What role should ex parte applications play in domestic violence cases? Byron James reports
It is disturbing to those who deal with domestic violence just how cinematic horror can so often be combined with gritty day-to-day reality. The extraordinary amount of people affected by domestic violence is well known. There is a wide spectrum of “abusers” in domestic violence: from those who are violent on a daily basis right through to those who harass and intimidate because they cannot let go of a former relationship.
A controlling relationship can often transform into an abusive one. Violence is often accompanied by emotional, psychological and financial abuse. It should follow, therefore, that a main part of the injunctive relief available should be to recognise how hard it is for those under a controlling and abusive relationship to speak out, to seek help and, ultimately, try to break free.
WITHOUT NOTICE
The injunctive relief available under Pt IV of the Family Law Act 1996 (FLA 1996) can be the way out for many of these victims. The main way in which the law seeks to encourage victims in
