The men kept their distance. I was able to tell my story in court, and I was believed. For the Aboriginal women interviewed, it was a different experience. But they would recommend it to a white friend. An AVO appeared to be of some use - until it was breached.
Australian research shows that AVOs are often breached, sometimes with tragic consequences.
The AVO system was unable to protect Andrea Patrick who was killed in 1993 in a frenzied knife attack by her de facto. At the time he was subject to an AVO which prohibited him from going within 200 metres of her. The new study shows police were most likely to act on breaches when the breach involved physical assault of the woman, or damage to her property. But the whole point of AVOs is to protect women from a range of intimidating and oppressive behaviour that falls well short of an assault. In this sample, police did not follow up phone harassment with tracers.