And ain't i a woman: Laws continue to fail women
Recently, a woman in NSW was awarded $500,000 in damages for physical abuse she endured during her marriage. Because of the abuse, the woman suffers from deep vein thrombosis and has permanent damage to her right hand. She is unable to work and is on permanent medication. The success of her case may encourage some women to look beyond the family court system for justice.
However, such action is expensive. There has to be strong evidence that a woman's serious injuries were a result of a domestic attack. This is a problem for most domestic violence victims as often the violence and resulting injuries are not obvious. Due to a lack of evidence, most women would not take this option.
Another avenue of claim is in the state statutory crimes compensation schemes. This is often not a viable choice in domestic violence cases as it only applies if charges are laid against the perpetrator. As police often fail to act in domestic violence situations, this means that this door can be closed to women.
Another area of concern is the use of the "provocation" or "jealous lover" defence in domestic violence cases that result in murder. Around 40% of homicides are domestic violence-related murders, mostly in which a man kills a partner or ex-partner.
Provocation has been used in some cases to reduce the charge from murder to manslaughter. For example, Christine Boyce was shot dead in front of her children by her estranged husband in 1987. Boyce's husband threw himself at the jury's mercy stating, "I wanted to kill myself but couldn't do it in front of the children". Nude photos of Boyce were used in evidence to show how "beautiful" she was. The jury found that the killer should be treated as an ordinary man and that it was not inconceivable for him to act like he did in the heat of the moment. He was found "not guilty" of murder.
A more publicised case was the murder of Vicky Cleary in Victoria. Cleary was murdered by her ex-partner Peter Keogh after months of stalking. The charge against Keogh was reduced to manslaughter after he claimed he suffered from alcoholism, even though he was not drinking at the time of the attack. Keogh claimed Cleary had provoked him by swearing at him (something that was never proved). Cleary's story is the subject of a book by her brother Phil, entitled Just Another Little Murder, which condemns the legal system's treatment of women.
It has been argued that provocation should be maintained as a defence in domestic murder cases because it can be utilised by women who, in reaction to years of violent abuse, kill the perpetrator. However, provocation has rarely been a successful defence for women, but has been used successfully by men.
In such cases, the self-defence argument may be a better option. However, the legal definition of self-defence is too limited to be applied to most cases of long-term abuse.
Continued funding cuts by governments to rape crisis centres, women's shelters and legal support services are making an already unbearable situation much worse for many victims of domestic violence. Most women are forced to stay in violent relationships due to lack of financial independence and access to support, which makes it extremely difficult for women to freely and safely leave such relationships.
There is an urgent need for changes to the bourgeois, patriarchal system of law that continues to fail women. This system has deserted many women and justifies violence against women. It is a fundamental right for women to live free of violence and oppression.
No woman should ever feel responsible for being physical attacked. Unfortunately, for many women who have been attacked or killed the changes will come too late.
BY ERIN CAMERON
From Green Left Weekly, November 13, 2002.
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