60Additional matters for direction on family violence

60 Additional matters for direction on family violence

In giving a direction requested under section 58, the trial judge may include any of the following matters in the direction—

(a) that family violence—

(i) is not limited to physical abuse and may include sexual abuse and psychological abuse;

(ii) may involve intimidation, harassment and threats of abuse;

(iii) may consist of a single act;

(iv) may consist of separate acts that form part of a pattern of behaviour which can amount to abuse even though some or all of those acts may, when viewed in isolation, appear to be minor or trivial;

(b) if relevant, that experience shows that—

(i) people may react differently to family violence and there is no typical, proper or normal response to family violence;

(ii) it is not uncommon for a person who has been subjected to family violence—

(A) to stay with an abusive partner after the onset of family violence, or to leave and then return to the partner;

(B) not to report family violence to police or seek assistance to stop family violence;

(iii) decisions made by a person subjected to family violence about how to address, respond to or avoid family violence may be influenced by—

(A) family violence itself;

(B) cultural, social, economic and personal factors;

(c) that, as a matter of law, evidence that the accused assaulted the victim on a previous occasion does not mean that the accused could not have been acting in self-defence or under duress (as the case requires) in relation to the offence charged.