Victim survivors who have been criminalised experience high rates of family violence and trauma, and the severity and impacts of this violence and trauma can be significant. The term ‘criminalised women’ is used to encompass women who have been imprisoned, have had contact with police for other matters, and/or who engage in criminalised activities such as illicit drug use or sex work. (Safe+Equal)
Resources for Practitioners
- Flat Out is a state-wide homelessness support and advocacy service for women 18+ (with/without children), who have had contact with the criminal justice and/or prison system in Victoria.
- Safe+Equal’s Supporting Criminalised Women resources
- Rural Women online is supporting rural women to learn digital skills
- Collected Wisdom A manual which collates practice ideas and activities from family violence group work in the northern metro region that can be used by other group workers.
- Peninsula Community Legal Centre – Supporting clients on temporary visas experiencing FV to safely leave relationships and get migration assistance – Guide to Safety Tool
- Providing safety and support for criminalised victim survivors A tip sheet and poster aimed at criminalised women and seeks to empower them to access the tip sheet and provide it to a service or practitioner they are working with.
Research
ANROWS report on “The forgotten victims: Prisoner experience of victimisation and engagement with the criminal justice system”
Project Respect – A state of knowledge paper on “The extent, nature, and impact of family, domestic, and sexual violence against women in the Australian sex industry”
Bayside Peninsula Legal Services
The Peninsula Community Legal Centre (PCLC) has a family violence program which provides legal advice, assistance and representation for those concerned about abuse by a partner or other family member, visit PCLC
Good Shepherd provides legal support for family violence. View their website here
Family Violence Intervention Order (FVIO) Resources
- Magistrate’s Court Family Violence website A site with information for those applying or responding to an intervention order.
- The Intersection between Family Law and the Intervention Order System Ella Crotty, Senior Lawyer Family Law and Family Violence, Fitzroy Legal Service on ‘The Intersection between Family Law and the Intervention Order System’
Court Services
Melbourne Magistrates Courts’ secure waiting area
The secure waiting area is a dedicated waiting space for Affected Family Members (AFMs). Court staff will determine access to the waiting space based on information available and consultation with relevant services. Access can be arranged on the day at Court or by prior arrangement preferably via PCI form but also via phone or email. Support persons and lawyers with an AFM will be allowed access to the secure waiting area based on capacity each day.
This is an exciting step towards providing a full safe waiting area at Melbourne Court, and we are excited to be progressing towards this.
Individual Rights
- Police Accountability Project The PAP takes the lead in police accountability law and strategies. They may be able to assist clients who believe they have been a victim or a witness to police misconduct in Victoria
- Police powers: your rights in Victoria A free booklet that can be used as a general guide to help clients deal with the police. It includes information for young people under the age of 18 and people with mental impairment.
Other Resources
- The Judicial College of Victoria has information regarding family violence specifically for those providing legal support
- Victorian Government information on legal assistance for family violence
- Victorian Family Violence Protection Act 2008
- City of Kingston’s Elder Law workshop recorded on 27 Apr 2022
- Health Justice Partnerships are collaborations that work by embedding legal help into healthcare services and teams. They have formed in response to a growing body of evidence that shows there are groups of people who are vulnerable to intersecting legal and health problems, but who are unlikely to turn to legal services for solutions. Health Justice Australia supports the expansion and effectiveness of health justice partnerships through knowledge and its translation, building capability and driving systems change.
- A Victim’s Guide to Support Services and the Criminal Justice System This guide can help people understand the effects of crime now and can help during the legal process later.
- Peninsula Community Legal Centre – Supporting clients on temporary visas experiencing FV to safely leave relationships and get migration assistance – Guide to Safety Tool
- Family Law (Property) Fact Sheet for Separating Couples
- Women’s Legal Service Victoria – Going to court for a family violence intervention order hearing: Factsheet
- The Australasian Institute of Judicial Administration Inc. – National Domestic and Family Violence Bench Book