ANALYSIS: Broken system allows horrific cycle of violence to continue

After every horrifying domestic violence murder in our state, police and politicians vow the deaths will not be in vain. But women and children are still dying in increasingly violent and horrific attacks, writes Vanessa Marsh.

Doreen Langham, Tara Brown, Hannah Clarke, Sandra Peniamina, Fabiana Palhares, Karina Lock, Teresa Bradford – the list goes on.

After every one of these horrifying domestic violence murders in our state, police and politicians vow the deaths will not be in vain. They concede the system is broken, that more needs to be done. They acknowledge there were failures and then they promise to put systems in place that will prevent these horrors from ever happening again.

But women and children are still dying in increasingly violent and horrific attacks.

To be fair, some of these killers were so evil and determined that perhaps little could have been done to save their victims.

DV victims Doreen Langham, Tara Brown and Hannah Clarke.

But for others, like in the case of Doreen Langham, these deaths were entirely preventable.

Terrified and alone, she begged for help almost 20 times in the days before her violent murder at the hands of her ex.

She was treated as an inconvenience and “basically told to go away and don’t come back”.

She interacted with 16 different police officers from three different stations in the fortnight leading up to her death and no one took her seriously.

Even the officers who attended her home the night of her death conceded they treated her desperate call for help as an “unimportant and minor job”.

Fabiana Palhares, Karina Lock and Teresa Bradford were also victims of domestic violence.

It is sickening to think of the terror and despair Doreen felt in her final days and in the final moments of her life.

She did everything she could to save herself but she was failed at every turn by the very people whose job it was to protect her.

Deputy State Coroner Jane Bentley said there needed to be urgent reforms in the field of domestic violence and made several recommendations including funding for the trial of a specialist domestic violence police station.

Doreen’s heartbroken daughters said it was not the legacy their mum would have wished for, but that she would be proud to be part of a positive change.

We owe it to Doreen and all the women like her to bring about that change and ensure their deaths are not in vain.

This cycle cannot continue.

IF YOU NEED HELP

DVConnect Womensline 1800 811 811

DVConnect Mensline 1800 600 636

1800RESPECT 1800 737 732

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