A judge told a domestic violence survivor he would let her abuser ‘fight it out’ with her when she raised concerns about her former partner repeatedly breaching parenting orders for her young son.
The woman has lodged a formal complaint with the Chief Justice of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia.
The judge described their case as ‘he said, she said’, made a barking dog hand gesture and told the victim to ‘think biblically’ about her abuser.
The survivor was self-representing in a case against the man who abused.
She says the judge refused to look at her evidence and belittled, dismissed and intimidated her.
She says she was repeatedly interrupted, spoken over and shut down when raising concerns directly relevant to parenting orders and breaches of orders.
“As a victim of family violence, the comment about ‘fighting it out’ was profoundly inappropriate, minimised the seriousness of the situation and was inconsistent with the trauma-informed approach required in family law matters involving violence,” she says.
“My ex-partner, who was legally represented, was able to speak without interruption.
“I was repeatedly interrupted, spoken over, and shut down when raising concerns directly relevant to parenting orders and existing breaches.
“This created a significant power imbalance and left me feeling intimidated and unable to participate meaningfully in my own case.
“I left the courtroom feeling distressed, silenced, and unsupported by the process.
“These comments and behaviours caused emotional harm, particularly given my status as a victim-survivor of family violence and a self-represented litigant.”
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