What will it take to stamp out domestic violence?
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As another White Ribbon Day approaches, we are reminded of the horrible acts that members of our community are exposed to – sometimes on a daily basis.
While there has been a protracted campaign across the nation to raise awareness of violence against women, the sad fact is that it still occurs.
And let’s be honest with ourselves – it’s not just women who are implicated in what is essentially a power play of control – whether it is from a man or a woman.
The abuse may manifest in a more verbal form but the result is the same. A verbal barrage can be just as effective in making a person feel sub-human as a flurry of fists.
And while the physical signs come and go, both forms of abuse carry the same overwhelming mental anguish that can render the victim in a state of hopelessness.
So-called adults in these struggling families have probably developed every excuse under the sun for their callous treatment of another human – from work pressure to outright denying a problem even exists. Victims will have also developed techniques to hide the black eyes or emotional turmoil behind their vacant eyes.
And let’s not put our socioeconomic-tinted glasses on – it affects all walks of life from the battlers down the road to the families in the corridors of power.
Maybe this is why the problem refuses to go away. Like cancer, this scourge on our society has affected everyone in some way. But, unlike the big C’s seemingly indiscriminate pattern, domestic violence presents as potentially preventable.
Human nature has devolved from a pack mentality of helping out others to a more selfish attitude of “not my problem”.
Wagga Local Area Command Acting Inspector Phil Malligan told The Daily Advertiser that officers respond to up to 16 domestic violence incidents in Wagga in a typical 24-hour period.
We must remember these are just the cases where someone has been brave enough to get the police involved – possibly a neighbour or the victim themselves. There is no doubt a large portion of victims who fly under the radar.
So, what will it take to stamp out domestic violence?
For most, it begins with admitting the problem exists – and not just on November 25 every year.