Until recently, victims of domestic violence almost expected to be blamed or ignored by police and the courts. Thankfully, that’s beginning to change, in line with a seismic shift in community attitudes. They may be far from perfect, but police and local courts now do a much better job at protecting victims.
There is, however, one judicial institution that hasn’t changed with the times.
Stepping into the Family Court can be like entering a parallel universe, where time has stood still for the past 15 years. Here, it’s all too common to hear domestic violence being dismissed as ‘ancient history’, to see the impact of that violence on children minimised or ignored, and for custody to be stripped from one parent for attempting to protect their children from their abusive other parent. [Read Full Article]
