The gatekeepers are people who have the power to make important decisions that can greatly affect others’ lives. They can be judges/magistrates, police, government officials, or influential individuals within organisations. Their decisions can have serious consequences, like causing families to be separated for a long time.

The reason for giving these gatekeepers such important decisions is because it’s believed that they have the knowledge, experience, and fairness needed to carefully consider the impact of their decisions. Their role is to uphold the values of fairness, justice, and the common good when dealing with complex situations that can deeply affect people and their families.

However, we need to think about whether we should fully trust these gatekeepers with such important decisions. This makes us carefully look at the systems in place to prevent biases, make sure things are clear, and reduce the chance of unfair results. This careful examination is important for creating a society where decisions that can greatly impact lives are made with a lot of care and concern for everyone involved.

Ultimately, entrusting gatekeepers with pivotal decisions while holding them accountable is vital for a just society. We must continually refine decision-making mechanisms to minimise the distress of affected families.

Therefore, educating and training of gatekeepers is extremely important. They need to be well-prepared to identify and address situations involving intervention orders related to children and family dynamics to ensure families’ safety. An intervention order issued by a police officer can lead to years of separation from family. Just imagine if it happened to you and you were innocent – who would suffer the most? It’s unlikely to be the police officer, so it’s crucial to ensure they are equipped to recognise their role in such significant events.

Our systems can be completely misused, especially during legal processes after separations. People may use tactics to bully, scare, and discredit others for their own benefit. The role of gatekeepers, police, magistrates and judges is crucial in determining the outcome for those affected. By providing them with a deeper understanding and the necessary tools, we can prevent this kind of misuse and protect families from suffering. It’s important to remember that children are often caught in the middle of these situations, and the parent who’s been pushed away may even face criminal charges. These distressing situations are not uncommon and must be addressed.

These tactics may be referred to in legislation and other bench books and by judicial officers as malicious, frivolous, vexatious, querulous, or an abuse of process.

National Domestic and Family violence Bench Book

Taking legal action, filing bogus reports, and getting restraining orders against a partner to shift blame away from their own abusive behavior is a manipulative move. It not only creates emotional and financial distress for the victim, but it also misuses a system that was meant to safeguard them.

So, how can we spot this kind of behaviour and make sure we don’t blame the wrong person for being the troublemaker? Systems abuse is just one part of a whole messed up behaviour that abusers use to control someone else. It’s coercive, sneaky and sly. Paying attention to the signs and not thinking it’s just a normal part of a relationship can save you from a ton of pain later on.

Systems abuse needs to be recognised as a form of domestic violence and the gatekeepers need to do their due diligence to avoid wrongful infringement of someone’s rights. How do we do that? By telling the stories and stop being silent. Empowering the victims of this abuse to come forward by drawing awareness through media to present a fair story.