Editor’s view: All men are the key to reducing domestic violence

Too often when discussing domestic violence we hear the cry of “not all men”. But men – all men – are the key to reducing domestic violence, writes The Editor.

Not all men!

Too often we hear this cry when the shocking scourge of domestic violence in Australia is discussed, as if by standing up against the thugs we are somehow denigrating all men.

No one is making that claim. The vast majority of men find violence against women abhorrent, but the fact remains that the vast majority of domestic violence perpetrators are male (between 75 per cent and 94 per cent, depending on the study).

Yet men – all men – are the key to reducing domestic violence.

In The Courier-Mail today, Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner tells of his personal crusade against DV, sparked after his daughter was subjected to coercive control.

In an emotional interview with reporter Stephanie Bennett, he talks of the toll the events took on his family, and the key role men have to play.

He said he had witnessed first-hand how crucial it was for male workers to stand side-by-side with their female colleagues to call out unacceptable behaviour.

“Men are the main perpetrators of domestic and family violence. So if you don’t have men standing up and speaking out against it, then there will be some who thinks it’s OK,” he said.

They are wise words, born of experience. And they might just make a real difference.