We need to stop victim-blaming and stand up for those who are voiceless in our own community, according to Rosie Batty.
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The anti-domestic violence advocate was in Hobart on Tuesday for the launch of a new report on domestic violence and children.
The report, released by Commissioner for Children and Young People Mark Morrissey, detailed 20 issues we need to tackle, including tailored support for children and talking to young people about their own experiences.
“We need to listen to young people,” Mr Morrissey said.
“Young people are more than just mere observers of family violence, they’re victims in their own right.”
Ms Batty said one in four children would be affected by violence in their lifetime.
“We as adults have to start listening to children more – they are the voiceless, they are the powerless ones,” she said.
“If we have hope, which I know that we do, to change the statistics of family violence, it is through the likes of these young people because we have done a fairly poor job so far.
“We are decades away from seeing change … do we really want to grow up to see our children experiencing the discrimination, the inequality and the violence that we currently see?”
Premier Will Hodgman said we needed a community-wide response to tackle the issue.
Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said the number of children exposed to family violence in Tasmania had increased by 500 in two years, but children receiving counselling had fallen nationally.