Devastation of family violence highlighted in new documentary

With one woman per week killed by a current or former partner, director Grace Williams hopes to shine a light on what can be done to tackle family violence in Australia.

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A FAMILY left devastated by the impacts of family violence has spoken out about their experience as part of a new documentary.

The film, titled One a Week, will spearhead a new campaign aiming to raise awareness of domestic violence and the horrific statistic that one woman per week is killed by a former or current partner.

Launceston mother-of-four Jessica Kupsch was murdered by her partner Matthew Tunks, who was later sentenced to 23 years’ jail.

Her mother, Donna, met Citizen Tasmania founder Grace Williams in 2018 and she asked if she would create a film to tell their story.

Williams said taking it on had been one of the most challenging things she’s ever done, but believes without hearing the voices of those with lived experiences nothing will ever change.

“We think that with stories and consistent effort, it’s possible to shift these statistics. But we need to start now,” she said.

Director Grace Williams, who has created a documentary called One a Week which follows the experience of a Tasmanian family whose daughter was murdered by her partner in August 2012. Picture: Chris Kidd

“If we don’t do this, just like the generation before us, we’ll just repeat what’s happened back then. We can’t afford to have women murdered like this at this rate.

“That’s why we’ve called the documentary One a Week and the campaign None a Week so that people have in their mind that 52 women are going to die from family violence this year. That is set in stone.”

She aimed for the film to showcase the aftermath of family violence and impact it has on friends and family.

“I wanted to show who is behind this number, and show this shadow pandemic that’s devastating Australian families,” she said.

“I interviewed Jessica’s children nine years on, and they are still struggling with the impact and the gendered nature of it. And nine years on, the situation for women really hasn’t changed in Australia.”

A still from the documentary One a Day, picturing Donna Kupsch with granddaughter Grace. Picture: supplied

She said change needs to start at a young age.

“Children need to be nurtured into not being violent. It starts at a playground level — if we don’t transform these behaviours we’re basically ingraining these unequal relationships in the future,” she said.

“Until kids start realising they don’t want to be mean to girls, or to tell them to go back to the kitchen, then nothing will change. Then we’ll be stuck responding to the problem at a crisis level when it’s gone too far rather than stopping it at the source.”

The documentary and campaign will be launched by Governor Kate Warner on Wednesday, starting with a march from Parliament Square to the Goods Shed.

”I think Kate is the leader we want,” Williams said.

“As a women in power, her launching this film makes it very clear that this needs to be seen by people in power.

“This is a film that decision-makers need to engage with to help transform our family violence response.”

The film will launch at 1pm, with tickets available through Eventbrite.

Follow @kaseywilkins95