Just last week in Townsville, another horror story of domestic violence emerged. Almost daily, we are confronted by harrowing cases about women and children who are victims of atrocities previously hidden from the public’s eye.

It’s tragic that only now are authorities taking a deeper look into why women and children are dying at the hands of people they should be able to trust.

Yet domestic violence cannot be simply “fixed”.

Those who believe legislation or regulation designed to claw back alcohol or drug abuse, increase criminal penalties or change court processing systems will provide a cure for our ills must know such efforts simply fiddle at the edges.

It is our attitudes to each other ­and how we must recognise and change our behaviour ­that is at the core of making our homes safe.

Family violence is not caused by angry men, not by alcohol and not by drugs like ice.

Family violence is underpinned by power, by disrespect and by accepting behaviour which is unacceptable.

It’s driven by the put downs and the inappropriate jokes.

By workplaces who value one over another for no other reason than their gender.

Now we have a unique opportunity to change our nation’s attitudes for the better.

Today, The Daily Advertiser launches its End the Cycle campaign.

We’ve teamed with Our Watch, a national body committed to ending violence against women and children, to emphasise the importance of working across boundaries and borders to create awareness of this incredibly complex problem.

We are committed to pressuring government to act.

We’re committed to getting the message into schools and to teenagers who can provide the momentum for societal and attitudinal change.

We’re committed to ensuring those who aid and abet violence are held to account and we’re committed to educating our communities so you can help make a difference.

We want to end the cycle of violence ­- and it starts here.