You may be aware that today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. It is the 16th year the day has been observed, around the world, on November 25, as designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999.
The issue remains as critical today as ever. Sixty-eight people have died as a result of violence against women in Australia this year. That is more than one person a week, and that is just fatalities.
Each week Australian police deal with around 5000 domestic violence matters. They physically attend around 760 incidents of family violence each week. In almost every instance the damage is not limited to a single victim: children, siblings and family members are often traumatised too.
These numbers may not surprise you. Like many Australians, because of the unprecedented public discussion of family violence in recent years, you might be familiar with these devastating figures. But at this point, our increased familiarity with the subject matter isn’t solving the problem.
A campaign launched by the police in NSW – this week – to encourage people to report suspected matters of violence, is a sobering case in point. It comes as police confront the fact the number of domestic violence-related homicides have risen by almost half in NSW this year.
The ABC reported that there have been 32 homicides related to domestic violence across NSW so far this year, compared with 23 homicides at the same time last year.
“These are more than just statistics, these are people’s lives,” NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said. “These are people who are dying in our streets and we need to make sure that we’re doing all we can.”
What can we do?
On an occasion like the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the enormity of the challenge is clear. “In the abstract domestic violence feels like an intractable social problem that is too big for anyone to do anything about, “Annabelle Daniel, the CEO of Women’s Community Shelters, says. “But when you drill down to a local level, people realise it’s an issue that is happening in their backyard. It’s not happening to a mythical group of people: it’s happening to their next door neighbours, their workmates, other parents at school. When you make it real for people, that’s when you can address the problem.”
Daniel is adamant that sort of awareness is the key to addressing this violence.
“I firmly believe the way we will solve domestic violence is community by community, at a local level,” Daniel told Women’s Agenda.
That is the rationale behind the NGO she runs, Women’s Community Shelters, which has set up and operates four community shelters in NSW for women escaping violence. Each shelter has been established in partnership with local businesses and community groups and aside from providing accommodation and support, the organisation is geared around education and prevention.
Daniel has just learned that, in partnership with the state government, WCS will double their network by 2018, which is welcome news because they are unable to keep up with demand.
“The system has been overstretched for a while,” Daniel says. “Across Australia more than one in two women are turned away from crisis accommodation every single day. In NSW it’s more desperate. For every bed our shelters have available, we have 5 requests. That rings true across the shelter network. One day a few weeks ago there wasn’t a single bed available and one shelter received 16 calls in a single day.”
While there are major obstacles like shortages in crisis accommodation to overcome, Daniel says there are plenty of things each of us can do to help.
“It’s a responsibility that is on all of us. No one has to wait for permission to ask someone if they’re ok. If you have a friend you’re concerned about, say something. If they don’t want to talk, let them know ‘I’m here if and when’,” Daniel says. “If they do to disclose to you and want to talk about what’s going on – the most critical thing you can say to someone is ‘I believe you’. Often people who have lived with abuse and control for so long have reality displaced with someone else’s version of the world. The most powerful thing you can do when someone is trying to break out is to tell them you believe them. That’s something we can all do.”
‘Time, treasure and talent’ is the mantra Daniel uses for the different ways people who want to become involved can help. They can donate, call an organisation like WCS and ask what they need. “They can offer their professional services or their time, they might donate canned goods, or sanitary supplies. All of those things are really useful.”
So, today, if you are struck by the enormity and the tragedy of violence against women, and the trail of destruction it leaves, and you want to help, think local. Look around you. Look for the people or organisations in your community that are on the frontline and offer your time, talent or treasure. That is something each of us can do on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.