Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Family law changes: privatising family violence
Other Titles:	DVIRC Quarterly
Authors:	Alexander, Renata
Keywords:	Legislation analysis;Legal issues;Family law
Year:	2006
Publisher:	Domestic Violence & Incest Resource Centre
Citation:	2, Winter 2006
Notes:	General Overview: In this Australian article, a family law barrister and senior lecturer outlines her concerns with the 2006 amendments to the Family Law Act 1975:, which introduced an emphasis on shared parental responsibility for children. Discussion: The author discusses the conflict between children’s right to spend time with both parents and their right to be protected from harm resulting from family violence. The author examines existing research and finds several potential problems with the equal shared parental responsibility provisions – for legal practitioners, victims of abuse and children living with abuse. She also discusses difficulties with the requirement for the threshold test for abuse and the narrow definitions of child abuse in the Act. The author examines the issue of punitive measures and costs, finding that this is a source of potential hardship and disincentive to disclose violence for victims. The author concludes by discussing problems encountered with the requirement to address family law issues through mediation (e.g. as provided through Family Relationship Centres) prior to proceeding to court.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14740
ISSN:	1324-4264
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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