For many years domestic violence seemed to be swept under the rug as an unpleasant topic of discussion that one should not bring up during civilised conversations. However, when talking to police officers and lawyers alike, one discovers it is far from uncommon.
I once spoke to an officer who said that it was a blessing if they could get through a single night without having a domestic violence call come through. He said both men and women played the role of the abused and abuser and it was all too common for children to be involved.
Why then, was this such an unspoken about issue for so many years? Why aren’t there more resources to educate our society on how to prevent and protect people from this kind of abuse?
In recent years, the awareness in the media for domestic violence has increased exponentially and it has been rightfully recognised as an extreme problem in Australia. While it most definitely is not a singularly female problem, women often tend to be the victims of this kind of abuse and the statistics are plainly horrifying.
Statistically, 1 woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner. 1 in 3 Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15. 1 in 5 Australian women has experienced sexual violence. 71% of cases involving child homicide or death have involved household or domestic violence.
In order to prevent and erase domestic violence, we must first, as a community, make a conscious effort to understand it. Education is key. Prevention efforts should ultimately reduce the occurrence of DV by promoting healthy, respectful, nonviolent relationships. Healthy relationships can be promoted by addressing change at all levels of the social ecology that influence DV: individual, relationship, community, and society.
We all have a social responsibility to stop and help change these problematic behaviours by choosing to educate our youth and call out inappropriate behaviour. Bad things happen when good people choose to do nothing. We must rise as a community and as a region in order to help prevent this domestic violence epidemic.