Category: Domestic Violence

This week, two new magistrates have been appointed to the Southport Domestic Violence Specialist Court – and while this is certainly a step in the right direction, more needs to be done.

Sadly, no corner of the state can claim to be free of the scourge of domestic violence, and that is why the specialist courts need to be further rolled out –Queensland Law Society has called for this in its 2017 State Election Call to Parties document – this is an issue on which our almost 12,000 members will not stay silent.

The need to fund these courts – and specialist duty lawyers at all domestic violence courts throughout the state – is crucial.

More than 5,500 applications were filed at the Southport specialist court – the first of its kind established in Queensland – during its first year, proving that these courts are an essential tool in the eradication of domestic violence.

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/22267-it-s-time-for-politicians-to-commit-to-eradicating-domestic-violence?

WA has joined the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme, which will see all new restraining orders relating to domestic violence enforceable by Australian authorities in every state and territory jurisdiction.

From 25 November, the national scheme will remove the need to register these kinds of court orders across interstate boundaries. An application to the court can also bring orders made before this date within the national scheme.

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/22223-wa-on-board-with-domestic-violence-orders?

While 20 awards were presented across many different sectors of the profession, Women’s Legal Service Queensland (WLSQ) CEO Angela Lynch (pictured) received the highest score out of every entrant and took home the Women in Law Excellence Award.

Ms Lynch has spent 23 years at WLSQ, taking over as CEO earlier this year.

Under Ms Lynch’s leadership, WLSQ has also launched a financial literacy app called Penda for women escaping domestic violence.

“[Penda] provides really important legal and financial information for women, because we know that domestic violence is the biggest driver behind women’s homelessness in Australia, and also women’s poverty,” she said.

“Financial abuse is both a barrier to leaving a domestic violence relationship [and] a reason that women return.

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/sme-law/22209-5-minutes-with-women-in-law-winner-angela-lynch?

The latest report of the NSW Coroner’s domestic violence death review team contains shocking data and worthwhile suggestions but also some dubious claims. The extent of the scourge of domestic violence documented in the report will astonish people. As we reported yesterday, one-third of all NSW murders are cases of domestic violence; worse, three out of five murders of women are acts of domestic violence. The report, tabled in Parliament this week, recommends that decisions about licensed premises should take account of the link between domestic violence and alcohol consumption. It suggests that in areas where domestic violence is common, licensing rules should restrict the sale of alcohol. The same principle has been applied elsewhere.

The team suggested apprehended domestic violence orders should apply for longer than the standard 12 months. This also seems completely reasonable, although it may be up to an individual’s lawyer to request a longer period for the order; the government does need to become involved to make it mandatory.

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/domestic-violence-needs-action-not-a-gag-20171102-gzdofn.html

Every week a woman is killed by an intimate partner or family member. Already in 2017, 39 women have been killed through family or domestic violence. 800,000 women and one in 20 men will experience violence at home this year.

To escape a violent relationship you have to take time off work. Everything you need to do is during business hours. Without paid leave, you simply don’t have the time or resources to find a new, safe, place and get the support you need for you and your children.

That’s why the Australian Union movement is campaigning to enshrine 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave in the National Employment Standards, making it available to every worker who needs it.

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianUnions/videos/1687588511339765/

Former governor-general of Australia Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO has spoken of her deep distress about the domestic violence crisis that is sweeping the nation.

Her remarks were made as part of a panel discussion about how domestic and international laws helped or hindered the advancement of women around the world.

On Monday, the government announced it would expand funding for specialist domestic violence units to accommodate six new targeted service providers and additional resources for a pre-existing unit.

Twelve such domestic violence units are already providing legal and social support for victims of family violence. Through partnerships with a wider network of service providers, the units offer assistance in financial counselling, crisis support and accommodation and mental health support.

An evaluation of the pilot program is expected to have finalised by the end of next year.

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/22085-dv-has-worsened-in-a-generation-quentin-bryce?

Campaigners against family violence have accused the federal government of allowing the issue to drop off the agenda, following a number of deaths and alleged attacks in recent weeks.

Cathy Humphreys, a professor of social work from the University of Melbourne, said Coag was concerned with national security but had failed to make the connection between terrorism and family violence.

Man Haron Monis, the Lindt cafe gunman in Sydney in 2014, was on bail for allegedly being an accessory to the murder of his ex-wife, and for more than 40 charges of sexual and indecent assault, at the time he carried out the cafe attack.

“Terrorists responsible for a number of attacks also often have a history of domestic violence or have grown up with it,” she said. “There is a link between terrorism and intimate partner terrorism.”

She said if governments wanted to tackle national security it made sense to also invest funding into preventing family violence.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/14/activists-accuse-coalition-of-breaking-pledge-to-tackle-domestic-violence

Researcher and senior lawyer to the Victorian Sentencing Advisory Council, Paul McGorrery, said there is growing concern that family violence perpetrators are not being held accountable for the mental trauma inflicted on their victims.

To try and combat this, Mr McGorrery said he is investigating ways to improve understanding about prosecuting the offence, noting that while causing someone psychological harm is already a crime in every Australian state, not a single person has ever been prosecuted for it.

Commenting on what sparked his decision to investigate this matter, Mr McGorrery said his career has shown him that the issue of psychological harm in the criminal law needs to be highlighted more prominently.

“I started in workers’ compensation law, where 33 per cent of all money paid to injured employees was for psychological injuries caused by their workplace, but then I found myself in criminal law, where psychological injuries caused by someone else were almost an afterthought,” he said.

https://www.lawyersweekly.com.au/wig-chamber/22031-family-violence-perpetrators-not-being-held-accountable?