*Merinda contacted the Advertiser following our report on another harrowing tale of inter-generational abuse.

After 22 years of trying to escape a living nightmare, Merinda left a foreign country with nothing – no money or no children from the abusive relationship.

The optimist in us all wants to reassure us that this is an extreme case and that family violence must not happen to this extent in every circumstance.

But, as more and more brave women come forward, our glass of society very much looks half empty.

What we all can take from these sorry situations is that all of us are in some way responsible for looking out for the community’s more vulnerable – whether that be a beaten house wife, an abused child or a psychologically defeated husband.

It’s the easy way out to turn a blind eye to evidence of abuse. 

But life was never meant to be easy and we have an obligation to stand up for what’s right – as uncomfortable and confronting as it may be.

As this issue continues to build like a wave in the ocean, it will become increasingly easier to fight this scourge on society. And when the wave finally breaks, those resistant to change will be left in the backwater for all to see.

It shouldn’t take a horrendous incident such as what 2015 Australian of the Year and anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty had to endure for us to sit up and take notice.

But we all did.

Anyone tuned into the news that day in 2014 remembers the horrifying details of the tragedy that unfolded at cricket ground near Melbourne where her son was taken from her by his father.

It obviously sparked a drive inside of Rosie to become the face of domestic violence awareness.

It shouldn’t take someone having to endure the worst situation imaginable. More often than not, unfortunately it does.

It takes guts to do what these brave women are doing. It’s about time the rest of us started following their lead.