Hi all! It’s Aisha, I’m a 21 year old brown and queer sex worker in the ACT that you may know from different communities. For the last few years I’ve been fighting my domestic ex partner in and out of court to keep him out of my life ( we split in 2022 before I moved into DV crisis housing).

At our last hearing, my application to extend my current FVO was rejected on the grounds that the magistrate “could not find evidence that we lived together” and that it was entitled of me to expect access to mine and my partners home even when he wasn’t there. In addition I was told that as he had not officially breached the order I was now safe without one. The registrar dismissed all evidence relating to behaviour during our relationship and solely focused on the events of the duration of the order. During our hearing, the registrar was advising my ex partner on his line of questioning, as he chose to self represent.

Without going into specifics, the day after court I was arrested and held without bail for 3 days and suffered a seizure in the watchhouse.

After my hospital presentation while still in custody, I was taken directly to my bail hearing with no opportunity to change vomit and sweat stained clothes, was not given the opportunity to obtain legal advice, and was then held in court for 3 more hearings that once I got legal advice for, found I did not need to be present for at all.

All while physically unfit to be in court : recovery from a seizure for me looks like constant vomiting, sweats, shakes & chills, inability to comprehend where I am or what’s happening.

If you read that then I am grateful, it was just the tip of the iceberg. I am now trying to raise funds for a criminal defence lawyer for my hearing at the end of September. Anything at all is widely appreciated.

THANK YOU