Zoe Rathus

Family Violence and Shared Parenting: What we know so far about the impact of the 2006 changes to the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

Abstract:
This presentation will examine how families with a history of domestic and family violence are faring under the Family law Act 1975 (Cth) since major changes were introduced in 2006 by the Howard government.  The reforms included a rebuttable presumption that equal shared parental responsibility is in the best interests of children, equal time shared parenting as an option that must be considered by the Court, lawyers and family dispute resolution practitioners in certain circumstances and virtually compulsory pre-litigation dispute resolution processes.  Many of these changes are attributable to successful lobbying by an active fathers’ rights movement in Australia.  By analysing some of the reported cases and limited research available to date, it will be suggested that violence is poorly addressed or rendered invisible in some families with potentially damaging consequences for the children and their mothers.

Speaker profile:
Zoe Rathus is a senior lecturer in law at Griffith University.  She teaches family law and legal professional practice and is the Co-Director of the Clinical Legal Education Program.  Her research interests are in family law with a focus on gender issues, domestic violence and the culture of family law practice.
Zoe worked as a solicitor in private practice from 1983, until becoming coordinator of the Women’s Legal Service (WLS) in Brisbane in 1989.  She has served on the Queensland Domestic Violence Council, the Queensland Taskforce on Women and the Criminal Code, the Board of Legal Aid Queensland and is currently the Chairperson of the Immigrant Women’s Support Service.


Staff profile for Zoe Rathus.