Intimate partner violence is believed to have taken the lives of five women in just ten days.
Yesterday, a 42-year-old man was taken into police custody following the discovery of a woman’s body in a hotel room in Perth, WA.
Reports of this incident came after another domestic violence death in Bendigo, Victoria, as well as the news of 22-year-old Lillie James’ murder in Sydney last week.
Yesterday, a woman in her 60’s was found dead in a home in Muswellbrook, NSW. Police had visited the house hours earlier, speaking to a 52-year-old woman.
That night, police returned to Sydney Street to a different property following calls of a woman suffering a mental health episode.
After taking the 52-year-old woman to a psychiatric facility, police returned to the property, where they discovered the body of the woman in her 60’s.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Scott Tanner told reporters the women were known to each other, however authorities are still investigating “the nature of that relationship”.
Intimate partner violence
Intimate partner violence continues to be a major problem for Australia, with new data revealing almost a third of 18-19 year olds have experienced it in the last year.
The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) published their report titled Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children yesterday. The research has followed 10,000 Australian children since 2004.
The study found 25 per cent of 18-19 year olds experienced emotional abuse from an intimate partner, 12 per cent experienced physical violence and 8 per cent experienced sexual abuse.
Overall, 29 per cent of the teenagers in the study experienced at least one for of intimate partner violence, almost one third of respondents.
Dr Karlee O’Donnell, the senior research officer at AIFS, said relationships between parents, friends and school peers are all vital for teenagers in building respectful intimate partner relationships.
“As a parent, one of the most important things to do is to build a strong, trusting relationship with your child when they’re young, and keep nurturing that all the way through secondary school,” she said.
Dr O’Donnell also said support systems must be improved in preventing intimate partner violence for teenagers.
“Our research clearly shows that social support systems are key in reducing intimate partner violence,” she said.
“Parents and friends can help teens understand what healthy and respectful relationships look like.”
If you are concerned about your behaviour, or about someone using violence, call Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
If you or someone you know is in need of help due to sexual assault or family and domestic violence contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732
In an emergency call 000.