Three in four Australians consider family violence to pose a security threat that is greater than, or at least equal to, the threat posed by terrorism.
Fair Agenda, a community group that campaigns for gender equality, commissioned this Essential Research poll question to just over a thousand Australians:
The problem of family violence has been described as “family terrorism”. Do you think family violence is more of a threat or less of a threat than terrorism to Australians?
Seventy-four percent of respondents said it was greater than or equal to terrorism; almost half said it was more of a threat whilst a quarter said it was about the same level of threat. Less than 20% of respondents believed it was less of a threat and 8% said they did not know.
The argument has been raised many, many times this year as the family violence death toll has almost doubled and yet it struggles to attract immediate action. In her National Press Club address in June Australian of the Year Rosie Batty called on leaders to approach family violence with the same urgency and priority as terrorism.
She echoed this sentiment yesterday. “We’re spending hundreds of millions extra on the war on terrorism, but women who fear for their safety are still being turned away from services because of a lack of funds,” Batty said. “As a nation we need to re-assess our priorities. Women and children are dying because of family violence and we need to see a commensurate response. There is no shortage of goodwill from our leaders, but we need words put into action including increased funding of family violence services. Every day they wait, more lives are put at significant risk.”
Fair Agenda’s executive director Renee Carr says the poll highlights the discrepancy between the scale of the family violence epidemic and government action – particularly in funding family violence services.
“We’re in the midst of a family violence epidemic, yet inadequate government funding means thousands of women are still being turned away from the services that should be helping keep them safe,” Carr said. “When a woman tries to escape abuse, she is at great risk. It’s unbelievable that with a rising murder rate, and all the talk about addressing this issue, governments still aren’t fully funding frontline services to keep women safe.”
This was illustrated clearly in a report published by Fairfax Media yesterday which showed women fleeing domestic violence in NSW are being turned away from refuges in droves. Almost 90 per cent of women’s refuges in the state are full, with one operator likening the chances of a woman getting a bed to “winning the lottery”.
Neither terrorism or family violence are simple problems to solve. But the death toll from family violence alone this year clearly illustrates why it requires, at the very least, the same dogged commitment from leaders to at least try to address this.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au In an emergency, call 000. For more information about a service in your state or local area download the DAISY App in the App Store or Google Play.