Queensland Consolidated Acts

DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE PROTECTION ACT 2012 - SECT 22A

22A Who is the person most in need of protection in a relevant relationship

(1) A person (the
"first person" ), who is in a relevant relationship with another person (the
"second person" ), is the
"person most in need of protection" in the relationship if, when the behaviour of each of the persons is considered in the context of their relationship as a whole—

(a) the behaviour of the second person towards the first person is, more likely than not—

(i) abusive, threatening or coercive; or

(ii) controlling or dominating of the first person and causing the first person to fear for the safety or wellbeing of the first person, a child of the first person, another person or an animal (including a pet); or

(b) the first person’s behaviour towards the second person is, more likely than not—

(i) for the first person’s self-protection or the protection of a child of the first person, another person or an animal (including a pet); or

(ii) in retaliation to the second person’s behaviour towards the first person, a child of the first person, another person or an animal (including a pet); or

(iii) attributable to the cumulative effect of the second person’s domestic violence towards the first person.

(2) In deciding which person in a relevant relationship is the person most in need of protection, a court must consider—

(a) the history of the relevant relationship, and of domestic violence, between the persons; and

(b) the nature and severity of the harm caused to each person by the behaviour of the other person; and

(c) the level of fear experienced by each person because of the behaviour of the other person; and

(d) which person has the capacity—

(i) to seriously harm the other person; or

(ii) to control or dominate the other person and cause the other person to fear for the safety or wellbeing of the first person, a child of the first person, another person or an animal (including a pet); and

(e) whether the persons have characteristics that may make them particularly vulnerable to domestic violence.

Examples of people who may be particularly vulnerable to domestic violence—

• women

• children

• Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• people from a culturally or linguistically diverse background

• people with disability

• people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex

• elderly people