TO SEE ALL 14 YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF THE CAMPAIGN, INCLUDING 6 PARENT STORIES, PROFESSIONALS PERSPECTIVE, JOURNALISTS CALLING FOR CHANGE, CHILDREN'S STORIES AND DRAWINGS OF DISTRESS:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=barbbiggs&aq=fOUR GOALS
Safer Family Law Campaign (SFLC) is a national campaign dedicated to giving Australian children and parents the fundamental human right; to be safe.
We are a group of concerned Australian self-help groups, parents, legal experts, academics, domestic violence workers, men's anti-violence groups, health professionals, journalists, authors, counselors and members of the public from all over this country who are seeing consistent failures in the Family Law system to protect children.
CSFLS seeks changes to the Family Law Act and FCA practice where:
(1) primary focus on safe outcomes for children takes precedence over ‘time spent’ principles, especially in cases where Domestic Violence (DV) and/or child abuse is raised; and such matters being raised must be investigated;
(2) recognition that violence to a parent is also abusive to the child of that parent;
(3) a new, discrete unit is formed within FCA to carefully manage investigation of cases where these matters are raised;
(4) all professionals responding to family separation in FCA, including mental health professionals, judges and legal experts in the field advising/representing clients, must receive continuing accredited training in DV and child abuse;
(5) family (including children) or contributing professionals' concerns suggesting DV and child abuse require that all evidence held by any governmental, police, law, medical and/or other agencies pertaining to the parties' and children's well-being must be sought out and included for review by this new FCA special unit; and
(6) that these records be connected on central police and court systems at local, state and federal levels, and;
(7) if, on the balance of probabilities, DV/abuse patterns are found to exist, or to be likely to exist, then any contact orders/agreements must detail how children’s safety is to be supported; and if such DV/abuse patterns are considered on expert opinion to be likely to strongly endanger children’s physical security or psychological health, then even occasional contact with the offending parent or parents may be disallowed as safe, and;
(8) in such cases the primary focus on safe outcomes for children must include plans for recovery from such trauma in parenting agreements or orders, and merely the passage of time should not be taken to suggest such DV/abuse patterns will be reduced or stop causing harm to the child, and;
(9) checks and balances are put in place to review FCA orders remain safe over time; and
(10) That 'blanket secrecy' laws be altered to allow more free speech and media and academic review regarding the Family Law Act, FCA, DHS and DOCS culture.
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PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN THE SUNDAY MAY 3 EVENTS
QLD
SILENT RALLY
Venue: THE LAW COURTS COMPLEX,
304 George streetBrisbane
Time: 11am
Contact the co-ordinator at:
happyandblessed@hotmail.com
NSW
Venue: Cook & Phillip Park, Yurong St East Sydney (near Aquatic Centre)
Time: 10.30am for 11a.m. Sunday May 3
Liz Mullinar - founder Mayumarri healing centre will MC the event
Prof Lesley Laing Sydney University - speaker
Speaker - A mother who has lost children in a murder suicide will speak out for the first time about how a court 'expert' said she had mental problems when she alleged abuse by her ex-partner.
Speaker: Barbara Biggs journalist/author/ rally instigator
www.barbarabiggs.com.au
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Biggs
Cat Gander, Head
Women's Refuge Movement NSW
Robyn Cotterell-Jones, Executive Director
Victims of Crime Assistance League Inc NSW
VICTORIA
Venue: between the children's maze playground and Rathdowne St, Carlton, next to the Museum: Rathdowne St entry or cross park from Nicholson on foot
Time: 10.30 for 11a.m. start Sunday May 3
MC: PHIL CLEARY Commentator and advocate for action to prevent violence against women, after his sister was murdered by her former partner
SARAH VESSALI – LAWYER Private practitioner working predominantly in the area of family violence and family law. Previously principal lawyer at Women's Legal Service Victoria for almost 8 years.
DIONNE FEHRING whose two very young children were murdered by her ex-husband five weeks after he was given custody, despite his threats and a history of domestic violence.
JEN JEWEL BROWN Council of Single Mothers and their Children, journalist, Vic rally and campaign coordinator
CHARLES PRAGNELL child protection expert since the 1960s, is highly concerned over “Parental Alienation Syndrome” theory in Family Law proceedings forcing many Australian children to suffer continuing abuse and even death.
SPECIAL GUESTS include fine emerging singer/songwriter/guitarist FIONA MCKENZIE
A clothes line of little red clothes will be raised to represent 20 children whose lives have been lost in family violence since 1996. White flowers will be pinned to the clothes to celebrate and honour these children.
Wear red for power wisely used and in sympathy.
Further info: Jen Jewel Brown 0408 898 338 jenjewelbrown@fastmail.fm
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Venue: Steps Parliament House
North Tce Adelaide
Time: 10.30am for 11a.m.
Rally Details: email Rina Russo at rinarusso@dodo.com.au
MC - Ann Bressington Independant MP
Ann O'Neill, founder Angelhands - Adelaide speaker
A mother who lost her children in a murder suicide at the hands of their father.
Ilsa Evans, Academic/Author of Broken, a book on domestic violence patterns
Professor Freda Briggs - National spokesperson
Emeritus Professor, Uni of SA
Rina Russo Co-founder MACSA - MC and South Australia co-ordinator
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Venue: Princess May Park, Fremantle (cnr Cantonment & Parry and Adelaide Streets, behind Clancy’s)
Time: 10.15 for 10.30am start Sunday May 3
Email contact: ahartwig@womenscouncil.com.au
MC - Ann Moore Chairwoman of the Women's Council for Domestic & Family Violence Services (WA)
Speaker - Carolyn Harris Johnson, Academic/Author of Commonwealth Prize-winning
book Come With Daddy (2005), interviews with seven mothers whose children were murdered by their fathers following family breakdown including
Speaker - Michelle Steck, a journalist mother who lost one child in a murder suicide 16 years ago after being pressured to agree to consent orders despite a history of domestic violence. After a second marriage, she has now been in the FCA for eight years with her four children.
Speaker - Tanya, a mother who was stabbed 31 times by her husband but is still unable to get a 'no contact' order under existing Family Law legislation will tell her story of escaping death at the hands of her ex-husband who still wants to see his seven children.
Angela Hartwig, Executive Officer
Women's Council for Domestic & Family Violence Services (WA)
IN MEMORIUM20 CHILDREN WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN LOST IN FAMILY DISPUTES SINCE 1996
• 1996 - January 25: Peter May shot and killed his three children, Lisa eleven, Andrew eight, and Natalie seven during a contact visit. On the same day, he also killed his wife and her parents. May's history of domestic violence was commonly known and reported,
• 1998 – October 23: After Ronald Jonkers lost custody of Aaron DeBaugy 5, Ashlee seventeen months and David seven, he poisoned them by carbon monoxide in their car on a contact visit in Perth,
• 1999 – August: WA four young children were gassed along with their father Mark Heath after a family court dispute,
• 2000 - Rhonda Bartley was shot dead by her ex-partner in Berri while attending a court ordered contact handover of their baby daughter,
• 2001 - September: Mikaylah Green eleven weeks, Taylah Pringle eleven months and Jackson Merrott six, were smothered by their father on a contact visit in Sydney,
• 2002- Ana Hardwick 35 is strangled by her former partner after the family court granted her custody of their eleven and eight year old children,
• 2004 – April 26: Jessie Dalton nineteen months and Patrick Dalton thirteen weeks were smothered by their separated father Jayson Dalton after a family court order to him to return the infants to their mother Dionne,
• 2005 – 4th September: Robert Farquharson killed his sons Jai ten, Tyler seven, and Bailey two, by driving them into a dam in Winchelsea, south-west of Melbourne on Fathers' Day contact visit,
• 2008 – May 9: The body of three year old Imran Zilic, was found after his father threw him down a mine on an access visit,
• 2008 – January 3: Christopher McEwen allegedly raped and then killed his daughter Rhiannon McEwen on Bribie Island on New Years Eve. The matter of the children's residency was before the Family Court in 2004 where the father was given residency of all three children. It is not known to this writer if it was by consent. However, this father was cleared by a psychiatrist to leave a Brisbane hospital's mental health unit just nine days before he allegedly raped and murdered his ten-year-old daughter. Queensland Health did not report the man – who had spent two weeks as an involuntary patient in the hospital's mental health unit – to the Department of Child Safety. Given this man's mental condition, the question is how in 2004 was it that he obtained sole custody of his four children aged between six and ten?
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