Is violence in Australia worse than ever, and are we becoming too complacent?
There was a question asked in another forum (Hot Topics) and I started to reply but it went so far off topic I worried I was railroading someone else's thread. So I decided to open a new topic with a new question.
The original question was in relation to the recent terrorist attack and went like this ...
How safe are we?
My reply ...
Well, I guess that depends on your individual circumstances, but I'd have to say that as a woman statistically, I am more likely to be murdered by a partner or ex-partner than a terrorist.
Not to downplay terrorist attacks, even one is one too many, but keeping it in perspective, domestic violence is a much more serious problem. Statistically at least one woman a week is killed by a partner or ex-partner, and God only knows how many more are injured.
I wonder why it doesn't engender the same outrage? Maybe because a random stranger deciding to kill people who disagree with his or her religious ideology fills us all with horror. As does the death recently of a poor man taken by a shark. Tragic circumstances, both of them, no argument there.
I get that, I really do, but it worries me that domestic violence (and violence in general) is becoming so common it might be losing its shock value and that in itself, is a really BIG problem.
Aside from the domestic violence issue, there also seems to be more general violence out there in the community. Look at the road rage incidents reported on the news so often now.
Once again statistically I have read that the murders of men in Australia actually outnumber woman, and they are mostly killed by other men, and by the occasional woman.
Is it worse than it has ever been? Sometimes it feels that way to me, but maybe that's just because I feel more at risk being older and frailer than I once was.
A grabbed handbag that pulls me off my feet could mean a life-changing injury for me now, whereas as a younger person I could have just bounced back from a fall and probably chased him or her down LOL.
I suspect our aged (both men and women) are seen as a soft target by some.
Good topic Leonie. I’m not sure that domestic violence is more prevalent than yesteryear because it was a hidden problem until recent decades. Women didn’t talk about it because they (mis)carried the shame and reporting to police was pointless. Same with child sexual abuse.
House burglary seems to be less prevalent too. Back in the 1970s every house in my street was robbed at least once. We were robbed 3 times and we were dirt poor back then so the crooks went to a lot of trouble to get very little. I think bag snatching might be less prevalent too because I rarely read of cases in the news these days. I feel very safe where I live because there is not a lot of crime in my area.
So in summary, I think violence is not on the increase but we are inundated with news from many more sources so perhaps the reporting of crime is more in our face and that can engender insecurity.