Legal Studies on Violence Against Women

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Violence against women has been occurring throughout society since the dawn of time. It is hard for the law to stop it going on because the women are either to scared to come forward or the women feel it is their fault so they deserve the beating. This sort of violence is predominately in homes and between families. In many ways it would be quite hard for the legal system to stop it because not a lot of people know that it is going on. However the legal system has done some work to stop violence against women.

First and foremost, the police. Every local area police station has a domestic violence liaison officer whose role is to solely help women who are experiencing domestic violence. (If the liaison officer is unavailable, the woman can phone a crisis phone line such as the Department of Community Services domestic violence line which is a 24 hour service). Children can be protected by the police if they live in a violent household. Through the police force and their powers, the legal system has successfully responded to violence against women.

In NSW, the best protection again domestic violence is an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) which is under Part 15A of the Crimes Act. AVO’s can focus on domestic violence, thus, an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO). These are used when there is a domestic relationship (a partner, an ex-partner, a relative, a spouse, a person living in the household, a person who has had an intimate relationship with the victim or a person who depended on the care of the victim) between the victim and the defendant.

Basically an AVO protects people from acts of violence, whether physical or emotional. This can be, for example, an order for the person to stay a certain distance from the...

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...itute/pubs/fm1/fm37pe.html). This legislation means the man is breaking the law if he forces his wife to have sex with her. However, it is not one hundred percent effective because the majority of the men who assault don’t really care for the law anyway.

Alastair Nicholson (Former Chief Justice of the Family Court) in “Domestics Concern us All,” SMH, 27.3.96 also said “It is a problem who’s solutions can only be approached by way of co-operation between lawyers, police, refuge workers, courts and legislators.” If the community can work together to get the offenders to come forward then it will be up to the lawyers, police, refuge workers, courts and legislators to then help the man with his problem and then give him the appropriate punishment. In Queensland and NSW harassing a woman two times can result in a three year sentence.

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