VIC applying to vary intervention order

[Atticus]

This goes to the evolving definition of family violence which of course extends far beyond punching someone to pretty much any act that makes the applicant feel bad..........The bar is so low it is basically on the floor. Inconsistent testimony is not a problem- that's just proof of how scared you are. ......

Have to agree.... Bad as that is for a whole range of reasons, a FVO between two parents is one thing & has little affect in family law court.

BUT, a very worrying aspect of these FVO's these days is just how easy it is to have kids added as protected persons, with exactly the same low bar.... In a private application an applicant just has to tick the box & spin a yarn to have an interim order granted & served..... If police are called to attend a FV complaint (regardless of the reason) & there are children present, they can now be deemed as being 'exposed' to family violence & be included by police as protected persons...

Having your kids named as protected persons definitively CAN affect the course of a parenting case before the family court, which I suspect is used by some to gain some advantage.... a clear abuse of process, for which there is zero consequence, even if the applicant is found to be lying in the initial application... FVO's would have to be the most abused area of law, & detract court & police resources from those cases where a protected person/s truly needs protection from violence

 

[sammy01]

Step to three said "I think in this day and age whether alleged family violence occurs whether living together or not is not having a huge influence on granting of AVO/IVO/FVRO "
In NSW there is an ADVO (apprehended DOMESTIC VIOLENCE order) and an APVO (apprehende personal violence order). The second is for situation where there isn't a domestic relationship. In theory, this one should be a bit harder to get because the applicant can't claim it happened inside the home. So there is a technical difference at least. But I do think the cops just hand them out because they don't want to have to explain to their boss that they refused to approve one then the compainant went home and got murdered. Not good for coppers career aspirations.

As to the gender equality. Hmm - While there continue to be articles published like "http://www.wlsnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Just-a-piece-of-paper-4th-ed.pdf" by a women's advocacy group that is tax payer funded, there is a problem. My personal experience of attending a Community Centre where I was told there was help for victims of DV was to be told the DV counsellor can only see women. When I asked why I was told 'funding' WTF?

 

[Atticus]

While there continue to be articles published like "http://www.wlsnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/Just-a-piece-of-paper-4th-ed.pdf" by a women's advocacy group that is tax payer funded, there is a problem.

I agree..... I don't think the problem is going to go away either... Any suggestion that the current FV laws need a serious review usually gets a person very quickly labeled a ‘men’s rights activist’ & by extension an obvious misogynist..

Also no appetite for serious review in the political realm as it may not be 'popular'..... Only pollies/public figures that seem willing to push a review are associated with extreme right wing thinking, so that's not helping, & frankly just makes it easy for the some thinly veiled misandrists to push agendas for even more draconian reform & engineer social media campaigns fueled by emotive language & images....

 

[Step2Three]

I agree..... I don't think the problem is going to go away either... Any suggestion that the current FV laws need a serious review usually gets a person very quickly labeled a ‘men’s rights activist’ & by extension an obvious misogynist..

Also no appetite for serious review in the political realm as it may not be 'popular'..... Only pollies/public figures that seem willing to push a review are associated with extreme right wing thinking, so that's not helping, & frankly just makes it easy for the some thinly veiled misandrists to push agendas for even more draconian reform & engineer social media campaigns fueled by emotive language & images....

Agendas like the multiple submission that have been made to the current enquire advocating for the abolishment of Shared Parental Responsibility?
Unfortunately all too right about it becoming an issue aligned with the far right. And an easy target because of it- anyone with reservations about the suspension of natural justice in FV matters, or believes that SPR (with the caveats already identified in the law) is in the best interests of the child can easily be labelled Hansonites and dismissed.

 

[Atticus]

Agendas like the multiple submission that have been made to the current enquire advocating for the abolishment of Shared Parental Responsibility?

Yes.... they were pushing hard for that back when Gillard was PM. Failed then but they keep pushing for it.... Some were recently suggesting that ALL newly separated men (within the last 6 months) be required to wear an electronic tagging device such as an ankle bracelet tracking device (based on their stats which show a greater risk of DV within the first 6 months after separation) ....

I noted this in the pamphlet from Women's Legal Service of NSW >>>>>
AVOs and children
Separate orders for children
The law states that each of your children under 16 years old should be named as a protected person on your AVO unless there are good reasons not to.

I've checked this against the act & it is in fact the DEFAULT position (in NSW at least).... further to that, it appears that only a police officer can apply for a variation to have child's name removed once it is included

And from what I can see, It appears that because you are a 'respondent', governments reckon you don't need support after having your kids removed from your life & possibly without your own accommodation.... One can only guess at the state of mind of a parent that has contact with kids removed via a vexatious order, & the frustration from lack of emotional, practical & mental health support services.

Nobody is denying the need for FVO's, but there MUST be a better way, or at least some consequences in legislation for a person found to be abusing the system .... I'd be interested to see the figures on the cumulative cost of these orders to the taxpayer, & just what value they represent in terms of actual protection of those truly at risk of violence

 

[sammy01]

I'd like to see some research into the corelation between our horrific male suicide rates and family law / dv accusations.

 

[Atticus]

I'd like to see some research into the corelation between our horrific male suicide rates and family law / dv accusations.

Considering the horrendous rate of suicide among males I agree that would be a worthwhile study to add to a review of DV/family laws.....

Can see the usual suspects mounting SM campaigns around suggestions of such a correlation being victim blaming though. Shouldn't be enough to scuttle studies like these, BUT ? ... With our current political class

 

[sammy01]

guilty your honour. Sorry old mate Jamie... We've railroaded your thread. Maybe we start one just to discuss this stuff rather than making Jamie plod through our rants AND frankly reading our rants is gonna make poor Jamie feel the need to go for a long walk to calm down...

 

[Jamie27]

No need to apologise. It’s a debate that needs to be had.
It’s now been over a month since I was interviewed by police over the alleged breaches. In Victoria police have 12 months to bring charges.
It’s an extra pain because I’m looking for work. And I believe that in Victoria even simply being the subject of police inquiries can come up in a background check. Doesn’t matter if you end up getting charged or not. I’ve ordered a copy of my record to see what the go is.
I was guilty of a breach 4 years ago (swore at her) and a magistrate gave me a good behaviour bond without conviction - that will come up in a background check as well.
Now I’m debating what to do when I start getting job interviews - honesty is probably best policy - but not too early in the job hunting process...

 

[sammy01]

Jamie, I'm a teacher. My ex took an avo out on me 7 yrs ago. About 3 years ago the NSW dept of education decided all teachers need to to a working with children criminal history check. My kids were protected persons on the avo... All good. So in teaching you need a conviction for a crime that has a maximum 10 yr jail term before criminal history checks become a problem.