Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1694573803855.pdf (Australia)
Rape s Domestic Violence Services Aust ralia Formerly NSW Rape Crisis Centre 3 October 201 9 The Honou rable Kevin Andrews MP Chair Joint Select Comm ittee on Austral ia's Family Law System PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Dear Cha ir, Introduction Re: Joint Select Committee on Australia's Fam ily Law System By email: fami lylaw,sen@aph.<;ov.au 1.
Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia welcome the opportunity to contribute to the Joint Select Committee's Inq uiry of the Australian Fami ly Law System ('the Inqu iry'); and when submissions formally open, we intend to contribute more substantia lly.

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By way of background, Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia is a non government organisation t hat provides a range of special ist trauma counsel ling services to people who have been im pacted by sexual, domestic o r family violence 1 and their supporters.
Our services include NSW Rape Crisis counselling service for people in NSW who have been impacted by sexual violence and their professiona l or for people non-professional supporters; Sexua l Assault Counselling Austra lia accessing the Redress Scheme resulting from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Ch ild Sexual Abuse; and t he Domestic and Family Violence Counsellin g Service for Commonwea lth Bank of Austral ia customers and staff who are seeking to esca pe domestic or family violence .
Our services operate from NSW; however, they are avai lable for ind ividuals around Australia who may have experienced sexual, domestic or fami ly violence.

1 Generally, Rape & Domestic Violence Services Aust ralia prefer the term people who have experienced sexual assault and/or domestic and family violence to describe individuals who have suffered this type of violence, rather than the terms survivors or victims.
Thi s is in acknowledgement tha t, although experiences of sexual assault and/or domestic and fami ly violence are very signifi cant in a person's life, t hey nevertheless do not defin e that person.

However, in this submission, Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia will sometimes use the term victims as this accords with the language used in t he legislation.

Funded by NSW Health, the Commonwealth Bank, and the Australian Government Department or Social Services.
ABN 58 023 656 939 Counselling Services 240 NSW Rape Crisis 1800 424 017 CBA Domestic & Family Violence Line 1800 222 387 Sexual Assault Counselling Australia 1800 211 028 rape-dvservices.org.au Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law SystemSubmission 3 Concerns as to comments made in the media regarding "false accusations of domestic violence';z 3.
Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia is concerned as to t he comments made by Members of Parliament who are likely to be Committee Members of t his Inquiry; specifica lly, in relation to allegations of domestic and family violence.

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It is unfortunate t hat commentary in the media from these Committee Members suggests that women are making "false accusations of domestic violence to stop men having access to children.
113 Rape & Domestic Violence Services Austral ia st ate that th is b ias position at the outset of this Inquiry is incorrect and unhelpful, especial ly in circumstances where these Committee Members have not been able to provide an evidence base for this position.

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Comments of th is nature are of no benefit to th is Inquiry.

Any inqu iry into the Fami ly Court must consider those who have experienced sexual, domestic or family violence.
Government statistics in relation to incidences of domestic and family violence and the gendered nature of the crime cannot be ignored.

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Based on the statistics from the most recent Personal Safety Survey 2016 conducted by t he Australian Bureau of Statist ics, one in six women reported t o have experienced physica l or sexua l violence perpetrated by a current o r previous partner; with one in four women reporting that they had experienced emotional abuse, also perpetrated by a current or previous partner.
Further, the rates of sexua l, domestic and family violence being higher amongst Aborig inal and Torres Strait Islander women and the LGBTIO+ community.4 7.

The Australian Law Reform Commission (2019) states: "Children are not consistently protected from harm, nor are people experiencing family violence.

115 It is clea r that those who have experienced sexual, domestic and family violence use the Fami ly Court system in the hope that the Court wi ll put t he safety of their children first.

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Further, statistics taken directly from the Australian Law Reform Commission's Fina l Report on their review of the Family Law System (2019) show that "family violence, including physical hurt and emotional abuse, is reported by approximately 60% of 2 Jade MacMillan, 'Family law inquiry given green light by Senat e as Rosie Batty questions Pauline Hanson's role,' ABC News (Online), 19 September 2019 < https://www.abc.net.au/ news/2019-09-18/rosie-batt)l•fam il)I• law-inquir)l•pauline-hanson-bias/ 11 523914> 3 Ibid.
4 Austral ian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety Survey 2016 cited in the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Family, domestic and sexual violence in Australia: Continuing th e national story, FDV 3, June 2019, vii.

5 Australian Law Reform Commission, Family Law for the Future -An Inquiry into the Family Law System, Summary Report, ALRC Report 135, March 2019, 23.

2 Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law SystemSubmission 3 separated parents prior to and during separation.
"6 To insinuate that al l allegations of sexua l, domestic and family violence in the Family Court are fa lse is not reflective of the rea lities of the matters dealt with by this Court on a dai ly basis, Family Violence Awareness Training for Members of Parliament 9.
Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia fully support the recommendation of the Law Council of Austral ia - Family Law Section that all Members of Parliament, and at the very least the Comm ittee Members of this Inquiry undertake family violence awareness training prio r to the Inquiry commencing.

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However, Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia believes that to achieve these object ives, statutory reform must also be accompan ied by more fundamental changes to t he family law system.
We encourage the Committee Members in conducting this Inquiry consider the extensive recommendations made by the Austra lian Law Reform Comm ission in their review of the fami ly law system completed in March 2019; as well as 2017 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Socia l Policy and Lega l Affairs report: 'A better family law system to support and protect those affected by family violence.'

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A key recommendation of the Australian Law Reform Commission's review of the fa mily law system (2019) was that: "Relevant statutes should be amended to require that future appointments of all federal judicial officers exercising family law jurisdiction include consideration of the person's knowledge, experience, skills, and aptitude relevant to hearing family law cases, including cases involving family violence.
"7 A further recommendation was also that legal practitioners working in the family law jurisdiction shou ld also underta ke annual training in relation to fami ly vio lence.

8 12.

The attitude, knowledge and skills of family law professionals and judicia l officers are vital t o ensuring t he safety and protection of women and children accessing t he family law system.
In their Fina l Report, the Victorian Royal Commission stated that judicia l officers' skills and approach in matters involving fa mily violence are "critical" to "the outcome of a hearing, the victim's safety, and a perpetrator's level of accountability.

'19 13.
'19 13.

Judicial officers and lega l practitioners engaged in the fami ly law jurisdiction to competently complete their tasks require a comprehensive understand ing of fami ly 6 Rae Kaspiew et al, Evaluation of the 2006 Family Law Reforms (Aust ra lian Institute of Family Studies, 2009) cited in Au stralian Law Reform Commission, Family Law for the Future - An Inquiry into the Family Law System, Final Report, ALRC Report 135, March 2019, 103.

7 Ibid, Recommendation 51 .

8 Ibid, Recommendation 52.


9 State of Vict oria.

(2014-16).

Royal Commission into Family Violence: Report and recommendations.

Vol Ill, Paper No 132, Ch 40, 210.

3 Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law SystemSubmission 3 violence.

Initial and continued tra ining is imperative.

In completing its work this Inquiry and Members of Parliament should also undertake train ing in family violence.
This wou ld ensure thorough knowledge of the dynamics, complexities and impacts of sexua l, domestic and family violence; assist in id entifying fa mily violence risks; and enable trauma informed practice including an understanding of vicarious trauma.
Recom mendatio n 1: That all Members of Parliament undertake domestic and family violence awareness train ing prior to the current Inquiry commencing, to ga in an understanding of the dynamics, complexities and impacts of sexua l, domestic and family violence.

Conclusion 14.

Rape & Domestic Violence Services Austral ia wi ll provide a further submission in response to the Terms of Reference in due course.

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If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to contact me on Yours faithful ly, Rape and Domestic Violence Se rvices Austra lia Karen W illis Executive O fficer 4 Joint Select Committee on Australia's Family Law SystemSubmission 3