An overburdened and underfunded family law system is putting lives at risk and must be addressed, according to domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty.
Returning to the National Press Club on Wednesday, the former Australian of the Year said the “very culture of the family law system” means the full impact of family violence is not being realised.
“All too often survivors, even with proof, have their fears written off as anxiety or obsession. Minimised or dismissed,” Batty said. “[They are ] accused of exaggerating or manipulating the system.
“Children who say they are afraid, or bravely disclose their own abuse, are routinely seen as having had their minds influenced and poisoned by their mother’s animosity towards the father and are not believed.”
Batty said this can see the court order such children to continue to spend time with the alleged abuser in what’s a “truly diabolical and unacceptable situation”.
She said she doesn’t believe there “should be an assumption of shared custody” for children and that no parent should be entitled to ongoing relations with a child if they’ve been proven to be “violent, abusive, [and] neglectful.”
She also called for all judges and magistrates involved in Family Court matters to undergo training on the impact of domestic violence, and for a new test to be applied to custody cases to help determine if its safe for children to spend time with their parents.
Batty used the address to outline the five point plan of Women’s Legal Services Australia, a national alliance of over 90 organisations that’s campaigning to put safety first in the family law system.
That five point plan calls on major political parties to fund domestic violence experts for the court system; introduce legislative protections to prevent victims being cross-examined by their abusers; establish a mediation model with specialist DV lawyers and social workers; address barriers in the family law system for women in high risk groups (such as those with disabilities); and to increase Commonwealth funding of the legal assistance sector.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) – is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for any Australian who has experienced, or is at risk of, family and domestic violence and/or sexual assault.