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Despite a plethora of inquiries into family law over the past ten years, insufficient action has been taken to protect the safety of children, young people and adult survivors of family violence. With nearly 70% of cases in family courts involving allegations of family violence, the need for urgent action is greater than ever. In this article, Liz Snell from Women’s Legal Service NSW (who is also a member of Women’s Legal Services Australia’s Co-ordinating Committee) reflects on recent inquiries into the family law system and the Government’s proposed family court merger.
After many decades of advocacy, 2019 finally saw the NSW Parliament decriminalise abortion. Abortion will now be treated as a healthcare matter, not a crime. Human Rights Law Centre Legal Director Edwina MacDonald reflects on a campaign 50 years in the making, crossing generational and partisan lines.
In this article, Alastair Lawyer (Public Interest Advocacy Centre) sets out some of the key concerns with the draft Religious Discrimination Bill, arguing that instead of reducing discrimination, it encourages religious individuals and organisations to discriminate against others, including women, LGBTI people, single parents, people in de facto relationships, divorced people, and people with disability.
New South Wales has a strip-search problem. And now the evidence is in. Redfern Legal Centre has released a report, Rethinking Strip Searches by NSW Police. Commissioned by RLC and prepared by Dr Michael Grewcock and Dr Vicki Sentas from the University of UNSW Law School, it proposes modest but critical amendments to strip search laws.