Domestic or family violence. It doesn’t matter how you say it, the meaning remains the same.
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It is violence implemented by someone who should or has pledged to love you unconditionally.
In recent years, the conversation around domestic violence has grown in Australia.
It took the death of 11-year-old Luke Batty at the hands of his father for the conversation to take a turn.
Led by Rosie Batty, the mother left behind to grieve, the conversation started to become action.
But we’re still not there. Not even close.
A woman in Australia is murdered, on average, every week by her current or former partner.
One in three women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, one in five women have experienced sexual violence and one in four women have experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner.
Men are also victims. The statistics also show women are three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner and four times more likely than men to be hospitalised.
Of the mothers who have been victims of abuse, 68 per cent had children in their care and said their children had seen or heard the violence.
According to Our Watch, the definition of violence against women is an act of gender-based violence that causes or could cause physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of harm or coercion, in public or in private life.
Our laws are trying hard to manage the violence and reoffending.
The trial in Tasmania forcing high-risk offenders to wear monitoring bracelets is a good move. It shows that we are serious about preventing family violence.
Community services are trying to keep up with the crisis and ongoing support needed for victims of violence.
What more do we need to discuss or implement in order to start reducing and preventing this crime?