I’ll never forget the woman’s wail. “Why are they allowed to do this?” Tears flowed and she shrank in her seat. She had returned from court with a threadbare offer that left her fearful for her and her child’s safety and distressed at the prospect of financial ruin.
Earlier in the day she had been welcoming, anxious but talkative. A warm and encouraging presence in the “safe room”, a sanctuary with comfy chairs, a kitchenette and a children’s playroom protected by locked doors down the corridor from the magistrates’ courtrooms. Here, women appearing in domestic violence cases can wait for their matters to be heard without having to sit with the men who turned their once-normal lives into nightmares.
Women spend years in the courts trying to protect themselves and their families from violent partners. Credit: Dionne Gain My new friend was a professional woman, well-dressed, articulate and no stranger to the safe room. She had been through years of hell at the hands of a violent, financially controlling man.
Today she was seeking additional orders to protect her young son from a father who had begun using him as a weapon against her, telling the boy she was the reason they could not spend more time together. If only she didn’t keep calling the police on his father, the son could see more of him. Her savings had been drained by earlier legal battles, intentionally drawn out by her wealthy former spouse.
When she left the safe room on this day and entered cour.
