Tessa scarcely had time to collect her belongings before escaping the home she had shared with her husband of 20 years.
Later, as she took out an apprehended domestic violence order against him, the court asked her to make a list of items she wanted to collect.
But her husband disputed her ownership over a number of the belongings – including her daughter’s toys, camping equipment to help set up the caravan she had moved into, and photo albums – and so the court did not give her permission to take them.
“He still has control over me in the sense that he’s not allowing me to have my things,” Tessa says. “My whole life is in that house.”
Tessa, who asked not to use her real name, is not alone in facing a system she labels too “black and white” when it comes to recovering property. Experts say the rigidity of the process means perpetrators are sometimes able to manipulate the system to their advantage.
“It’s another aspect of the legal system that is quite vulnerable to exploitation by perpetrators,” said Jasmine Opdam, a supervising solicitor for Redfern Legal Centre’s financial abuse service.
I literally had to start from scratch’
In Australia, victim-survivors can only take out property recovery orders before an apprehended domestic violence order (ADVO) is finalised.
This leaves victim-survivors a short timeframe to get their property – during a time when they are also dealing with leaving a violent relationship. Once an ADVO is finalised, they have few options.
“If the victim-survivor doesn’t think to mention certain belongings they can miss the boat and it can then be too late to recover property without going through a civil legal process,” Opdam said.
If a perpetrator disputes ownership over belongings listed in the recovery order, victim-survivors face a lengthy and costly legal process. Opdam said the centre often sees this issue with assets, particularly cars.
“Even if the car is worth say $5,000, and it’s their only mode of transport, the minimum they would have to pay a private family lawyer can be $8,000,” she said.
Read the full Guardian article.
