One in Three submission to the ALRC Family Violence Inquiry
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) undertook an inquiry into the interaction in practice of state and territory family and domestic violence and child protection laws with the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) and relevant Commonwealth, state and territory criminal laws; and the impact of inconsistent interpretation or application of laws in cases of sexual assault occurring in a family/domestic violence context, including rules of evidence, on victims of such violence. Their final report, Family Violence - A National Legal Response, was published in November 2010.
The One in Three Campaign met with the President of the ALRC, Professor Roslyn Croucher and her staff in May 2010 and presented this preliminary submission to in the inquiry which was cited from on numerous occasions in the ALRC's final report. Our major achievement was that, despite the gendered nature of the terms of reference given to the ALRC, their recommendations were directed towards reforming legal frameworks with the aim of improving the safety of all victims of family violence – whether male or female.
