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Attorney-General's Department Re Domestic violence issues

dvdiscussion@sa.gov.au

3-9-2016

SUBMISSION
Ref; 20160903-G. H. Schorel-Hlavka O.W.B. to Attorney-General's Department Re Domestic violence issues-SUBMISSION-etc

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Sir/Madam,
as a (retired) Professional Advocate I have for decades assisted/represented parties in
various kinds of litigation and provide hereby a limited submission.
This submission can be published with my consent. At times I added other information which
may broaden the understanding of those considering this submission that problems must not be
narrowly perceived but is much broader. Since 1982 I have conducted a special lifeline service
under the motto MAY JUSTICE ALWAYS PREVAIL and as such gained a considerable
understanding towards the plight of many and why some persons may contemplate suicide and/or
murder. Often those subjected to false allegations and unjustified intervention orders have their
lives ruined, regardless if eventually (often as huge emotional, mental and financial cost) they
may in the end proven to be innocent. I write proven to be innocent because our system of
Innocent until proven guilty generally no longer works that way.
I view that prosecutors who deliberately conceal relevant details from the court and so the
accused as to try to score a conviction should be held legally liable.
The courts are not to convict but to provide JUSTICE (which may or may not include a
conviction).
The prosecutor is not there to achieve a conviction but to present to the court all relevant details,
even those that may be against the prosecutors case, so as to enable the court to provide for
JUSTICE.
1. Domestic
Violence
Disclosure
Scheme
Who should be able to find out about someones history of domestic violence offending?
How should this scheme work?
The problem with this is that many domestic violence incidents are not at all coming to light. For
example a woman was President of the parents Club of the Primary School, suddenly made
without that she even knew about it, as this was made known during court proceedings. It turned
out she had been, albeit had not been made known to the court that she had been banned from
school excursions due to her violence to other students. And when represented by a lawyer she
pleaded GUILTY of assault on one of the sons, including breaking a cricket bat on his back. And
she lost custody through the Childrens Court due to nearly strangling to death one of the sons.
And she also pleaded in another case GUILTY (Again represented by a lawyer) regarding an
assault upon the estranged husband. On both occasions she had 6 months probation no
conviction recorded. This even so that even at the police station, she threw one of the sleeping
sons of the chairs (during the night) that the police sergeant warned her if she did it again she
would be placed in a cell. During the litigation in the Family Court her ongoing violence was
admitted by her also regarding numerous other incidents but the judge simply ignored it, even so
p1
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Mr G. H. Schorel-Hlavka O.W.B.
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she admitted it. This is why she continued to be violent (including using knives) as she knew that
being a woman she could get away with it. For more than 12 years she was so violent, as came
out in the Childrens Court but despite numerous reported by neighbours no action was ever
taken until she nearly strangled one son to death as then the Childrens Court stepped in. What
shows is that the Family Court system isnt working in the first place because judges are bias and
ignore in the process the suffering of the children. Further there is no central record kept of a
woman being violent as then the records would have indicated reports over more than 12 years
by numerous different sources. In my view Governments are all about blaming men for being
violent against women and children and in the process ignore the culprits like women doing at
times far worse. Family violence should not be addressed based on gender but regardless of
gender, and any report should be to a central recording which then may show to anyone
checking the record of numerous reports by different people and so an investigation might be
justified to check out matters. And not just men but also women should be subject to the same
kind of recordings and investigations.

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2. Expiry
Dates
on
Intervention
Should intervention orders (previously restraining orders) be able to expire?

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Orders

As a Professional Advocate I represented many parties including solicitors and barristers in a

range of legal issues, including Family Law and intervention orders. I discovered that women
attending for example to a child care centre are coaching each other how to use intervention
orders to get a partner out of the house, so they then have custody and can have possession of all
documentation, by this undermining the other person any evidence for litigation purposes. In one
case the father was represented by lawyers and I assisted the mother. The mother had alleged the
father had sexual abuse one of the daughters. She succeeded in gaining custody. Then about 3
weeks later she needed, so to say, get rid of the kids because of some legal issues and contacted
me about it. She then gave me the understanding she had fabricated the entire story about the
father abusing one of his daughter as a tool to gain custody. The Family Court previously had
been given a result from an investigation that no evidence was found that the father had abused
one of his daughters. It must be stated that prior to the custody case the father had consented to
an intervention order but without agreeing to the allegations made, so he could have at least
supervised access with the children. This, as he was denied access until then.
What this underlines is that intervention orders are grossly misused and abused for ulterior
purposes. In particular where the court having an intervention order application before it cannot
delve extensively into the background details that may require investigations, etc, then I view
based on decades of experiences with litigation intervention orders should never be made
permanent, but should be required to be reviewable at least on a yearly basis. And anyone who
by perjury or otherwise falsely obtained an intervention order should be punished for this. This,
as to safeguard the real victims of abuse who rightfully may require protection and assistance but
may so to say fall between the cracks because too often others are misusing/abusing the system.
(For the record, once the mother made known to me that the father was wrongly accused of
sexual abuse I was able to have all documents signed and witnesses that the father immediately
could have custody of the children, and he collected them.)
One of the problems I view is with intervention orders is that it directs an alleged offender to
keep certain distances, but the alleged victim then can use this to deliberately be near the alleged
offender as to get this person into legal problems. In my view where an order is issued against an
alleged offender then the order must stipulate that the aggrieved person is neither permitted to act
in any way that would or could be seen to undermine the effectiveness of the orders.
3. Comprehensive
Collection
of
Data
What is the best way to ensure that accurate data relating to domestic violence is
collected?
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Mr G. H. Schorel-Hlavka O.W.B.
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By setting up a central data reporting system operated upon a federal level to which all States
and Territories also report. So that any reports of violence, etc, is placed on record naming the
alleged offender(s). By this, if a report comes in then a person seeking to investigate matters may
discover other reports against the same alleged offender and then may realize this is not a once of
complaint and so may find the alleged offender having a modus operandi of violence.
4. Allowing
Video
Evidence
Should police video recordings from incidents be admissible as evidence at trial?

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I have for a long time promoted that video evidence should be taken, in particular where it
involves children. This is because a child can accuse daddy but the interviewer might not
realise that daddy might not be the person accused, even so being the natural father, but is a
boyfriend of the mother referred to as daddy. One of my concerns is that the Police and others
are changing statements made by a witness as to suit them to achieve a conviction. For example,
where I witnessed an accident, I attended to the police station and made my statement. After it
was printed out for me to sign I refused this because it contained words I ordinary do not use and
was causing the statement I had made to differentiate from what I was requested to sign./ the
police officer claimed that it was the computer system changing the wording and she couldnt do
anything about it. I made clear I would only sign what I had stated. She then claimed that this
was needed as a version to secure a conviction as otherwise a conviction might be in question. I
made clear I would only sign what I had stated and not otherwise. In the end she managed to
print out what I had originally stated and I then signed it.
In another case I was a police witness and again I gave my version and the magistrate decided to
listen to the interview tape of the alleged offender, this as the police prosecutor disputed what I
had stated. The magistrate ruled that having listened to the tape recording it indeed sounded that
the offender had been intoxicated, as I had claimed but the police had denied, and that on that
basis he believed my version and instead of sending the person to prison would send him for
rehabilitation.
When we have allegations by children it is essential that the first time of any report is recorded
and so each and every subsequent interview. Once you have no video recording but some person
claiming what the child may or may not have stated then it is all upon the perception of that
person claiming what the child may or may not have intended to state and that can be horribly
wrongly reported.
To give an example. In one case the father, during counselling, made known that the mother in
that case had claimed that the child had fallen out of a cot and so broken his arm, whereas in fact
the child had been on an ordinary bed and the room had been carpeted. The counsellor then
reported to the court the father had alleged the mother had deliberately broken the childs arm.
Yet, all the father did was stating the records of what was recorded at the Royal Children
Hospital! What we therefore had was a counsellor who fabricated something that was not at all
what was stated neither intended as such.
In my view all and any interview involving children must be on video recording. This also can
then show if a child is couched to say something by different versions over time.
With video recording the court can observe the real statements, etc, a child made and not rely
upon some concoction of some person who may have ulterior motives, or simply is incompetent
in proper reporting.
Likewise with rape or alleged rape victims, there should be video recording of each and every
time the alleged victim states something that might be used in court. Society is not served having
an innocent person ending up convicted and likely incarcerated where the real culprit can
continue to rape others.

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Mr G. H. Schorel-Hlavka O.W.B.
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5. Confidentiality
Should changes be made to improve the confidentiality in court of medical and
counselling records?
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As I referred above, a counsellor reported to the court a falsehood, even so it was to be

confidential counselling. As such not only did the counsellor violate the confidentiality but also
misreported.
I recall and incident where I attended to the Family Court registry in Melbourne to copy
documents on behalf of a law firm for their client. I witnessed how lawyers were simply
removing items of the file. How a person totally dismembered Affidavits and attachments. How
files were left on the counter with no one in attendance for anyone to remove them unauthorized.
How lawyers for one party would alter their clients affidavit, one the other party had responded,
by marking of certain words, without the deponent re-swearing/re-affirming the Affidavit. In one
case, during cross examination, I exposed how the affidavit served by the other party didnt at all
have the numerous alterations in it that was on the court file original. It is therefore not just the
confidentiality of the medical and counselling records but an overall improvement that is needed.
I could \walk out of the registry by simply grabbing the files other left on the counter (no security
cameras there) and no one would have known who took it. Moreover, at times I would insist a
trial judge to check the files only to be told some files were missing from the court files.
Further, it might be unknown to most people but even decades ago I reported to the then Federal
Attorney-General how files are dumped on the street, when for example a solicitor dies and
there is no one to take over the practice. Cleaners then simply put everything in bag, boxes, dump
masters and then very confidential files and other records are at times blown down the street.
As I reported then also one file for example had hand notes of an instructing solicitor to counsel
to seek an adjournment on the basis the father was accused of sexual abusing his daughter, but to
be careful with how he would state this because an investigation already cleared the father of any
wrongdoing. As such, the firth that was perpetrated was to seek an adjournment by unjustifiable
excuse, at cost of one of the parties obviously.
Likewise lawyers telling a client to come back for another appointment because he/she is still
with a client but still charging to legal Aid as if the client had a session. Clients will never know
this until perhaps years later Legal Aid charges the client with cost, and by then it is too late. As I
then decades ago recommended was that a client must sign for each and every session attended to
with the times having done so.
In one case I claimed that the other party was faking the need of a wheelchair. The trail judge
held this to be a very serious accusation and made clear this could be fatal to the case is the other
party proved the need for a wheelchair. The other party subsequently filed 11 Affidavits
including a doctors statement that this person required a wheelchair. Domestic Violence
Disclosure Scheme
Who should be able to find out about someones history of domestic violence offending? How
should this scheme work? The trail judge on the subsequent hearing made clear he had warned
me. I simply asked him if VET stood for vetenarian and if so since when was a vetenarian
qualified to certify a human being requiring a wheelchair. Opposing barrister then made known
that the clients doctor refused to certify for the wheelchair requirements and so the vetenarian
was willing to do so, but all 11 Affidavit was now to be withdrawn. Yet for years on end, at least
6 years this person had been coming to court in a wheelchair.

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6. Drug
and
Alcohol
Treatment
Should the courts send domestic violence offenders to be assessed for drug and alcohol
problems?
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There is a difference between offenders and alleged offenders. If a person is held guilty of
domestic violence then the court likely has the powers to order what it deems fit and appropriate.
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With an alleged offender it may turn out the person after all was innocent. Because of the
extent of misuse and abuse of intervention orders I am concerned that an innocent person might
be forced to undergo certain assessments which have no benefits at all to society or indeed to the
alleged offender himself/herself. It may be that the option of assessment could be left to the
alleged offender as that if the alleged offender seeks to rely upon any excuse relating to the usage
of drugs/alcohol then this alleged offender better do so for the court to take this into
consideration if the alleged offender was to be found guilty.
7. Housing
and
Homelessness
Service
Priorities
How can we best assist victims of domestic violence who are facing homelessness?
When a man subjected to domestic violence seeks to find shelter with a baby/toddler then
generally there is nothing there to provide for him and the child. We have return servicemen and
women who reportedly become homeless due to the trauma suffered in war situations and then
no longer can reside in the family home. People who have served this country then are so to say
disregarded. It would be better to for the Government to engage in a housing project that
facilitate say short term up to 6 months accommodation for homeless persons. Further long term
facilities could be next to be provided for.
8. Fostering
Supportive
Environments
How can we assist domestic violence victims to seek support in the workplace and other
environments?
Firstly do not purport that domestic violence is a male issue against women and children, as it is
a non-gender issue. When a man is raped by a woman he is deemed to be lucky, but when a
woman is raped then well a total different response results.
We need to have the message that any form of domestic violence by whomever is unacceptable.
Many women are nagging and nagging that in itself can be deemed as a form of domestic
violence.
I will not know delve into the various ways, but safe to say many a man will finally be unable to
take it any longer and well then we blame the male rather than the real instigator.
For example a man remarried and after the marriage the wife dictates she doesnt want any of the
children to come near the house nor is he to have contact with his children. This is regrettably
reality to some men. Ample of husband bashers are around. But generally it is all about the wife
bashers.
The emotional, mental and physical domestic violence can be over an extended period. Like a
wife telling the husband she can easily poison him with any meals she cook. That in itself I view
is domestic violence. Again numerous examples can be used but in my view there is next to
nothing to actually seek to address the core of the problems. Generally it is about blaming men in
general and that is why most systems seeking to address domestic violence fail.
Nothing is to justify any domestic violence but neither should we ignore the core issues that
result to say physical domestic violence where someone snaps after prolonged emotional/mental
domestic violence.

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We often hear about how children are ending up in prostitution, or even dead while in the care of
social workers such as Human Services. I once filed a extensive complaint against Human
Services for their sheer neglect of children in nits care in its facilities. The Ombudsman
investigated and found my complaints justified.
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Mr G. H. Schorel-Hlavka O.W.B.
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A major problem is that Human services will go to the childrens Court to demand a child(ren)
to be placed in its care, regardless is has no suitable staff or sufficient staff to cater for such
child(ren). What I view is that the Childrens Court should nominate a particular staff member
and this staff member will be legally accountable to the court for anything regarding the child so
placed.
Currently this pass the buck system means no one is held accountable and so children are left at
the peril of lack of required support services. If for example the Childrens Court were to place
the child under the care of as specific worker, say X then it would be X who would have to
front the Court if there went something wrong with the child. Once you start this kind of
responsibility a staff member may decline to accept taking responsibility of any further child if
already having others that demand appropriate care and attention. It is no good to claim staff is
overworked, etc, as if this really was so then why not explain that to the Childrens Court when
seeking custody/control of a child?
There was this case where the social worker were taking out g14 year old twins, giving them
cigarettes to smoke, going on outings, etc, making clear that if they choose to stay in supervision
this would be much better for them as with their mother they obviously could have this. To me
this was a disgraceful conduct to swindle the girls into choosing to be cared for by the
Department, by using cigarettes, etc.
Again, there is a lot more to it but the above ought to give some indication that there is a lot
wrong with the various so called systems.
Do note; None of the above relates to South Australia incidents for so far I am aware of, but that
doesnt means similar incidents may not eventuated in this state.

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This document is not intended and neither must be perceived to refer to all details/issues.

MAY JUSTICE ALWAYS PREVAIL

Our name is our motto!)

(
Awaiting your response,

G. H. Schorel-Hlavka O. W. B. (Friends call me Gerrit)

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Mr G. H. Schorel-Hlavka O.W.B.
INSPECTOR-RIKATI about the BLACK HOLE in the CONSTITUTION-DVD
A 1st edition limited special numbered book on Data DVD ISBN 978-0-9803712-6-0
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