Fiona McCormack, CEO Domestic Violence Victoria
Fiona McCormack CEO Domestic Violence Victoria, peak body for domestic violence services for women and children: http://www.dvvic.org.au/
SUMMARY:
Domestic violence is a major health risk to the Victorian community. Till now, the focus has been to put the onus on the women. However, the focus away from the male who is the person misbehaving. Men, not the women need to feel the consequences of their bad behavior.
Society must no longer make excuses for violence against women.
There needs to be programs in place that can help males when there is a risk of them being violent.
Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic), established in 2002, is the peak body for women and children’s family violence services in Victoria. DV Vic’s mission is to lead the Victorian community in building safer lives for women and children experiencing or at risk of violence.
Family violence is a major health risk to the Victorian community. Intimate partner violence is responsible for more ill-health and premature death in Victorian women under the age of 45 than any other of the well-known preventable risk factors, including high blood pressure, obesity and smoking .
Violence against women costs the Australian economy approximately 13.6 billion per year, and the Victorian economy 136 million. The costs to Australian business is estimated at a minimum of $500 million per year.
There were 65,363 family incident reports submitted by police in the 13/14 financial year. This was an 8% increase on the previous year, on top of 23.4% and 21.6% increases the two preceeding years (Victoria Police, 2014).
DV is:
- a key driver of homelessness in women
- misunderstood as just men losing their temper or physical abuse
- also about terrorising women and getting control via put downs, undermining partner’s confidence, financial abuse, sexual abuse
- leads to women doubting themselves
- caused by drug and alcohol, mental health and financial issues; rigid male stereotypic beliefs of entitlement, inequality of women and sexism
- less common where there is greater the parity between male and female status
- often first apparent when woman is pregnant when she is more vulnerable
- particularly difficult for Aboriginal women to report abuse as they fear their children will be taken from them and their male spouse, who earns the household money, will go to jail.
APPROACHES TO HELP
Having females represented across all work roles expands the perception of women’s status.
Till now, the focus has been to put the onus on the women – “Why doesn’t she just leave the relationship?” “She shouldn’t walk alone” “She shouldn’t wear that clothing.”
This takes the focus away from the male who is the person misbehaving. Men, not the women need to feel the consequences of their bad behavior.
Society must no longer make excuses for violence against women.
There needs to be programs in place that can help males when there is a risk of them being violent.
