In the last week, three Australian women have all been allegedly murdered by men they knew.
Yesterday, Christine Rakic became the third , with her brutal death in Sydney’s west now confirmed as a murder investigation.
Rakic was found dead at her home in Rooty Hill on Tuesday night, in what is believed to be a domestic violence incident. Her estranged husband, Dusan Rakic is in a critical condition under police guard after her was found at the scene with injuries to his throat and arms.
“He’s currently in hospital with very serious injuries in a critical but stable condition,” said Superintendent Steve Egginton from Mount Druitt police.
“As you probably appreciate, we don’t have a lot of information at the moment, based on the fact that the two people in the house at the time; one’s deceased and the other is effectively in a coma.”
While domestic violence is a complex space, it’s gruelling to note that once again protection for the victim seems to have been insufficient.
The ABC reported that there was an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) in place protecting Christine Rakic from her husband, however clearly, the measure did not go far enough. It’s another reminder that domestic and family violence is an issue still grossly underserved.
Officers receive about 140,000 calls related to domestic violence each year and spend about 60 per cent of their time responding to those incidents.
In 2023, fifteen women, as well as men and children, have lost their lives from domestic violence-related incidents.
In the past five years there have been 139 murders.
NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb made a raw confession on the topic recently.
“I don’t want my officers delivering death messages,” she told The Saturday Telegraph.
“I don’t want my officers time and time again responding to the same situations. I don’t want support systems working against each other.”
Webb called on experts from within and outside the force to examine the system and work toward solutions for minimising domestic violence-related cases, including the protection of victims and sending the offenders to jail.
Support is available via the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732).
Lifeline 13 11 14.
In an emergency, call 000.