Domestic violence: New guide spells out first national guidelines for judges and magistrates

Judges and magistrates have been issued with new guidelines and they include causing emotional and psychological warfare - even criticising housework.

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CRITICISING housework and withdrawing affection are defined­ as domestic violence in the first national guidelines for judges and magistrates.

The new “bench guide’’ for courts released by Attorney-General George Brandis yesterday spells out what can be considered family violence — ranging from physical attacks to yelling or criticising a partner’s appearance or threatening to have an affair.

It gives examples of emotional and psychological abuse as “angry verbal outbursts, staring, silence, ignoring and withdrawal of affection’’.

The official judicial guide also cites “social abuse’’ such as criticising the way a partner takes care of the house or becoming upset when chores are not finished.

The judicial guide criticises judges and magistrates who focus only on “recent physical violence” instead of a “complex pattern of violent­ or abusive behaviours’’.

But Law Council of Australia domestic and family violence taskforce chair Dr Jacoba Brasch QC yesterday said a “one-off’’ criticism of housework would not constitute family violence. “Domestic violence or abuse involves violence and threatening behaviour that coerces, controls or causes fear,” she said

NSW Police recorded a record 29,227 cases of domestic violence-related assault in the year to March plus 13,310 breaches of apprehended violence orders.

The online guide urges judges to look beyond physical violence­ when deciding whether to grant a domestic­ violence order, saying: “A perpetrator may intend to intimidate­ and induce fear ... through physical violence or harm yet cause minor or no visible signs of injury.’

“The perpetrator may drive dangerously when the victim or children are in the car, or smoke in the home knowing the victim has a respiratory condition, or lock the victim outside during the night.’’

The official judicial guide also cites “social abuse’’ such as criticising the way a partner takes care of the house or becoming upset when chores are not finished.

The judicial guide criticises judges and magistrates who focus only on “recent physical violence” instead of a “complex pattern of violent­ or abusive behaviours’’. It also says children “do not need to see or hear violence to be exposed to it’’.

Senator Brandis said the guide would “assist judicial officers with their decision-making’’ while Dr Brasch said it “does not rewrite the law nor change definitions’’ of abuse. “It is a guide only,’’ she said.

The state government changed domestic violence laws in June so victims no longer have to prove they have a fear for their physical safety for a restraining order

Domestic abuse survivor Kay Schubach, 51, yesterday welcomed the guide, saying physical abuse was not the only manifestation of domestic­ violence: “There’s a whole litany of controlling behaviours — emotional and financial. I see a lot of these things go on and it gets hidden­ away. It is great to see this benchmark is so comprehensive.”

As a NSW Domestic Violence ambassador she said she came across many women whose confidence had been eroded by manipulative abusers: “They make the woman feel no one will believe her.”

The state government changed domestic violence laws in June so victims no longer have to prove they have a fear for their physical safety for a restraining order.

Kay Schubach was a domestic violence victim / Picture: Daniel Aarons

MIND GAMES AND THREATS

THEIR OWN WORDS

Victims say abusers have:

* Put down my appearance

* Became upset if chores not done

* Treated me like a personal servant

* Become jealous of my friends and other men

* Tried to convince me I was crazy

WHAT THE NEW GUIDELINES SAY

Emotional or psychological abuse may also involve:

* Threatening to divorce or abandon the victim if the victim fails to comply with demands

* Threatening to commit suicide if victim leaves

* Restricting the victim’s contact with family and friends

* Restricting access to a car or finances

* Strategic intimidatory behaviour ... including angry verbal outbursts, staring, silence, ignoring and withdrawal of affection