Ruth Halperin-Kaddari in the news

FEMRAM member Ruth Halperin-Kaddari was quoted in the 6 July 2018 article UN grills Australia on multiple failures to protect women against violence by Susan Hutchinson.

The article noted Australian cuts to domestic violence services such as women’s shelters, housing, financial, and legal services despite lip service to domestic violence reforms. It also criticised the abrupt decision to merge the Family Court with the Federal Circuit Court when a major review of family law system led by Professor Helen Rhoades is currently underway. The report from the Australian Law Review Commission is due to the Attorney-General by 31 March 2019. The committee backed calls for a Royal Commission into violence experienced by people with disabilities and implementation of the recommendations on violence experienced by Indigenous women and children.

Professor Halperin-Kaddari, an expert on family law and gendered violence, is Member, Chair of the Working Group on Inquiries and former Vice-Chair of the UN Committee on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). She teaches at Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Law, and is the Director of the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women at Bar-Ilan University.

 

 

Elizabeth Sheehy to speak in New Zealand

Professor Elizabeth Sheehy will speak at a New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse event “Parental alienation” and family courts: A conversation on research and practice

When; Tuesday 20 March, 10 – 11.30am

RSVP required: Register here

Speakers include:

Professor Elizabeth Sheehy from the University of Ottawa is a Distinguished Visitor at the University of Auckland. She is an international expert on violence against women and women’s use of violence and the author of the award-winning book Defending Battered Women on Trial: Lessons from the Transcripts. In 2017 she received the Persons Award from the Governor General of Canada and, in 2018, the Order of Ontario from the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario for her advocacy for women’s equality in the criminal justice context over the course of her long and distinguished career.
Professor Sheehy will share her research results from examining how “parental alienation” is claimed and adjudicated in family court cases across Canada 2008-2017. She will focus on how allegations of family violence and parental alienation intersect and the implications for women escaping male violence.

Ruth Herbert is well known for her work in trying to improve New Zealand’s system response to violence against women and children. She has given many presentations and media interviews and researched and written extensively about the issue. She has a Master of Public Policy (dist.) and has worked both in formal roles and as an independent advocate and activist in the sector. Ruth has been the Family Violence Director at the Ministry of Social Development, the Executive Director of the independent Glenn Inquiry and a member of the independent Ministerial Review Panel assessing ACC’s sensitive claims clinical pathway.

Ruth is a co-founder of the Backbone Collective which was launched in 2017 to enable women who have experienced violence and abuse to have their voices heard. Ruth will share what women have told the Backbone Collective about how “parental alienation” is being used against protective mothers in the New Zealand Family Court.

Catriona MacLennan is a barrister, journalist and researcher. She worked in the Press Gallery for six years as a political reporter and practised law in South Auckland for 14 years. Catriona worked extensively in family and domestic violence and has for the past 20 years advocated publicly and politically for action to eliminate domestic and sexual violence. Catriona helped set up Ngā Ture Kaitiaki ki Waikato Community Law Centre and was the Project Director for Ngā Tāngata Microfinance Trust. She is the founder of Wheels for Women, a project to provide cars to domestic violence survivors.

Catriona will examine recent New Zealand High and Family Court cases referring to “parental alienation.” She will also speak about how the use of “parental alienation” is undermining attempts to tackle this country’s domestic violence epidemic.

Chair: Professor Julia Tolmie, Faculty of Law, University of Auckland.

 

Vivienne Elizabeth to speak in Queensland, Australia

FEMRAM member Associate Professor Vivienne Elizabeth from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Auckland will speak on the harmful outcomes of the family court emphasis on time rather than relationships in considering “shared care” or joint custody post-separation.  The seminar will be held August 9 from 12-2pm at Griffith’s Nathan campus and there will be a teleconference option offered on the Gold Coast. RSVP and other information is below in the flyer.

Molly Dragiewicz presenting at Queensland Magistrates Court Specialised Domestic Violence Conference

FEMMRAM member Associate Professor Molly Dragiewicz will present on the Misuse of New Technology in Domestic Violence at the Magistrates Courts of Queensland Specialised DV Conference: Domestic Violence- A New Approach.