The legal system has been moderately effective in protecting victims of domestic violence. The law no longer treats domestic violence as a private matter and has attempted to provide protection to victims of domestic violence. The growing recognition of domestic violence is reflected in the law through recent reforms, which seek to better reflect society's values and ethics by providing an efficient and enforceable response, however this has not yet been fully achieved. The legal system has attempted to protect victims of domestic violence through legal mechanisms, which attempt to achieve justice, such as the development of legislation and the introduction of concepts, such as fear apprehension and battered woman syndrome, in order to protect victims of domestic violence. Many legal measures have been implemented to achieve justice in response to the increasing amount of domestic violence and have been moderately effective in doing so. Over time the Commonwealth has become increasingly aware of the extent of family violence and the law has been changed to better protect victims of violence. The Family Law Legislation (Family Violence and Other Measures) Amendment Bill 2011 (Cth) was introduced to improve the legal systems response to family violence by providing protection for victims to achieve a fair outcome. The law is very effective as it emphasizes the principle of protection from harm, as highlighted in the 2014 Uysal & Mardine case, in order to protect children and has broadened the definition of abuse to include exposure to violence. The law was also effective in ensuring that courts had access to evidence relating to abuse so they could set fair rules... middle of paper... the law ensures justice not only for victims, but for society, as highlighted in the article “Battered ex spared prison for killing” (DT, 2015). So, while the law has been somewhat effective in ensuring justice for victims of domestic violence by creating the Battered Women's Syndrome defence, however recent reforms have ensured that a just outcome is achieved. In conclusion, the legal system has been moderately effective in achieving a fair outcome for victims of domestic violence, despite attempts to protect victims and reflect society's values and ethics. Ultimately, further reforms are needed to address domestic violence as statistics show that rates of domestic violence are increasing, however, the legal system has sought to reduce the impact of domestic violence on victims.
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