Domestic violence: 31 days shows ‘national shame’

For the month of May, news.com.au has told the stories behind one of Australia’s most devastating problems.

On average, one woman a week in Australia is murdered by her current or former partner.

Almost 10 women a day are hospitalised for assault injuries at the hands of a spouse or domestic partner.

As Sherele Moody, who has documented the violent deaths of some 2400 women and children in Australia for the RED HEART Campaign, told news.com.au at the beginning of May, these numbers are the result of an “entirely foreseeable and preventable” problem.

“It is fairly evident from the number of women and children killed over the past decade, that intimate partner and domestic violence is still far too common in Australia,” she said.

“It seems no matter how many times we focus attention on this national shame, very few perpetrators are getting the message that they need to take control of their own actions before they end another person’s life.”

For the last 31 days, as part of Domestic and Family Violence Awareness Month, news.com.au has told the stories behind the shocking statistics.

We’ve spoken to the victims who have survived, the men grappling with why they abused their former partners, and the families of those who paid the ultimate price.

We’ve asked experts to break down the umbrella term of “domestic violence” – which can mean anything from being coerced into certain sexual acts to having limited access to money and being denied the right to practice your religion.

We’ve explored one of the biggest questions in our national conversation on domestic violence – why victims don’t “just leave” – and the harm it poses to those in abusive situations, because leaving is the most dangerous time in a domestic violence relationship.

Both victims and experts told news.com.au over the last month that domestic violence is an issue “that has been put in the ‘too-hard’ basket for too long” by our governments, the systems in place to “protect” those affected and a significant portion of our population.

But “this is not a problem that is unique to one culture, community and socio-economic group”, Associate Professor of Criminology and Director of Monash University’s Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, Dr Kate Fitz-Gibbon, told news.com.au.

“The beginning of 2021 has shown so clearly that disrespect towards women and violence against women is ever present in institutions and structures across our country,” she said. “This must change.”