Immigrant Women and Family Violence

Wong Frank Y , ‘Intimate Partner Violence, Depression, and Alcohol Use Among a Sample of Foreign-Born Southeast Asian Women in an Urban Setting in the United States’ (2011) 26(2) Journal of Interpersonal Violence 211. See also National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and Their Children, Time for Action: The National Council's Plan for Australia to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2009–2021 (March 2009) 9.

See, eg, Easteal Patricia , ‘Double Jeopardy: Violence against Immigrant Women in the Home’ (1996) 45 Family Matters 26; Easteal , ‘Broken Promises: Violence Against Immigrant Women in the Home’ (1996) 21(2) Alternative Law Journal 53.

See Sabri Bushra de Mendoza Veronica Barcelona Campbell Jacqueline , ‘Prevalence of Intimate Partner Sexual Violence Among Immigrant Groups’, in McOrmond-Plummer Louise Easteal Patricia Levy-Peck Jennifer (eds), Intimate Partner Sexual Violence: A Multidisciplinary Guide to Improving Services and Support for Survivors of Rape and Abuse (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2013) 246.

Mindlin Jessica , Dynamics of Sexual Assault and the Implications for Immigrant Women (Legal Momentum, 2010).

Ghafournia Nafiseh , ‘Battered at Home, Played Down in Policy: Migrant Women and Domestic Violence in Australia’ (2011) 16 Aggression and Violent Behavior 207, 208. See also Mitchell Liesl , ‘Domestic Violence in Australia: An Overview of the Issues'’ (Background Note, Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia, 23 November 2011) 16.

Rees Susan , ‘Human Rights and the Significance of Psychosocial and Cultural Issues in Domestic Violence Policy and Intervention for Refugee Women’ (2004) 10(2) Australian Journal of Human Rights 97.

Ibid.

Council Family Law , Improving The Family Law System for Clients from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds: Report to the Attorney-General (2012) 35.

Women's Legal Services NSW, A Long Way to Equal: An update of ‘Quarter Way to Equal: A report on barriers to access to legal services for migrant women’ (Women's Legal Resources Ltd, 2007) 6.

Anitha Sundari , ‘Legislating Gender Inequalities: The Nature and Patterns of Domestic Violence Experienced by South Asian Women with Insecure Immigration Status in the United Kingdom’ (2011) 17 Violence Against Women 1260

MR, pt 1, div 1.5. See Australian Law Reform Commission (‘ALRC’), Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws –Improving Legal Frameworks, Report 117 (2012) for discussion.

The provisions were enacted in 1989 These rounds of amendments are discussed by Crock Mary , ‘Women and Migration Law,’ in Easteal Patricia (ed), Women and the Law in Australia (LexisNexis, 2010) 328, 334–337.

Subsection (3) specifies that the violence that led to the granting of the injunction must have occurred while the ‘married relationship’ between the alleged perpetrator and the spouse of the alleged perpetrator existed. However, subsections (5) and (7), which relate to the granting of an order and conviction of guilt respectively, both make reference to ‘married relationship or de facto relationship’. Section 5CB makes clear that de facto relationships include same sex relationships.

Reg 1.23(12) says that, for a non-judicially determined claim family violence, the Minister must be satisfied that the relevant family violence (or part thereof) occurred while the married or de facto relationship existed between the alleged perpetrator and their spouse or de facto partner.

Vrachnas John , Migration and Refugee Law: Principles and Practice in Australia (Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 2008).

Easteal Patricia , Less Than Equal: Women and the Australian Legal System (Butterworths, 2001) 195. See also Hoang Khanh , ‘ALRC's Inquiry into Family Violence and Commonwealth Laws’ (2011) 24(8) Parity 34.

Crock , above n 12, 336.

Ibid 335–336, citing Ibrahim v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (MIMIA) [2002] FCA 1279; Cakmak v MIMIA (2003) 135 FCR 183; Isse v Minister for Immigration [2006] FMCA 253.

Ibid, citing Mohamed v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (MIAC) [2007] FCA 1004; Morgan v MIMA [1999] FCA 1059

The use of two medical practitioners instead of substituting one for another type of expert led to the rejection of the application in Mardini v Minister for Immigration [2005] FMCA 1409 On appeal, see Mardini v MIMIA [2006] FCA 488 [41].

ALRC, above n 11, 526.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid 527.

Ibid.

Tolmie Julia , ‘Pacific-Asian Immigrant and Refugee Women Who Kill their Batterers’ (1997) 19 Sydney Law Review 473.

Easteal Patricia , Shattered Dreams, Marital Violence against Women: The Overseas-born in Australia (Bureau of Immigration and Multicultural Population Research, 1996).

Tolmie , above n 26.

Easteal , ‘Double Jeopardy,’ above n 2, 28.

Tolmie , above n 26.

Rees , above n 6.

ALRC, above n 11, 517.

Ibid 516.

MIAC v Ejueyitsi (2007) 159 FCR 94 at [34].

Ibid.

Ibid at [29].

Reg 1.21 states that ‘relevant family violence’ means conduct, whether actual or threatened, towards (a) the alleged victim; or (b) a member of the family unit of the alleged victim; or (c) a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator; or (d) the property of the alleged victim; or (e) the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged victim; or (f) the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator; that causes the alleged victim to reasonably fear for, or to be reasonably apprehensive about, his or her own wellbeing or safety.

The Federal Magistrates Court was renamed the Federal Circuit Court of Australia following the commencement of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation Amendment Act 2012 (Cth) on 12 April 2013 Searches of both the Federal Magistrates Court and the Federal Circuit Court were undertaken.

The other two decisions, 1101423 [2012] MRTA 3969 and 1307460 [2013] MRTA 3301, only mentioned briefly IMMI 12/116, without any substantive discussion of its interpretation.

We also intend to search the Federal Magistrates Court, prior to the commencement of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Legislation Amendment Act 2012 (Cth).