[Eds note: There’s plenty of opportunities to respond to this editorial about the incorrect assumption that only women and children are victims of domestic violence. The Australian is trying to create further discussion – so please write in to Post GPO Box 4162 Sydney NSW 2001or Fax to 02 9288 2824 or 02 9288 3077
COURT orders designed to prevent violence have created a new industry for
lawyers and added to the burden of police and magistrates, according to
Trevor Nyman, a prominent solicitor.
I applaud The Australian for publishing the articles “Court Out” and “Trial Separation” on Christmas Eve. For too long the media have been silent about the difficulties faced by litigants, especially fathers, in the Family Court of Australia. I must however, dispel a myth that is in danger of becoming accepted as fact and is
The Australian Editorial written in response to the “Court Out” and “Trial Separation” articles that appeared on Friday 24 December. Christmas and New Year is a time of happiness and family security – but not for everyone. It is also a period that reveals the strain and conflict within some relationships and families. Fortunately, there is
Which court? In the near future the Family Court may not be so famous, or infamous, depending on your point of view. As more engaged couples get nudged into marriage education, fewer may end up in court as a breakdown statistic. More families in trouble will be encouraged to see their local psychologist for mediation rather than the court registry. Of the few that who must litigate their way out of relationship conflict, more will go before an informal magistrate, not a superior judge of the Family Court.
More than a million Australian children will spend Christmas in a broken home. As the Government tries to improve family justice, ‘Mr X’ tells of his personal voyage of despair. “Don’t cry, you will lose your children for sure,” your barrister says sternly; and inside all you can feel are waves of distress. For you
About the author: Trevor Nyman is an Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law and adjunct professor at University of Technology, Sydney. He is a foundation member of the Criminal Law Committee and supervising editor of the College of Law papers on crime and advocacy. SINCE 1951 THERE HAVE BEEN provisions in the NSW Crimes Act for
Why does nobody care about men killing themselves? There’s immense public concern about youth suicide. Australia has spent more than $31million over the past four years to try to reduce our high suicide rates among the young. There’s much angst about Aboriginal deaths in custody, and even gay youths are finally being acknowledged as a
The first step toward reducing child abuse is to recognise the circumstance under which it occurs, writes Barry Maley. Stories this year of some horrendous child abuse and even child murder have made us acutely aware of a facet of adult behaviour we would prefer not to think about. Crime figures are collected by the
Feminism has latched onto sexual-harassment laws as a successful way of bringing men to heel, says a University of Massachusetts professor and sometime feminist in a new book. In “Heterophobia,” Daphne Patai says that sexual-harassment law, once a useful tool to identify outrageous behavior, is now an albatross. “Sexual harassment seems often to be little