Knox mum Eve John rallies in Wantirna South for government action on domestic violence
An organiser of a rally demanding immediate action to stop domestic violence knows the brutal reality of how ingrained it is in our society — she knew three women who were killed by men. Here are their stories.
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A Knox woman who lost three friends to domestic violence is demanding immediate government action to save lives.
Eve John organised a peaceful rally, to coincide with the Melbourne CBD March 4 Hannah — in memory of Hannah Clarke and her three children who were murdered by Rowan Baxter — outside the offices of Aston federal Liberal MP Alan Tudge and Eastern Metropolitan Region state MP Shaun Leane on Wednesday.
Ms John said she was sick of women feeling unsafe in their own homes and being killed.
“73 women and 27 children were murdered last year,” she said.
“Two of those women lived in Knox — The basin and Wantirna.
“It’s quite shocking.”
Ms John said she had been personally affected by the deaths of three women she knew — Dianne Psaila in 1999, and Zahara ‘Mandy’ Rahimzadegan and Johanna Martin both in 2011.
She said domestic violence was everyone’s problem and should no longer be ignored.
“We’ve stuck our heads in the sand for too long,” Ms John said.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe and loved in their own home.”
Ms John said she was putting the pressure on state and federal governments to implement and fully fund the 2015 Royal Commission into Domestic Violence 227 recommendations.
She said governments needed to listen to experts and practitioners who work in the “under-resourced and broken system”.
“Our state and federal governments are making decisions about their budget priorities right now, and it is a fair bet they’ll be planning to announce some core financial commitments within weeks,” Ms John said.
Ms John said while she agreed domestic violence was not contained to one gender and men were also victims, the number of women dying was higher.
“Intimate partner violence causes more illness, disability and deaths than any other risk factor for women aged between 25 and 44,” she said.
Mr Tudge, who was in Canberra, said he appreciated the dedication of attendees at the rally and thanked them for their efforts in putting an end to the scourge of domestic violence.
The State Government is committed to implementing all the recommendations and while the Federal Government has not formally responded it had provided money to the cause through programs.
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“We know it will take sustained, long-term primary prevention and early intervention to reduce the prevalence of violence against women,” Mr Tudge said.
“That’s why we have invested $340 million to support the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children”.
Minister for Women Marise Payne said the Government would consider what additional approaches were needed to further address violence against women and their children.
“This will require commitment and collaboration from governments, the community and individuals,” Mr Tudge said.
THREE LIVES LOST TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Dianne Psaila, 27
Gabriel Omar Chang killed Dianne Psaila, 27, in his Melton flat in November 1999.
In 2003, a Supreme Court jury found Chang guilty of manslaughter and he was sentenced to five and a half years’ jail, to serve a non-parole period of three and a half years.
Justice Bernard Teague said Ms Psaila died when Chang violently attacked her and rejected Chang’s claim he accidentally pushed her onto the arm of a chair.
Chang then hit Ms Psaila’s head with a meat tenderiser, but claimed he had only tapped her lightly and only to see if she was dead.
He was caught when a policeman investigated a car parked off the Great Ocean Rd in Lorne, and found him wearing a blond wig, near a partly-dug shallow grave.
The decomposing body of Ms Psaila was found in a car boot by police.
Zahara ‘Mandy’ Rahimzadegan, 46
Nasir Ahmadi fatally strangled Zahara “Mandy” Rahimzadegan with the cord of an iPod charger in December 2011.
He then buried Ms Rahimzadegan in their Ashwood backyard and had one of his two sons, his friends and neighbours — unknowingly — help him build a deck over the grave.
In June 2013, Ahmadi pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Supreme Court and was jailed for 11 years, with a non-parole term of seven years.
Johanna ‘Jazzy-O’ Martin, 65
Steve Constantinou strangled Johanna “Jazzy-O” Martin, stripped her of her jewellery and dumped her body in bushes.
A Supreme Court jury was told he killed Ms Martin over a $13,000 debt he couldn’t repay.
In 2013 the jury found Constantinou guilty of Ms Martin’s 2011 murder.
Constantinou unsuccessfully tried twice to appeal his 20-year jail term in 2014 and 2015.