Domestic violence is Australia’s number one human rights violation
At the moment, domestic violence is the Australia’s most pressing human rights concern, according to a speech made by the outgoing sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick at the National Press Club this week.
Did you know that two women per week die at the hands of their partners or family members? Surely that’s a statistic that raises a few eyebrows. According to Ms Broderick, this figure is beyond belief and she hopes that the rest of the country begins to realise that domestic violence is now reaching “epidemic proportions”.
“As Rosie Batty said, ‘Prior to Luke’s death no one wanted to hear my story of living with violence. Now everyone does.’ It saddens me that, when women living with violence speak, the system doesn’t listen,” she said.
Ms Broderick is stepping down as the sex discrimination commissioner and had these words of advice for her successor: “Have a thick skin.”
Horrific what has occurred in South East Queensland in the past week in relation to domestic (family violence) ...Something like 3 deaths in 4 days with one woman still in hospital.,...and Rosie Batty's description of DV as 'Family Terrorism' is pretty close to the mark as far as I can glean....
No easy answers from me and of course it's a longstanding issue often minimised or ignored in the past for all sorts of reasons i.e. fear; women and children having few options but to stay in such a situation; embarrassment; shame; promises by perpetrators that it will never happen again etc. etc. etc....
But living a life of constant fear would be a reality for some Australian families for all sorts of reasons, and think solutions may lie somewhere along the lines of many people working across many levels i.e. education programs, police, anger management courses for perpetrators, psychologists, social workers, early interventions, supportive networks etc.
Just my thoughts but see no easy answers or quick fixes on this one...But real effort and committment to change may see some improvement hopefully..