This qualitative study explored the experiences of 22 domestic violence survivors attempting to negotiate safe post-separation parenting arrangements through the Australian family law system. Their allegations of violence put them at odds with a system that values mediated settlements and shared parenting. Skeptical responses, accusations of parental alienation, and pressure to agree to unsafe arrangements exacerbated the effects of post-separation violence. Core themes in the women’s narratives of engagement with the family law system—silencing, control, and undermining the mother–child relationship—mirrored domestic violence dynamics, suggesting the concept of secondary victimization as a useful lens for understanding their experiences.
AlexanderR. (2010). Moving forwards or back to the future? An analysis of case law on family violence under the “Family Law Act 1975” (Cth). University of New South Wales Law Journal, 33, 907-928.
2.
AlmeidaR. V.DurkinT. (1999). The cultural context model: Therapy for couples with domestic violence. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 25, 313-324.
BancroftL.SilvermanJ. G.RitchieD. (2012). The batterer as parent: Addressing the impact of domestic violence on family dynamics (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
BazeleyP. (2013). Qualitative data analysis: Practical strategies. London, England: Sage.
7.
BraniganE. (2007). “Who pays in the end?” The personal and political implications of financial abuse of women in intimate partner relationships. Just Policy, 44, 31-36.
8.
BraunV.ClarkeV. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. doi:10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
BrownT.AlexanderR. (2007). Child abuse and family law: Understanding the issues facing human service and legal professionals. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
11.
BrunoL. (2015). Contact and evaluations of violence: An intersectional analysis of Swedish court orders. International Journal of Law Policy and the Family, 29, 167-182. doi:10.1093/lawfam/ebv002
12.
CampbellJ. C.DienemannJ. D. (2001). Ethical issues in research on violence against women. In RenzettiC.EdlesonJ. L.BergenR. K. (Eds.), Sourcebook on violence against women (pp. 57-72). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
13.
CampbellJ. C.GlassN.SharpsP. W.LaughonK.BloomT. (2007). Intimate partner homicide: Review and implications of research and policy. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 8, 246-269.
14.
CampbellR. (2008). The psychological impact of rape victims’ experiences with the legal, medical, and mental health systems. American Psychologist, 63, 702-717. doi:10.1037/0003-066x.63.8.702
15.
CampbellR.WascoS. M.AhrensC. E.SeflT.BarnesH. E. (2001). Preventing the “second rape”: Rape survivors’ experiences with community service providers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 16, 1239-1259. doi:10.1177/088626001016012002
CleakH.SchofieldM.BickerdikeA. (2014). Efficacy of family mediation and the role of family violence: Study protocol. BMC Public Health, 14, Article 57. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-57
de SimoneT. (2008). The friendly parent provisions in Australian family law: How friendly will you need to be?Australian Journal of Family Law, 22(1), 56-71.
20.
DewarJ.ParkerS. (1999). The impact of the new part VII Family Law Act 1975. Australian Journal of Family Law, 13(2), 96-116.
21.
DuttonM. A. (1996). Battered women’s strategic response to violence: The role of context. In EdlesonJ. L.EisikovitsZ. C. (Eds.), Future interventions with battered women and their families (pp. 105-124). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
22.
EdlesonJ. L.BibleA. (2001). Collaborating for women’s safety: Partnerships between research and practice. In RenzettiC.EdlesonJ. L.BergenR. K. (Eds.), Sourcebook on violence against women (pp. 73-95). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
23.
ElizabethV.GaveyN.TolmieJ. (2012). “. . . He’s just swapped his fists for the system”: The governance of gender through custody law. Gender & Society, 26, 239-260. doi:10.1177/0891243211434765
FanslowJ. L.RobinsonE. M. (2010). Help-seeking behaviors and reasons for help seeking reported by a representative sample of women victims of intimate partner violence in New Zealand. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25, 929-951. doi:10.1177/0886260509336963
26.
FebresJ.ShoreyR. C.ZucoskyH. C.BrasfieldH.VitulanoM.ElmquistJ.. (2014). The relationship between male-perpetrated interparental aggression, paternal characteristics, and child psychosocial functioning. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 23, 907-916. doi:10.1007/s10826-013-9748-8
27.
FehlbergB.BehrensJ.KaspiewR. (2008). Australian family law: The contemporary context. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
28.
FehlbergB.KaspiewR.MillbankJ.KellyF.BehrensJ. (2015). Australian family law: The contemporary context (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.
29.
FehlbergB.SmythB.MacleanM.RobertsC. (2011). Legislating for shared time parenting after separation: A research review. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 25, 318-337. doi:10.1093/lawfam/ebr015
30.
FieldR. (2006). Using the feminist critique of mediation to explore “the good, the bad and the ugly” implications for women of the introduction of mandatory family dispute resolution in Australia. Australian Journal of Family Law, 20(1), 45-78.
31.
FleuryR. E.SullivanC. M.BybeeD. I. (2000). When ending the relationship does not end the violence. Violence Against Women, 6, 1363-1383.
32.
FloodM. (2009). “Fathers’ rights” and the defense of paternal authority in Australia. Violence Against Women, 16, 328-347.
33.
FontesL. A. (2004). Ethics in violence against women research: The sensitive, the dangerous and the overlooked. Ethics & Behavior, 14, 141-174.
34.
FrederickL. (2008). Questions about family court domestic violence screening and assessment. Family Court Review, 46, 523-530.
35.
GondolfE. W. (2000). Human subject issues in batterer program evaluation. In WardS. K.FinkelhorD. (Eds.), Program evaluation and family violence research (pp. 273-297). New York: Haworth.
HardestyJ. L.ChungG. H. (2006). Intimate partner violence, parental divorce, and child custody: Directions for intervention and future research. Family Relations, 55, 200-210.
38.
HardestyJ. L.GanongL. H. (2006). How women make custody decisions and manage co-parenting with abusive former husbands. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 23, 543-563.
39.
HarneL. (2002, Spring). Making contact “work”: A charter for controlling and revengeful fathers. Rights of Women Bulletin, pp. 18-21.
40.
HarrisonC. (2008). Implacably hostile or appropriately protective? Women managing child contact in the context of domestic violence. Violence Against Women, 14, 381-405. doi:10.1177/1077801208314833
41.
HattendorfJ.TollerudT. R. (1997). Domestic violence: Counseling strategies that minimize the impact of secondary victimization. Perspectives in Psychiatric Care, 33(1), 14-24.
42.
HayesB. E. (2012). Abusive men’s indirect control of their partner during the process of separation. Journal of Family Violence, 27, 333-344. doi:10.1007/s10896-012-9428-2
43.
HermanJ. L. (1992). Trauma and recovery. New York: Basic Books.
44.
HermanJ. L. (2005). Justice from the victim’s perspective. Violence Against Women, 11, 571-602.
45.
HoltS. (2013). Post-separation fathering and domestic abuse: Challenges and contradictions. Child Abuse Review, 24, 210-222. doi:10.1002/car.2264
46.
HoltS.BuckleyH.WhelanS. (2008). The impact of exposure to domestic violence on children and young people: A review of the literature. Child Abuse & Neglect, 32, 797-810. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2008.02.004
47.
HumphreysC.ThiaraR. K. (2003). Neither justice nor protection: Women’s experiences of post-separation violence. Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, 25, 195-214.
48.
HumphreysC.ThiaraR. K.SkamballisA. (2011). Readiness to change: Mother–child relationship and domestic violence intervention. British Journal of Social Work, 41, 166-184. doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcq046
49.
JaffeP. G.CrooksC. V.PoissonS. E. (2003). Common misconceptions in addressing domestic violence in child custody disputes. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 54(4), 57-67.
50.
JaffeP. G.LemonN. K. D.PoissonS. E. (2003). Child custody and domestic violence: A call for safety and accountability. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
51.
JohnsonN. E.SaccuzzoD. P.KoenW. J. (2005). Child custody mediation in cases of domestic violence: Empirical evidence of a failure to protect. Violence Against Women, 11, 1022-1053. doi:10.1177/1077801205278043
52.
JohnstonJ. R.Ver SteeghN. (2013). Historical trends in family court response to intimate partner violence: Perspectives of critics and proponents of current practices. Family Court Review, 51, 63-73. doi:10.1111/fcre.12009
53.
KaspiewR. (2005). Violence in contested children’s cases: An empirical exploration. Australian Journal of Family Law, 19(2), 112-143.
54.
KaspiewR.CarsonR.DunstanJ.QuL.HorsfallB.De MaioJ.. (2015). Evaluation of the 2012 family violence amendments: Synthesis report. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
55.
KaspiewR.GrayM.WestonR.MoloneyL.HandK.QuL. (2010). Family violence: Key findings from the evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms. Family Matters, 85, 38-48.
56.
KaspiewR.GrayM.WestonR.MoloneyL.HandK.QuL., & the Family Law Evaluation Team. (2009). Evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
57.
KayeM.StubbsJ.TolmieJ. (2003). Domestic violence and child contact arrangements. Australian Journal of Family Law, 17(2), 93-133.
58.
LaingL. (2008). A perilous journey: Seeking protection in the aftermath of domestic violence. Communities, Children and Families Australia, 3(2), 19-28.
59.
LempertL. B. (1996). Women’s strategies for survival: Developing agency in abusive relationships. Journal of Family Violence, 11, 269-289.
60.
McInnesE. (2014). Madness in family law: Mothers’ mental health in the Australian family law system. Psychiatry Psychology and Law, 21, 78-91. doi:10.1080/13218719.2013.774688
MillerS. L.SmolterN. L. (2011). “Paper abuse”: When all else fails, batterers use procedural stalking. Violence Against Women, 17, 637-650.
64.
MoloneyL.WestonR.HayesA. (2013). Key social issues in the development of Australian family law: Research and its impact on policy and practice. Journal of Family Studies, 19, 110-138.
65.
NaughtonC. M.O’DonnellA. T.GreenwoodR. M.MuldoonO. T. (2015). “Ordinary decent domestic violence”: A discursive analysis of family law judges’ interviews. Discourse & Society, 26, 349-365. doi:10.1177/0957926514564738
66.
ParkinsonP. (2013). Violence, abuse and the limits of shared parental responsibility. Family Matters, 92, 7-17.
67.
PattersonD. (2011). The linkage between secondary victimization by law enforcement and rape case outcomes. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26, 328-347. doi:10.1177/0886260510362889
68.
PrezkopM. (2011). One more battleground: Domestic violence, child custody, and the batterers’ relentless pursuit of their victims through the courts. Seattle Journal of Social Justice, 9, 1053-1106.
69.
RadfordL.HesterM. (2006). Mothering through domestic violence. London, England: Jessica Kingsley.
70.
RathusZ. (2007). Shifting the gaze: Will past violence be silenced by a further shift of the gaze to the future under the new family law system?Australian Journal of Family Law, 21(1), 87-112.
71.
RendellK.RathusZ.LynchA. (2000). An unacceptable risk: A report on child contact arrangements where there is violence in the family. Brisbane, Australia: Women’s Legal Service.
RichK.SeffrinP. (2013). Police officers’ collaboration with rape victim advocates: Barriers and facilitators. Violence and Victims, 28, 681-696. doi:10.1891/0886-6708.vv-d-12-00044
74.
RiveraE. A.SullivanC. M.ZeoliA. M. (2012). Secondary victimization of abused mothers by family court mediators. Feminist Criminology, 7, 234-252. doi:10.1177/1557085111430827
75.
RiveraE. A.ZeoliA. M.SullivanC. M. (2012). Abused mothers’ safety concerns and court mediators’ custody recommendations. Journal of Family Violence, 27, 321-332. doi:10.1007/s10896-012-9426-4
76.
Shea HartA. (2004). Children exposed to domestic violence: Undifferentiated needs in Australian family law. Australian Journal of Family Law, 18(2), 170-192.
77.
Shea HartA.BagshawD. (2008). The idealised post-separation family in Australian family law: A dangerous paradigm in cases of domestic violence. Journal of Family Studies, 14, 291-309.
78.
StarkE. (2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. New York: Oxford University Press.
ThomasJ.HardenA. (2008). Methods for the thematic synthesis of qualitative research in systematic reviews. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 8, Article 45.
81.
TrinderL.FirthA.JenksC. (2010). “So presumably things have moved on since then?” The management of risk allegations in child contact dispute resolution. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, 24, 29-53.
