Family Law For Violence Protection Act: Definition, Context, Impact

Definition

Discuss about the Family Law for Violence Protection Act.

The main purpose of family violence protection act 2008 is to ensure the safety of the children and adult person, who has experienced the violence under their family and reduce the effect of family violence as much as possible (Victorian Current Acts, n.d.). According to section 80 of Family Violence Protection Act 2008, court must consider the condition of adult family member and children’s of the family while deciding the family violence intervention order (Victorian Current Acts, n.d.). Family violence is the worst thing that can happen to a society, and Australia is one of the leading countries to be affected by it. People get killed, separation takes place within the family, but still people sometimes find it important to get into such an act rather than restricting himself from getting involved in it.

Children’s and other adults who live or growing up in an environment which is filled with domestic violence, suffer a huge amount of emotional and psychological distraction. These children’s are always worried about their future. It is essential for children’s that they get safe and secure environment instead of such environment in which they are always trying to protect themselves and their siblings. A survey was conducted by Queensland Domestic Violence Taskforce which shows that 90% children’s who are the victims of family violence witness the violence against their mother. They see their mother physically and sexually assaulted by the abuser, and in some cases abuser manipulated the children itself to hurt their mother. Research conducted by Australian Institute of Criminology shows that 15% young people themselves suffer violence and 32% people know someone who experienced domestic violence. In some cases abuser directly physically or sexually assaults the children (Domestic Violence Prevention Centre, n.d.). Violence occurs only when a member of the family desires to be aggressive and wants to dominate others by inflicting abuse and violence for ensuring domination.

In Australia relation between violence in the family and child maltreatment is existing from last many years. There are number of cases in Australia in which children’s and other family members are sexually abused and who witness the violence in their families. In a same family there is number of violence exist.

Family violence can be ruthless which is evident from the story of Angel and Lena who were pushed into the dark world of prostitution by their husbands for not meeting with their husband’s demand (Taylor et al. 2015).

Context

There are many types of violence such as domestic violence, sexual assault and violence related to family. These three terms are targeted in the national plan of Australian government. Before discussing the causes of this violence, it is important to understand these terms. Domestic violence includes those acts which are conducted between the intimate partners. Domestic violence can be of many types such as physical violence, sexual harassment, financial or emotional threat and psychological abuse. Emotional violence includes verbal abuse, separation from friends and members of family and financial restrictions. 

Family violence is wider in scope than domestic violence. It includes violence between families and also between intimate partners. Usually family violence is traced in Indigenous groups, because it occurs in the relationship of marriage within the indigenous families.

Sexual violence includes those acts which are sexual in nature and carried out against the will of another person. In cases of sexual violence mostly times victims know the person who sexually assault them. A very small number of men are there who experienced sexual violence in Australia. Mostly times, women’s are the victims of sexual violence in their homes (Phillips and Dunkley, 2015; Australian Government, n.d.).

There are many causes of violence which are rigid in nature, and cannot be understood completely because of their complex form. Some general causes are inequality on the basis of gender. WHO states that domestic and family violence relates with the socio cultural factors, especially in those areas in which society encourages male community and try to control the women. In Australia a survey was conducted which shows that concept of gender equality is applied differently at home from workplace. It was found that such gender inequality in home together with domestic violence was very harmful for anyone. However, gender inequality was not the only reason of domestic violence there are many other reasons such as individual behaviors, poverty, ill health and child abuse. These other factors also contribute in the increase number of cases of domestic violence. Rates of domestic violence in case of aboriginal women and disable women’s are also high (VCOSS, 2015).

At times it becomes difficult to understand the exact reason for people getting involved in violence, especially in cases involving family members. There are certain theories that describe the true nature and cause of domestic violence. One such is the gendered perspective where woman holds no power. There are still societies around the globe where instances of such a thing are visible. The problem is most of these men who pretend to be abusers and inflict violence on the household portray a different side of theirs to the outside world (Cripps and Adams 2014). They are normal people, law abiding citizens, which make it more difficult for others to identify them as such monsters they become inside their homes.

Impact

Atitude of society was the biggest reason of gender inequality and domestic violence. According to the national survey a number of Australians thinks that in some circumstances domestic violence can be ignored and it is not that much serious crime. One in every five Australian believed that domestic violence can be ignored if the partner was feeling regret after committing the offence of domestic violence or if for temporary period partner lost control. This attitude was not only of old Australians but young generation of Australia also thinks in the same way. For number of young people it’s not a serious issue if men slap his girlfriend after get drunk. It was also found in survey that men use violence against their partner if he have ego issue and he holds wrong attitude towards women, or if he had thinking that violence against women is private matter. The problem of this solution was change of attitude of men towards their family and partner. A person will not stop domestic violence against their partners, children’s and other family members till they change their attitudes and treat their partners equal to them (Sutherland and Paul, 2015). Not only the domestic violence but also the legal proceedings and experience women get in the proceedings of the family court leave them distress. Recent study show women have very bad experience of the proceedings of family courts and interactions with legal practitioners after leaving an abusive relationship. Legal practitioners added more traumas in the life of victims and their families. After leaving the abusive relationship it is very difficult for women to face the civil, criminal and family court proceedings and answer the questions of oppositions, especially in cases of sexual assault. From the survey these causes are identified such as no sympathy and understanding, invalidation fear and anxiety. There are some other factors also such as impact of domestic violence, treatment and methods and actions of ex partner and their children’s (Roberts, Chamberlain & Delfabbro, 2014; Tomison, 2000).

Situations in case of indigenous women are worse than the non-indigenous women. Indigenous communities are always having higher rates in all types of violence in Australia. Survey conducted by IVAWS shows that rates of victims in case of indigenous women are 40% more than the non-indigenous women. A paper was published in 2004 by Monica Keel, which shows the study on sexual assault in case of indigenous women and difficulties faced by indigenous women. A report was also published by HREOC which contains the matter related to family violence and child abuse in indigenous communities (Carrington and Phillips, 2006).

The impact of family violence is always high which can bring in devastating consequences for not only the victim but also people associated with the same. Children have often been found suffering from psychological and emotional trauma from the domestic violence they suffer in the early ages of their life (Dowling et al. 2014). It has also been found in Australia that children are affected or injured when they try to save their mothers from family violence. Situations have also been such where the abuser attempts to take away the child from the mother in order to reprimand the mother for leaving the family.

As we mention above children’s are affected very badly from the domestic violence. It was found that any form of family violence faced by children’s is usually connected with the IPV perpetration. It was observed that females adopt the behavior conducted by their mother and males adopt the behavior conducted by their fathers. It was found that children who observed and face father only violence or bidirectional inter parental violence would more involved in IPV in their adulthood. Children’s who witness domestic violence against their mothers by their fathers are also get involved in violence in their adulthood, because this type of elements are usually transferred from one generation to other. Children’s get more affected by observing their parents and it was fact that children’s who witness any family violence in their childhood would involve in IPV Perpetration (Eriksson and Paul, 2015). It is necessary that children’s get safe and secure environment in their family. For the proper care and growth of children protection and care provided by the family members is very important. But some families failed to provide this safe environment to their children’s. Therefore, Australian government framed many policies to provide protection to the children’s in case of domestic violence and ensure through their policies and framework that children’s get safe and secure environment for growing. Australian government make some changes in their law system so that both the parents of children’s show involvement in the life of the children’s even after their separation. These changes also impose responsibility on system and parents both to ensure the protection of children’s and other family members. Later in 2012 government of Australia make further changes which ensure the child protection and reduce the cases of child abuse.

All the states and territories in Australia are under the responsibility to ensure the safety of child and other members of the family. It is the duty of the states and territories that they monitor the issues related to child abuse. If safety of the children is not ensure in their families then government department of Australia has right to intervene in the matter and take proper decision.

Other reasons of the cases of child abuse and domestic violence are poverty and social disadvantage. Economic support is very important to reduce the cases of domestic violence and child abuse. Availability of employment and economic support from government helps in reducing the violence against children’s and also reduce the child poverty. In Australia the only and most important reason of child poverty is joblessness. Joblessness means families in which adult member of the family have no paid jobs. Joblessness results in child poverty and increases the cases of child abuse.

Jobless families are depending on the support of government. They get income support from government. But this government support is conditional which aims the protection of child. Government provides this support on the condition that parents spend this money to fulfill the need of the child instead of on alcohol, junk food and porn activities. These types of conditions help in shaping the behavior of parents towards their child protection (Mullan and Higgins, 2014).

COAG introduce The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022 in 2011. This plan provides framework to resolve the issues related to family violence and also focus on the actions of government in the direction of women’s and children’s protection. These plans are divided into short term plans which are applicable for 3-4 years such as Building a Strong Foundation 2010–2013, Moving Ahead 2013–2016 and Promising Results is planned for 2016–2019. Government of Australia also establishes the advisory panel which helps the COAG in implementing these plans. This panel provides guidelines to the COAG in many areas (Australian Government, n.d.).

A campaign by the name of ‘The Line’ has been put into effect where the campaign targets younger people with the aim of increasing their knowledge of what needs to be done for a successful relationship where the main components are being focused on like maintaining proper communication, trust and belief. The younger generation is made understood about what forms the basis of sexual assault and intimate partner violence (Fisher 2015). Focus is also been made on the effects of violence in a relationship. Such things involve social media, a toll free number and media advertising. 

Conclusion:          

The Australian community has been hugely affected by this family violence. It has been identified as the most common factor in making women and children homeless. The AIC has recognized certain key factors in accordance to the domestic violence, has come with certain solutions in preventing such incidents and has also categorized areas which needs to be put under the microscope for detailed study.

References: 

Victorian Current Acts. Family Violence Protection Act 2008- Sect 80. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/fvpa2008283/s80.html.

Victorian Current Acts. Family Violence Protection Act 2008 – Sect 1. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/fvpa2008283/s1.html.

Domestic Violence Prevention Centre. Impact of Domestic Violence on Children and Young People. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from : https://www.domesticviolence.com.au/pages/impact-of-domestic-violence-children-and-young-people.php.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2015). Experimental Family and Domestic Violence Statistics. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from : https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/Lookup/by%20Subject/4510.0~2014~Main%20Features~Experimental%20Family%20and%20Domestic%20Violence%20Statistics~10000.

Phillips, J. & Dunkley, A. (2015). Domestic violence: issues and policy challenges. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/pubs/rp/rp1516/DVIssues.

Australian Goverment. The national plan to reduce violence against women and their children 2010 – 2022. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/women/programs-services/reducing-violence/the-national-plan-to-reduce-violence-against-women-and-their-children-2010-2022.

VCOSS, (2015). Royal Commission into Family Violence. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://vcoss.org.au/documents/2015/06/SUB_150529_Family-Violence-Royal-Commission_FINAL.pdf.

sutherland, R. & Paul, V. S. (2015). Causes of Domestic Violence, and Implications for Primary Prevention. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://www.vinnies.org.au/icms_docs/222951_Speech_on_domestic_violence_prevention.pdf.

Carrington, K. and Phillips, J. (2006). Domestic Violence in Australia – an Overview of the Issues. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliamentary_Library/Publications_Archive/archive/Domviolence.

 Eriksson, L. and Paul M. (2015). A Cycle of Violence? Examining Family-of-Origin Violence, Attitudes, and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration. 30(6). Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://0-jiv.sagepub.com.library.vu.edu.au/content/30/6/945.full.pdf+html.

Mullan, K. and Higgins, D. (2014). A safe and supportive family environment for children: key components and links to child outcomes. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://apo.org.au/files/Resource/aifs_dss_asafeandsupportivefamilyenvironmentforchildrenkeycomponentsandlinkstochildoutcomes_july_29_2014.pdf.

Roberts, D. Chamberlain, P. & Delfabbro, P. (2014). Women’s Experiences of the Processes Associated with the Family Court of Australia in the Context of Domestic Violence: A Thematic Analysis. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://0-www.tandfonline.com.library.vu.edu.au/doi/pdf/10.1080/13218719.2014.960132?needAccess=true. 

Tomison, M. A. (2000). Exploring family violence: Links between child maltreatment and domestic violence. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/exploring-family-violence-links-between-child-maltreatment. 

Australian government. Family and Domestic Violence Strategy 2016–2019. Retrieved on 23^rd September 2016 from: https://www.humanservices.gov.au/sites/default/files/12899-1511-family-domestic-violence-strategy.pdf. 

Taylor, A., Ibrahim, N., Wakefield, S. and Finn, K., 2015. Domestic and family violence protection orders in Australia an investigation of information sharing and enforcement: state of knowledge paper. 

Dowling, N.A., Jackson, A.C., Suomi, A., Lavis, T., Thomas, S.A., Patford, J., Harvey, P., Battersby, M., Koziol-McLain, J., Abbott, M. and Bellringer, M.E., 2014. Problem gambling and family violence: prevalence and patterns in treatment-seekers. Addictive behaviors, 39(12), pp.1713-1717. 

Cripps, K. and Adams, M., 2014. Family violence: Pathways forward. eds P Dudgeon, H Milry & R Walker, Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice, Telethon Institute for Child Health, Kalunga Research Network and the University of Western Australia, pp.399-416. 

Fisher, S.R., 2015. Family Violence and Protection Orders in the Australian Capital Territory. Canberra L. Rev., 13, p.28.