Two days in the court of family violence

Everyone here in the waiting area of the Family Violence Court Division of the Magistrates Court is playing a game. It’s called Bad Guy or Victim? Women are curled on chairs, glassy-eyed and stunned, their family and friends dozing beside them, while men pace up and down in righteous indignation, or sit texting furiously.

There are no separate floors for people who have been hurt and those who have done the hurting. I imagine that, sometimes, the lines aren’t so distinct. People who have been abused often become abusive. But while compassion is human, feeling sorry for violent men doesn’t get us anywhere. Many women have learnt that the hard way.