When you hear “domestic violence”, you likely imagine a man physically beating up his wife or partner. Yes, domestic violence can be physical, but it takes many forms and is not gender-specific. Women are also capable of domestic violence.
If you believe you’re in a domestic violence situation, visiting a domestic violence lawyer can be of great help. This article will discuss the different facets of domestic violence, so that you’re more aware of your rights. First, though, if you or anyone else is in immediate danger, call 000.
All You Need To Know About the Family Violence Protection Act
The Victorian Government has listed three fundamental purposes for the Act. The goals of this Act are the following:
- To enhance the safety of minors and adults who have endured family violence;
- To stop and decrease family violence incidents; and
- To encourage the perpetrators to take responsibility for such violence and hold them accountable.
Law enforcement and the courts consider the above when dealing with domestic and family violence matters.
The Meaning of Family Violence
Section 5 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 states that family violence is acting in a way that is physically, emotionally, sexually, financially or mentally abusive towards a partner or any other family member. Being threatening, forceful, controlling, or domineering are all consistent with family violence.
Family violence has a broad meaning in Victoria. It encompasses damaging property on purpose or threatening to do so. It also involves killing or injuring an animal, irrespective of whether the family member owns this animal. It is family violence if you intend to control, dominate, or coerce such a person.
Other Forms of Abuse
There is comprehensive coverage concerning physical abuse, but there are also lesser-known types of abuse that are sometimes equally devastating.
Economic Abuse
Economic abuse involves the situation by which a person has attempted to control another family member’s economic or financial freedom without cause to do so. It is economic abuse if the abuser carries out these actions without the family member’s consent.
For instance, the breadwinner can stop paying for the basic living expenses of any or all dependents. Other examples of this abuse include a family member stopping another family member from finding a job or preventing them from entering a property they own. Our article on what economic violence includes takes a closer look at financial control within families.
Emotional or Psychological Abuse
Emotional or psychological abuse is acting in a way that tortures, terrorises, harasses or is offensive in any other way to another family member.
Examples of emotional or psychological abuse include the following:
- Continuous degrading insults;
- Threats to broadcast sensitive matters regarding someone’s sexual orientation;
- Not allowing the family member to be in contact with other family members or close connections.
Others may perceive your actions as domestic violence even if it hasn’t escalated to physical violence. Many people fail to realise that there are different types of abuse.
What Happens When Police Attend a Family Violence Incident
When police attend a family violence incident in Victoria, they must assess the risk to everyone involved. They may issue a family violence safety notice on the spot, apply to the Magistrates’ Court for an intervention order on behalf of the affected family member, or lay criminal charges, sometimes all at once.
A safety notice can require a person to leave the home immediately, even if the home is in their name, until the matter comes before a court. Once police are involved the process is largely out of the parties’ hands, and they can apply for an order even where the affected family member does not want one.
Why One Incident Can Lead to Both an Intervention Order and Criminal Charges
A family violence intervention order is a civil order, not a criminal conviction. It sets conditions on a person’s behaviour, such as not contacting or approaching a family member. Breaching those conditions, however, is a criminal offence in itself, so a civil order can quickly become a criminal matter.
Separately, the same conduct that supports an intervention order can also be charged directly as an offence, for example assault, threats, property damage or stalking. One incident can therefore produce two parallel proceedings. We have also looked at whether the rise in domestic violence matters means you need a criminal defence lawyer.
When Exactly Should You Get Legal Advice?
If you are seeking protection
Speak to a lawyer as early as possible if you are considering applying for an intervention order, or if police have applied for one on your behalf. A lawyer can explain what the order can and cannot do, help you present your situation to the court, and advise you if it is breached.
If you are responding to allegations
If you have been served with a safety notice, an intervention order application or criminal charges, get advice before you agree to anything or attend court. What you say to police and what conditions you accept can affect your living arrangements and any related criminal matter. Some people assume the other party can simply withdraw the matter later, but as we explain in our article on how to drop charges against someone for domestic violence, once police lay charges the decision to continue rests with the prosecution, not the complainant.
How a Lawyer Helps at Each Stage
Experienced domestic violence lawyers in Melbourne can advise you before a police interview, negotiate workable intervention order conditions, seek variations where conditions cause real hardship, or contest an order that is not justified. If criminal charges follow, they can test the evidence, negotiate with the prosecution and present your circumstances to the court. Having someone who deals with these matters daily makes a genuine difference.
Conclusion
Domestic or family violence is increasingly prevalent. If you are a victim of family abuse, you should approach a lawyer for help with a Family Violence Intervention Order.
Conversely, if your family member has charged you with domestic violence, your first call should be to a domestic violence lawyer. A lawyer can assist you with getting the optimal solution for your matter regardless of whether you are guilty, partially to blame or completely innocent.
