Judgmental judges
Only last week in Wollongong, a judge, convicting a man of assault against his spouse, used the opportunity to pass judgment on the female victim of the violence instead. In this particular case, three years earlier the same man had been issued with a restraining order after beating up his wife. He received counselling, and after a while the two got back together. He continued to beat her up, and she took him to court again.
This judge's remarks belong in the same category as Justice Bollen's "rougher than usual handling". They are symptomatic of the ongoing lack of understanding of the reasons it is so difficult for women to remove themselves from violent situations.
Judge John Seberry said, "I'll never understand the stupidity, or should I say idiocy, of women who get beaten up and then contrary to [domestic violence] orders, go back and live with the [offender]. They must like that sort of treatment."
Understanding why women are often trapped in violent situations is a part of understanding the broader causes of domestic violence. Unless real and concrete alternatives are made available, women have very few choices.
Faced with a violent situation, women who leave stand to lose their home (because they are expected to leave, not the violent spouse), their support network (who may not believe them), and their children (children may be the victims of violence themselves, or the courts may grant custody to violent fathers).
They also face the loss of what economic stability they have within the violent relationship and the prospect of years on the social welfare merry-go-round of poverty and homelessness. They may have to cut ties with family and friends for fear of their violent spouse finding them.
It is idiocy for judges to continue not to understand these simple issues. In contrast, others in the community do. The Uniting Church in Illawarra has issued a statement on domestic violence, saying it is a public and not a private issue. The church says it has to be addressed through community and social action, through raising awareness and educating the community that men do not own women, nor have the right to "discipline" them or control their behaviour.
Even the Illawarra Mercury pointed out that a major cause of domestic violence is unemployment. In the Illawarra area, the recession has hit hard and many families can't afford to pay their bills. The NSW attorney-general, John Hannaford, issued a statement saying that Wollongong has more domestic violence hearings than any other country court in NSW.
The Reclaim the Night marches are one more opportunity to highlight these issues to the broader community, and begin to take action to change them.
By Kath Gelber