DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic violence, sometimes called family violence, describes a situation where one person in an intimate or family relationship uses violent or intimidating tactics to control and dominate another. Domestic violence does not just occur in families between family members. An offender may just live with the victim, or have had an intimate relationship with the victim (as boyfriend or girlfriend, including in same sex relationships).Domestic violence can include any form of physical abuse, such as punching, hitting, pushing, and generally using physical force against another person. However, it is not limited to physical assault. It also includes:sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, verbal abuse, damaging your property or being cruel to your pets,harassment, stalking and intimidation, social or geographical isolation, financial abuse. In NSW a tool of protection against domestic violence is the Apprehended Violence Order, or AVO. An Apprehended Violence Order is an order of the Court designed to protect people against acts of violence such as physical assault, non-physical abuse such as harassment or intimidation, or damage or threatened damage to property.You have the right to feel safe in your own home. If you don’t feel safe and you think that there is domestic violence happening in your family, you may want to report it so that you can get the help you need to stop the violence. If you are worried about where you and your other family members might stay if you have to leave home because of domestic violence, there are many refuges across the state that provide safe accommodation for people this situation.