ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an overview of how the relevant legislation has been amended to define and address violence. It also looks at dispute-settlement processes and outcomes. Women whose former partners engage in controlling violence may find that the family law system is used as another tool to control and abuse them. Much of family law is primarily conducted 'in the shadow' of the law, with most matters settling outside of the court. In the early 1990s, academics criticised the Australian Family Court's failure to recognise the harm suffered to children due to family violence. The developments in Australia have significant relevance for England and Wales due to the recent Family Justice Review and resulting reforms. The Practice Direction defines domestic violence as 'physical violence, threatening or intimidating behaviour and any other form of abuse which, directly or indirectly, may have caused harm to the other party or to the child or which may give rise to the risk of harm'.
