Justice system let me down

AN Austinmer father says he is angry and bewildered by a judge’s comments to brand him a sook for going to police after his former partner assaulted him in front of their eight-year-old son. Judge Paul Conlon upheld Tanya Austin’s appeal over a lower court conviction for the assault and said police should have told

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Professor Richard Chisholm, a retired judge of the Family Court of Australia

Professor Richard Chisholm, retired judge of the Family Court of Australia was appointed to review the recently changed  (2006) family law legislation and  determine whether family violence issues were being adequately covered. As soon as the Labor Party took over government in 2007, women’s groups around the country and academics, who have built their reputation on domestic

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Safety first in family law changes

The Gillard government has unveiled radical changes to family law. The changes would redefine domestic violence, place greater weight on child safety and could weaken the Howard government’s shared parenting laws. The changes, which are directed at cases involving abusive parents, elevate the safety of children to the top priority in custody disputes. Whenever a

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Scottish police record record number of male victims of domestic abuse: AMIS (Abused Men In Scotland) is launched to provide support for male victims

AMIS today publishes statistics from the 8 Scottish police forces that show an increase of around 9.4% in the number of incidents that they recorded as domestic abuse or violence with a man as the victim in 2009-10 compared to 2008-9. The statistics also reveal a reduction of 6.1% in the number of incidents recorded with a woman as victim compared to 2008-9.
Within the acknowledged limitations of police statistics* one in six of recorded victims was male yet the reality remains that after 10 years of the Scottish Parliament there are virtually no support services in Scotland designed to help men and their children affected by domestic abuse or violence.

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Reviews of Family Law will cost Labor votes

A recent national survey of the voting intentions of nearly 500 people has  revealed the reviews undertaken by the federal Government of Family Law and the  impact these reviews are likely to have on shared parenting will cost Labor  votes. The survey asked: Will the roll-back of shared parenting affect your vote? Nearly two-thirds (64%)

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