Intervention Orders

Family violence in Victoria is legally defined by Section 5 of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008. The law defines family violence very broadly and includes:

1. Physical abuse (e.g. hitting, punching, slapping, kicking);
2. Sexual abuse (e.g. sexual assault, rape, sexually coercive behaviour, sexually degrading insults);
3. Emotional and psychological abuse (e.g. blaming someone for all of your problems, embarrassing someone in public, threatening suicide, hurting pets);
4. Verbal abuse (e.g. name-calling, threats of violence, putting someone down constantly);
5. Economic abuse (e.g. controlling all of the finances, restricting access to bank accounts, providing an inadequate ‘allowance’, stopping someone from working or using money);
6. Damaging property (including jointly owned property);
7. Other threatening or coercive behaviour;
8. Any action that controls or dominates a family member, and causes that family member to fear for themselves or someone else; and
9. Exposing a child to any of the above behaviours (e.g. if a child overhears name-calling, sees someone with a physical injury, or has to clean up broken household items after a fight.)

Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, a particular behaviour may constitute family violence in one situation, but the same behaviour in another circumstance may not be considered family violence. You should always seek legal advice if you believe you are the victim of family violence or are being accused of committing family violence. If you have any concerns about your safety at any time, you should call 000 immediately.