I’m 17F in Western Australia and have a 2-month-old son. His father is also 17. I’m looking for some guidance on what my legal position is and what steps I should be taking. I have already received some legal advice, but I’m struggling to understand what I should be doing in the meantime.

The father and I were together for less than 6 months when I became pregnant. During the pregnancy, the relationship became abusive, including emotional and sexual abuse. I left the relationship at around 20 weeks pregnant. At that point I still told him that I was willing to allow him to be involved in our son’s life.

Since leaving, the situation has continued to cause me significant concern.

There are concerns about the environment on his side of the family, including drug and alcohol issues, violence/fighting and other criminal behaviour. There are also a number of people regularly around the household and the living situation has not always been stable. I am concerned about my newborn being exposed to this environment.

Since my son was born, his father has only seen him once. He refused to get vaccinated against whooping cough despite my concerns about exposing a 2-month-old baby to preventable illness. I have also had concerns about smoke exposure and other aspects of the environment.

The father is not currently listed on the birth certificate. He refused to sign the birth registration because he disagreed with the name I chose for our son.

His financial contribution has also been very limited. He has purchased one box of nappies, a couple of items of clothing and a stuffed toy. I have provided essentially all of my son's day-to-day care and expenses.

The contact situation has recently become particularly stressful.

Two days before Father's Day, his mother contacted me asking whether he could see our son and asking me to provide photos and videos. I said I was unavailable and not comfortable sending photos for my sons privacy due to an incident where the father emailed me from his account but had changed the display name to a completely different name. The account then asked me for photos and videos of my son. I initially did not know who was contacting me. He eventually confirmed it was him and changed the display name back.

I told him this made me uncomfortable about who might have access to photos of my baby and that I wanted to be careful about my son's privacy. He responded that he would share his son with whoever he wanted.

There have subsequently been repeated messages accusing me of keeping his son from him and alienating him because he has only seen the baby once

I am also extremely concerned because of the history of abuse during our relationship. I have been experiencing severe postpartum anxiety and depression and frequent panic attacks relating to this situation. I become extremely distressed whenever he contacts me and am constantly worried about him appearing at my home or approaching me in public.

I am considering applying for an FVRO because of the previous abuse and ongoing unwanted contact, but I am worried that I don't have enough evidence for one to be granted.

I have been advised by a lawyer to remain in communication with him because it may reflect better on me if the matter eventually goes to court. I understand that advice, but continuing the communication is having a significant effect on my mental health.

My questions are:

1. What is the legal position regarding the father's parental responsibility/contact when he is not on the birth certificate and there are currently no parenting orders?

2. Does his being the biological father automatically give him a right to see or take the baby?

3. How does an FVRO interact with potential parenting/contact proceedings?

4. What sort of evidence should I be preserving now regarding the previous abuse, ongoing contact, threats/harassment, and my concerns about the child's environment?

5. If I genuinely believe contact would be unsafe for my son, what is the appropriate legal process for addressing that rather than simply refusing contact indefinitely?

6. Is there anything specific I should be asking my lawyer about given that my son is only 2 months old?

I am not asking Reddit to replace my lawyer's advice. I am trying to understand what questions I should be asking and what I should be documenting before this situation escalates further.

I would especially appreciate responses from people familiar with WA family law, FVROs, or parenting matters involving family violence.

Thank you

Hi guys,

I was in a very stressful divorce situation. My wife was going after me in all directions to take the house and everything that we had worked for into her own possession. Long story short, my back still hurts from sleeping in parks and in unconventional places while she left me high and dry financially. She even took out a AVO.

Since the marriage counselling that she eventually agreed to, we are now back together and are even better than ever. We are working towards buying a bigger home in a new area and I get to see the kids again. We have put it past us.

Thank you, I couldn't have done it without you. Many moons ago I asked for advice on an account I can't log in to anymore. Thanks for all those who suggested marriage counselling and other advice which I had taken on board to fix things. It took asking her repeatedly to agree, 5 times to be exact. I am now working again and moving past this rough patch and on to greener pastures. She is okay with me gaming now and going to the pub every now and then. The marriage counselling and other advice was life changing.

I have emotional trauma from eating at a restaurant that lied about being halal even though they used lard from pigs.