A conference of Pacific island judges and magistrates has heard debate over whether or not the 'breadwinner' argument is a good reason not to imprison husbands who beat their wives.
An annual consultation for the judical sector, run by the Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team, has been held in Brisbane.
The facilitator of the session, Human rights advisor, Imrana Jalal, says some judges think it is difficult to give custodial sentences for domestic abuse, because then there is no income for the family.
"The courts must indicate to society that wife beating in the Pacific is not acceptable. And the only way to do that is to issue a custodial sentence which teaches a lesson. It's quite a difficult paradigm shift, because a lot of the judges and magistrates are connected to their community."
Imrana Jalal it is a question of attitude for some judges, but most do take the issue of domestic violence seriously.
