Judy lives in a group home
with Anna, David and Miguel. Support workers come in for
five hours a day to help each person with day-to-day
requirements. One of the support workers, Monique, is
Judy's cousin.
Judy and Miguel have started a
relationship over the past few months, and they have
recently talked about getting married. Judy told her
family about her relationship with Miguel when things
started getting serious.
Her father was strongly opposed to
her having a relationship with any man but particularly
with Miguel because he is Spanish. Judy's father told her
that if she didn't break off the relationship, then he
would make sure it was broken off for her.
Judy continued to see Miguel, and
her father began coming around to the house at times he
suspected they would both be there. He would burst into
the house, shouting and threatening to throw Miguel off
the balcony if he caught him near Judy.
One day, he saw Miguel disappearing
out the back door as he came through the front door. He
screamed at Judy, and hit her across the face and head.
This was not the first time he had done this.
Judy's housemate, Anna, had heard
the local WDVCAS coordinator talking at a support group
meeting for women with disabilities. She told Judy about
the scheme and, together, they went to see the
coordinator, Wendy.
Wendy assured Judy that she was
doing the right thing in taking action to stop her father
hurting and frightening her. She explained all the
options to Judy and went over them a few times so Judy
really understood.
Judy decided to apply for an AVO
against her father.
She thought the hardest thing was
going to be seeing her father in court. She was scared
about that. Wendy explained that, although she wasn't
able to stand in the witness box with Judy, she would
stand in a place where Judy could look at her, rather
than at her father. She also told Judy that her father
couldn't touch or talk to her in court, which made her
feel a bit better.
On the day Judy was due to go to
court, her cousin Monique rostered on. Monique offered to
drive her to court and help her find where she needed to
go.
On the way, Monique started to tell
Judy about how upset her mother was, and that taking out
an AVO against her father will kill her. Judy started to
feel very afraid. She wanted her father to stop hurting
her, but what if she killed her mother? She might be put
in gaol!
At the court, Wendy noticed that
Judy was extremely nervous, shaking and distressed. They
went together to a quiet room and spent some time going
over the things they had talked about.
Then Wendy asked Monique to wait
outside. After some gentle coaxing, Judy told Wendy of
her fears. Wendy was able to explain things more clearly
to Judy, help her realise that Monique didn't mean that
Judy would kill her mother, and that Monique may not have
Judy's best interests at heart anyway!
Wendy asked Judy if she could tell
her solicitor that Judy had a disability, and also that
members of her family had been trying to convince her not
to take action against her father.
Judy agreed to go ahead with the
AVO, and to let her solicitor tell the magistrate about
her disability. She was still very nervous
though.
In court, Judy found the magistrate
hard to understand. He used a lot of complicated words
and talked fast. When he was told that Judy had trouble
understanding, he talked more slowly and it was a bit
easier. He asked her to tell him what had happened, and
he listened to everything she said.
The magistrate granted the order,
and Judy thought that going to court had been
worthwhile.
After the court session was
finished, she and Wendy talked about other things she
could do to deal with her father. Wendy gave her some
phone numbers of places where she could get help, and
helped her ring them up. Judy joined a support group for
women who are victims of violence and an assertiveness
class.
Sarah was on her way home
from work when the bus driver took her to an isolated
spot and sexually assaulted her.
He drove her home and she told her
father, who had been waiting for her. Her parents called
the police who took a statement. Sarah was even able to
describe the bus driver's underpants.
They interviewed the bus driver,
found a ticket with Sarah's phone number on it and the
underpants Sarah had described.
The driver denied the
allegations.
A week later, Sarah gave another
statement which was consistent in detail. The senior
police officer decided not to lay charges because he
thought the court wouldn't believe Sarah. The family was
advised to forget it.
The parents persisted and with the
help of IDRS, persuaded the police to prosecute the
driver. A Local Court magistrate found the driver guilty
of indecent assault and an act of indecency.
He changed the court procedure so
that Sarah, who cannot concentrate for long periods and
is suggestible, could give evidence to the best of her
ability.
After Sarah had started to get
tired under cross examination, agreeing with the defence
barrister and inventing conversations, the magistrate
allowed evidence from Associate Professor Susan Hayes,
Department of Behavioural Sciences, School of Medicine,
University of Sydney.
Professor Hayes assessed Sarah to
be a reliable witness. She reported that Sarah would have
difficulty concentrating for longer than 15-30 minutes
and would be vulnerable to leading questions.
The magistrate adjourned
proceedings for several weeks and set aside three days
for the hearing.
Sarah gave evidence in 15-30 minute
sessions and her mother sat with her in the witness box.
When necessary, her mother told the court when she
thought Sarah had not understood a question.
The driver was sentenced to 200
hours community service and had his licence to carry
passengers revoked.
(Smith D. (1997) 'Justice for
All', Sydney Morning Herald, 23 January
1997)
Judy's
Story
Sarah's
Story