Push to break Townsville’s deadly domestic violence cycle with men in jail

Every 30 minutes, police in Townsville respond to a DV call — now a bold push is aiming to break the cycle of violence by helping men behind bars confront their own pain and behaviour.

Sergeant Elise Feltham from the Townsville Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit.

Every 30 minutes, someone in Townsville is crying out for help — and it’s not from the property crime so often making the headlines.

Police have revealed a horrifying domestic violence epidemic gripping the region, with officers responding to over 16,000 calls for service in the last financial year.

Sergeant Elise Feltham, from the Townsville Domestic, Family Violence and Vulnerable Persons Unit, didn’t mince words when recently describing the scale of the issue.

“The Townsville Police District is responding to a DV every 30 to 45 minutes, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she said.

While juvenile property crime dominates public attention, Sergeant Feltham said domestic violence is actually a far bigger problem.

“We outnumber property crime more than double,” she said bluntly.

It comes after a heartbreaking few months, where two mothers in the Townsville region lost their lives after alleged domestic violence-related attacks.

In a bid to tackle the problem at its roots, local police have been going straight to the source — inside the prison walls.

Male inmates seen inside the Townsville Correctional Centre. Picture: Zak Simmonds

For the past two and a half years, under Operation Tango, officers have been meeting domestic violence offenders at Townsville Correctional Centre before their release, hoping to break the cycle of abuse.

“In those conversations, all of the team have always come back and said, we can just see that these men are broken and they don’t know how to heal, and it is a revolving door for them,” she said.

“They come in, they go out, they come back in again, they go out.”

There's a push to supply more copies of Matt and Sarah Brown's book She is Not Your Rehab to Townsville's prison. Photo: Facebook/She is Not Your Rehab

Last week, police invited anti-violence campaigners Mataio and Sarah Brown to Townsville to share their unique approach to working with perpetrators of domestic violence.

Anti-violence campaigners Mataio and Sarah Brown were recently in Townsville. Picture: Facebook/She Is Not Your Rehab

The Browns, authors of the best-selling book She Is Not Your Rehab, have been inspiring change in New Zealand for years by encouraging offenders to confront their trauma and take responsibility for their actions.

Inspired by his own experience with childhood abuse, Mr Brown began holding informal “therapy” sessions in his backyard barber shop to help men confront their pain and behaviour.

The movement grew, leading to the publication of their book, which has become a powerful resource in New Zealand prisons since 2021.

In May, the couple visited Brisbane Correctional Centre and Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre, providing 500 copies of their book to inmates.

Now, there’s a push to bring the book to more inmates in Townsville Correctional Centre where domestic violence offending is rampant.

Private psychologists have already started offering the book to some prisoners, and Queensland Corrective Services has confirmed plans to expand access.

The agency is also considering introducing the Browns’ InnerBoy app, a free tool designed to guide men through healing and self-improvement, as part of its rehabilitative programs.

“As a public safety agency, we are absolutely committed to tackling domestic and family violence and offer a range of evidence-based rehabilitation programs to address criminal behaviour and boost community safety,” a QCS spokeswoman said.

“All new programs are piloted and carefully evaluated to ensure they are effective within the operating environment of Queensland prisons before they are introduced more broadly across the system.”

Originally published as Push to break Townsville’s deadly domestic violence cycle with men in jail