Family law bid to halt threats over finances

A REPORT on family law recommends a change to the legal definition of violence.

A REPORT on family law recommends a change to the legal definition of violence to encompass behaviour that is "economically abusive", threatening or coercive.

The report, by the Family Law Council, says changes made to the Family Law Act (1975) by the Howard government narrowed the definition of violence and was "conservative in its drafting".

The review was one of three reports released this week on family law, one of which warned that women and children were at a greater risk of violence.

The Family Law Council report said the definition of violence in the act was in "some ways reminiscent of the common law definition of assault".

"It is questionable whether it encompasses the debilitating psychological abuse by controlling conduct," the report says.

It argues that the definition of family violence should be amended to encompass behaviour that is not only physically or sexually abusive, but also economically abusive, threatening, coercive, "or in any other way controls or dominates" the other party.

In another of the reports, the Australian Institute of Family Studies found that fewer than one in five children of separated parents were living in a shared-care arrangement.

A third report, by retired Family Court judge Richard Chisholm, recommended changes to shared parenting laws, saying women and children were at greater risk of violence.

The AIFS report shows that babies and even young toddlers mostly were in the care of their mothers for much of the time.

Men's Rights Agency director Sue Price said the figures showed that fathers were still being locked out of their children's lives, just as they were before the notion of shared parenting was introduced by the Howard government in 2006.

Ms Price said the AIFS report found only 16 per cent of children whose parents had separated between July 2006 and September 2008 had a shared-care time arrangement, with the proportion varying according to the age of the children.

"Clearly the 2006 changes did not go far enough," Ms Price said.

The National Council for Children Post-Separation said the report also showed that one in five shared parenting arrangements had been agreed upon, despite there being concerns about the risk of harm.

The council's founder, Barbara Biggs, said women were too frightened to raise allegations of violence, lest they lose the children in the custody battle.

She ridiculed Attorney-General Robert McClelland for saying the 2006 laws had been "misunderstood" and were never meant to suggest to the courts that children spend equal time with each parent.

"Our support group has spoken to many parents whose own lawyers have told them not to raise allegations of violence and abuse, saying the court won't like it," Ms Biggs said.

"Many parents have been forced to send their children to abusive and violent parents, who are part of court-ordered custody visits."