Child Abuse Lawyers
What is child abuse?
Our child abuse lawyers are experts in handling sensitive cases where children are involved.
Child abuse can occur if a child is subject to abuse directly, or if the child sees or hears family violence.
It is not limited to only physical abuse.
The Family Law Act describes a wide range of circumstances that could be considered child abuse:
- An assault of the child.
- A sexual assault of the child.
- Causing a child to suffer serious psychological harm
- Serious neglect of the child.
The Family Court takes child abuse seriously, and the potential that a child could be in a position of danger means that the court must consider and potentially act on it.
Our child abuse lawyers have dealt with a myriad of cases that feature some element of child abuse.
You may want to apply for an order for a child not to spend time with a particular parent because that parent poses an unacceptable risk to the child.
Our child abuse lawyers are able to assist with making or defending against those applications.
Child abuse lawyers and ADVO’s
You may want to speak to the police about obtaining an ADVO to protect a child.
The police can apply for an Apprehended Domestic Violence Order (ADVO) to protect a child to avoid having any contact with the person causing the abuse.
The ADVO will always have three conditions prohibiting the Respondent from:
- Intimidating, assaulting, molesting, harassing, threatening or interfering with the Protected Person;
- Stalking the Protected Person; and
- Any children of the relationship.
You will be able to get an ADVO if you can satisfy the court that:
- There was a relationship between the victim and the person causing the abuse,
- There was an act of domestic violence towards the victim
You may or may not need to represent yourself when you get an ADVO.
If you have been served with an ADVO, you may want to get one of our specialist child abuse lawyers to assist you with your case.
If the police have applied for an ADVO on your behalf, you won’t need to represent yourself or get a lawyer.
The Police Prosecutor will present the matter in court and you may or may not have to attend.
If you have applied for an ADVO on your own through the Local Court, it is a good idea to get a lawyer to represent you.