It shouldn't be this hard

Women who leave abusive partners and turn to family law and family court face many challenges. Community-based violence against women and women's equality organizations have amassed considerable knowledge by listening to the experiences of the women who turn to us for support. We have conducted research, engaged in collaborations with government, academics, our communities and others and worked on law reform initiatives. Throughout these endeavours, we have seen women and their children continue to struggle through the family court process only to emerge with orders that do not keep them safe and do not enable them to move on to lives free from violence. Almost without exception, this is because family law and family court process do not apply a gendered lens to their understanding of violence within families.