A day of utter court victory!

It's not nice going to court. I've been there many times and it's the most horrible thing. Dressing all in black, putting a tie on, and going there to get judgement dished out to you like you have been a vary bad boy. Thankfully on those past occasions I've got good understanding magistrates and have hired a very good solicitor. If not for that I'd have very likely ended up in jail. So it was with much trepidation that I went to court yesterday:

Weird looking building, in the city. Dunno WTF those things are on the top. It's the Downing centre. 

Went to the fifth floor and saw the Chamber Registrar for my appt. She read through the summary I'd written first to get an understanding of the situation, then went onto filling out the AVO on the computer. She summarised the summary I suppose you could say, asking me more questions as she type it into the form. She also typed in the Facebook message, including it in the summary. 

After that there are various different aspects where it was made suitable for my case. It was made a 12 month order, and basically he's not allowed withing 50 metres of me, where I live or work, or any other place I'm at. He also can't contact me at all, by whatever means. Can't touch anything that's my property. It's all pretty inclusive. 

When the form was finished, I said I was concerned about what he might do between the time he's served the AVO application, and his court date approx in 2 weeks time. The registrar said she could take me into court and see if the magistrate would grant an interim AVO to cover that period. I agreed to do this, although I was a bit worried about how long I might end up waiting around in court. And I wasn't exactly dressed for it in a light blue t-shirt and jeans, but was told that was OK.

Got in there and sat down in the back. Didn't have to wait long at all it turned out, only about 15 minutes. Was called up to the front at the microphone, and the magistrate read through the AVO application I'd just done with the registrar. She got a very serious look on her face as she read the summary bit, that contained the Facebook message. She asked if I was concerned for my safety, which I said yes. I had to swear by oath that I was telling the truth (I chose to do an affirmation rather than the god thing). She then granted an interim AVO "On the grounds of the Facebook message", and set a court date for him to appear on the 2nd Feb.

So that was it. I was covered. I felt really good when I walked out of there. Got out on the street and thought a bit about what had just happened. The magistrate granting the interim AVO showed that this was serious, as people had been telling me. Also, because he used my HIV in the hate speak of the message, this was a victory against that. It may have been tempting to just cop that sort of talk from him, I guess the guilt thing about having HIV. But this showed I shouldn't feel that way, and I shouldn't let people make me feel that way. 

HIV is a disease like any other. It's an illness. It doesn't mean I'm immoral having it. It doesn't mean I'm guilty. I don't deserve to be treated badly because I have it. Or to have it used in hate speak against me. I saw yesterday  that there was perhaps unresolved feelings of guilt about getting it lurking around in my head, without me even realising it. It was a very liberating experience.