Here are a list of articles about the Australian Family Law System.
These articles have been written over a period of over ten years and may not include any subsequent changes to family law in that time. However, the issues outlined continue to be of relevance for women now.
Parental Alienation -Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet 1 Parental alienation
Family Law November 2009
The family law reforms which were made law in July of 2006 have been described as the most significant reforms since 1975. We have considerable concerns about these reforms which we believe take the focus away from the best interests of the child, and place the emphasis on parental rights. In particular it is non-residential parents who potentially have won the greatest gains with these reforms.
Escaping Gendered Violence: The role of Family Relationship Centres. Help or Hindrance in Providing Safety for Women and Children November 2009
Myths and Facts Domestic Violence and Child Abuse in the Context of Separation and Divorce May 2009
Barriers to Women and Children’s Safety in Family Law system May 2009
Barriers to Women and Children’s Safety in Family
No Escape from Violence: The Silencing of Women and Children April 2008
This article outlines the significant barriers that women and children face when they attempt to escape from male violence within the family and the barriers within the family law system.
No Escape from Violence presentation
“Barriers to Safety: Proposed Changes to the Family Law System” April 2006
This paper examines the proposed reforms to family law as a result of the Government’s inquiry into family law which resulted in the report ‘every picture tells a story’ (2003).
It is important to examine the political context of these reforms and the political agenda of fathers’ rights groups to gain an understanding of what these reforms are about and how they reflect a right wing shift in political thinking away from creating safety from women and children towards fathers’ rights.
The Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse, Domestic Violence and Separating Families April 2003
This paper examines the relationship between child sexual abuse and domestic violence and highlights the research that indicates the coexistence of these two forms of violence in families.
This paper will examine how the mutual existence of these two forms of abuse impacts on families who are separating. Australian research will be cited which highlight those cases involving all forms of family violence are an integral part of the work of the Family Court. It will be argued that the legal system needs to take into account that both domestic violence and child abuse are significant problems in the separating family and that issues of gender both in the context of child sexual abuse, domestic violence and separating couples are integral to our understanding and the way we deal with these concerns.
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AND THE FAMILY COURT February 2003
A study was conducted at the Adelaide Registry of the Family Court of Australia into 50 cases where child sexual abuse allegations had been made in the context of proceedings before the Family Court. The results of the investigations into the child sexual abuse allegations show that child sexual abuse was confirmed at a similar rate to such allegations made to the South Australian statutory child protection agency. More significantly when specific child sexual abuse allegations are made against fathers, then confirmation rates of child sexual abuse are substantially higher than those in the general population. The results of this study confirm the hypothesis of this thesis that child sexual abuse allegations in the context of Family Court proceedings are not more likely to be false than those in other contexts.
