Family violence - Counting dead women in Australia

[Warrigal]

Domestic and family violence is a hidden problem in Australia, as it is in other places around the world.

One way that it is being brought out into the open is the Counting Dead Women project. It does not comprise official statistics but is a collection of cases that make the news where women have died violently. It does not count children, nor non fatal instances.

Counting Dead Women Australia 2016.
We count every known death due to violence against women in Australia – 70 by December 08.

Last year, 2015, the tally was 80 dead all up.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/dest...own-death-due-to-violence-ag/1241974042517004

To support victims of domestic violence some employers have included some paid leave, over and above sick leave, to allow women to get their lives in order - attend court, move to a safer residence, seek medical attention and legal advice. etc.


The federal government, while making supportive noises in general, is reluctant to encourage this practice.

Labor lashes 'callous' Cormann for saying paid domestic violence leave is 'another cost' to economy

AM
By political reporter Naomi Woodley

Mon 12 Dec 2016, 1:10am

So far today police in Australia would have dealt with on average 74 domestic violence matters

The Federal Opposition has accused Finance Minister Mathias Cormann of being "callous and insensitive" for suggesting that mandated domestic violence leave would be "another cost on the economy". Senator Cormann said it is not something the Government is "attracted to" because it would impact on Australia's international competitiveness.
"It's a terrible indictment on the Government that they're so insensitive to the needs of victims of domestic violence," Labor's employment spokesman Brendan O'Connor told radio program AM.

Labor wants the Government to include its policy of five days' family violence leave in the National Employment Standards, which set out the minimum entitlements for Australian workers covered by the Fair Work Act.

"The National Employment Standards are enshrined in the Fair Work Act, they can always be, and indeed Parliament determines the national minima," Mr O'Connor said. "It's not just the practical support for women to have days when required, it's also trying to destigmatise this so that victims come forward and realise that there is institutional support, there is support in the community, there is support in the workplaces."

Last week the Prime Minister said the call for a mandated level of domestic violence leave would be "reconsidered" after the Fair Work Commission rules on the idea next year.

"We certainly encourage and welcome companies that make provision for that in their arrangements with their employees," Malcolm Turnbull said on Thursday. "Our position is to let that hearing proceed, and then we'll examine, reconsider the matter, after the Fair Work Commission has made its decision."

But Labor said the Government could, and should, act immediately.

"The Prime Minister's weasel words really do not provide any solace to those who believe there should be greater levels of support in our society for victims of domestic violence, including in our workplaces," Mr O'Connor said.

"There's no point, on White Ribbon Day, the Prime Minister lauding companies that are providing support for their employees and at the same time denying... to provide it for all workers in the Fair Work system."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-...rmann-domestic-violence-leave-remarks/8110764

What do people think about measures that could be taken to support women who are subjected to family violence before the police have to go in and remove a body?

 

[aeron]

I loath the very idea of men beating up their partners, apart from anything else I just don't understand why.

That being said there are also many cases of men being the vitims of domestic abuse.

 

[Shalimar]

I am unequivocally in favour of any and all reasonable actions which could prevent the continuation of entrenched policies which lead to the death of so many women via domestic abuse. Eyes wide shut doesn't cut it. Support our mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, and friends before they become a statistic. This violence is an abomination.

 

[Warrigal]

If provided for in the Fair Work Act, the leave would be available to men and boys as well as women and girls. It isn't only the partners that suffer. Other members of the family can get beaten up too and suffer disruption to their working lives.

No-one is counting men and boys killed in family violence just yet so we can't really compare the statistics by gender but it is widely accepted that the numbers of women killed by a partner/family member far exceeds the number of men killed in the same way.

 

[Shalimar]

I loath the very idea of men beating up their partners, apart from anything else I just don't understand why.

That being said there are also many cases of men being the vitims of domestic abuse.

Men are abused, and that needs to be addressed also. Still, the overwhelming number of adults dead as a result of domestic violence are women. This is true worldwide. For over two decades, I have seen the tragic results of this abuse. There are many
theories around the reasons for this violence. In the end, it comes down to the willingness of a partner to give into rage and kill the very person one purports to love.

 

[Robusta]

Once again sexism raises its head. No one argues that women are by far the most damaged by domestic violence, but in every case as evidenced above the male victims plight is ignored and diminished.

Domestic violence is another symptom of the Human condition. It has always been with us and it always will be. Domestic violence is always committed at the height of passion and often fueled by diminished mental capacity.

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.We only become aware of it when the bloodied victim emerges into the light of day, and even then we know naught of the genesis of the altercation.

What can be done, we all despise family violence,even those that are guilty of it will tell you so. Rare is the violence committed in a pyschopathic fashion, with out anger.

While we can bemoan the human condition, it cannot be legislated against !

 

[Shalimar]

Once again sexism raises its head. No one argues that women are by far the most damaged by domestic violence, but in every case as evidenced above the male victims plight is ignored and diminished.

Domestic violence is another symptom of the Human condition. It has always been with us and it always will be. Domestic violence is always committed at the height of passion and often fueled by diminished mental capacity.

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.We only become aware of it when the bloodied victim emerges into the light of day, and even then we know naught of the genesis of the altercation.

What can be done, we all despise family violence,even those that are guilty of it will tell you so. Rare is the violence committed in a pyschopathic fashion, with out anger.

While we can bemoan the human condition, it cannot be legislated against !

I respectfully disagree. I have counseled many abused individuals of both sexes and all ages for over twenty five years. There are many reasons abusers abuse. Certainly domestic abuse is not always committed at the height of passion, and many abusers are highly intelligent with white collar careers, money, pillars of the community et al. This problem crosses all racial and class

divisions..Sometimes it is drug and alcohol related, or due to mental illness, however,some people simply like/need to control and physically, emotionally, sexually, mentally, spiritually abuse others, even while appearing to be very calm. Most habitual abusers have no feelings of guilt but blame the abused. Often it is

multigenerational. Without legislation it would be a free for all, the victims would have no protection whatsoever, be it from physical or other forms of abuse. Remember the fifties? The conspiracy of silence was still in effect well into the seventies and

early eighties. Many of us lived/grew up terrified, helpless, ignored or blamed for conditions beyond our control. No help available until it was far too late. Even now, law enforcement is often helpless to intervene until a clear crime has been

committed. We need more comprehensive legislation, and better support systems in place to protect the innocent and restrain the perpetrators. Btw, there are often indicators that an individual is being abused without appearing battered. Often,
for one reason or another, they are missed or overlooked.

 

[Carla]

Once again sexism raises its head. No one argues that women are by far the most damaged by domestic violence, but in every case as evidenced above the male victims plight is ignored and diminished.

Domestic violence is another symptom of the Human condition. It has always been with us and it always will be. Domestic violence is always committed at the height of passion and often fueled by diminished mental capacity.

No one knows what goes on behind closed doors.We only become aware of it when the bloodied victim emerges into the light of day, and even then we know naught of the genesis of the altercation.

What can be done, we all despise family violence,even those that are guilty of it will tell you so. Rare is the violence committed in a pyschopathic fashion, with out anger.

While we can bemoan the human condition, it cannot be legislated against !

Do you think there may be a possibility that men are more reluctant to report abuse? I read that somewhere a while back. No one should have to live with abuse, not man, woman or child. It is not exclusive to women as others have said here. I live in a small town but I can tell you there rarely is a day when there isn't an article in our local paper involving domestic abuse. There must be an awful lot of people with anger and control issues. Add a little alcohol to the mix and things can get out of control pretty fast. I don't know if abuse is on the upswing or if it's the resulting murders that bring the attention of us all. A lot of people become enraged even over the most simple things like driving in a car. There are more aggressive drivers on the road than I can ever remember.

 

[Butterfly]

One of the things that makes me angry is the legal system's tendency to go easy on a domestic abuser. In the recent case here in Albuquerque, the abuser (male) had previously had a run-in with the system because of domestic abuse/stalking of a partner and also his own brother, and nothing came of it. Had the perpetrator done the same things to a stranger, the result very likely would have been different. For some reason, the system acts like it is less of a crime to put your wife/partner/family member in the hospital than if you had done it to someone you didn't know. As a result in the case to which I am referring, the abuser broke into the victim's house, lay in wait and critically wounded the woman (she's still in the ICU), and killed her three children upon their return to the home.

 

[Shalimar]

one of the things that makes me angry is the legal system's tendency to go easy on a domestic abuser. In the recent case here in albuquerque, the abuser (male) had previously had a run-in with the system because of domestic abuse/stalking of a partner and also his own brother, and nothing came of it. Had the perpetrator done the same things to a stranger, the result very likely would have been different. For some reason, the system acts like it is less of a crime to put your wife/partner/family member in the hospital than if you had done it to someone you didn't know. As a result in the case to which i am referring, the abuser broke into the victim's house, lay in wait and critically wounded the woman (she's still in the icu), and killed her three children upon their return to the home.

qft.

 

[SeaBreeze]

Do you think there may be a possibility that men are more reluctant to report abuse? I read that somewhere a while back. No one should have to live with abuse, not man, woman or child. It is not exclusive to women as others have said here.

I agree, although there is likely a much lesser number of men being abused by women, there's no doubt that there are some, and their plight should not be discounted. A guy I worked with often came to work with swollen eyes, bruises, cuts, etc. He made bizarre excuses that he was bitten by a spider at night, etc. Did not want to admit he was the victim of an aggressive and violent wife.

Another man told me that his daughter had anger issues and abused her husband, and he felt sorry for him. They are reluctant to report abuse, because they are often less believed than women, IMO. Nobody should live with abuse at all, I really feel sorry for the young children who trust and depend on their abusers, they have no experience in life and nowhere to turn for help.