Victim protection overlooked by lenient courts?

Press, 15 August 1988, Page 3

Victim protection overlooked by lenient courts?

By

SARAH SANDS

Lenient court sentences are putting the victims of violent offending in extreme danger, says the Battered Women’s Support Group

The group’s co-ordinator, Mrs Doris Church, said yesterday that victims of violent offending were not being protected by the courts. In a recent case, a man who had repeatedly threatend to kill his former de facto wife was given a 12-month deferred sentence for breaching a nonmolestation order. He was also allowed access to his child. “Words fail me. The courts are making excuses for the violent offender to the point where a lot of the women we are dealing with, especially in cases like this, are being placed in extreme danger,” said Mrs Church. “Sooner or later, this particular person is going to make a serious attempt on the woman’s life or somebody’s life.” Several women each year were put in extreme danger in this way, said Mrs Church. Many were forced to leave town

and in some cases leave New Zealand to escape their former partners, she said. "This is because we cannot guarantee that the offender would be safely tucked away in prison.” Mrs Church said the courts should take the victim’s point of view into account when imposing a sentence on a violent offender. “During sentencing, we would like the victim represented by a lawyer so that her point of view can be put forward. “If the sentence is passed and the victim thinks that her safety has been compromised, the lawyer could appeal against the decision.” If a woman had to be relocated because she was in danger, she should receive compensation, said Mrs Church. “We are not asking the courts to lock everybody up; we are asking them to make sure that the victim is protected.”