outreach Service for Women and Children