Is this justice?
In Australia, everyone knows that if you injure your back, break some bones or get a crippling injury in the workplace, or in an accident, because of someone’s negligence, you can make a claim for compensation. This is accepted. But, if you get the same or even worse injuries, deliberately inflicted by the person you live with, it is likely that you won’t make a claim for compensation and that no one will even suggest that you have the right to it. (Spoiler alert: you do.)
Similarly, in family law, if you separate from a non-abusive partner, there is often a formal settlement to fairly divide the family property. But when you separate from an abusive partner, chances are there will be no family law property settlement at all. You may have just ‘walked away’.
As a victim/survivor of domestic violence, you may be heading into your new, independent life after separation with a body, mind and financial prospects that are severely scarred by your lived experience of abuse. You may face severe financial instability, often while you continue to try to bring up children. No one asks about the lingering effects of what you’ve been through and there’s no responsibility for these taken by the perpetrator. You receive no compensation for your injuries. And no share of the family property.