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Stood in front of a judge with her whole world at stake, Sarah* remembers “stumbling” over her words, desperately trying to understand what was unfolding in front of her.
Across the room, her ex-husband Al*’s experienced barrister spoke to the judge in jargon she could not understand. It was two years into the pair’s dispute over custody of their young daughter, Elsie* – something she was terrified would put the four-year-old at risk because of his heavy drug use.
But despite her best efforts to keep Elsie safe, Sarah knew she would be left unable to protect her. A broken legal aid system left her forced to represent herself in family court, “too poor” to properly advocate for her child.
Sarah met Al at work 15 years prior, and the pair were happily married when Elsie came along.
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