A criminologist and former police officer’s emotional plea to politicians for real change on women’s safety in Australia has gone viral on social media, as millions of viewers resonate with the message.
“How dare you go into politics, in an environment like this, when one woman is murdered every four days, and all you… can do is immediately talk about politics? That is just disgraceful,” said Vincent Hurley, a Professor of Criminology at Macquarie University.
Chosen out of the crowd to speak at ABC’s Q+A on Monday night, Professor Hurley directly addressed federal and state politicians who were debating the crisis of male violence that has seen 28 women’s lives taken this year alone.
“For God’s sake, how long do we have to listen to politicians like you… high-horsing about?,” he said with rage to federal MPs Murray Watt and Bridget McKenzie, and NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman.
“You’re putting politics above these people behind me.”
Professor Hurley said critical frontline services have been underfunded for decades, and that these are the support systems that address the underlying causes of domestic assaults– drug and alcohol abuse, gambling addiction and mental illness.
“And I know, because I’ve read 1,362 coroners’ reports in NSW over the last 20 years and that is the common element,” he said.
“You don’t need a royal commission. That money needs to go into frontline services– now.”
Pointing to the enormous funding thrown into AUKUS – which is projected to cost between $268 billion and $368 billion over the next three decades – Professor Hurley also asked the politicians if the federal government could “spare a couple of billion dollars or even a million dollars” to address the escalating crisis of violence against women.
‘I think you need to get more informed’
The mother of a woman allegedly murdered by a former partner also spoke at the Q+A to say she hears stories from other families that are almost identical to her own, which goes to show that the nation hasn’t made the necessary changes.
Tabitha Acret’s 22-year-old daughter Mackenzie Anderson’s alleged murder rings very similar to that of Molly Ticehurst’s recent alleged murder.
Acret said there are “major failures” in the judicial system which contributed to her daughter’s stabbing death. Acret told host Patricia Karvelas that following her daughter’s alleged murder, she’d actually met with then Attorney-General Spearman to raise concerns about the judicial system, but that he’d been “condescending and dismissive” at the time.
Spearman apologised on the Q+A, and Acet told him: “You’ve had a very privileged male life and you did the best you could in that situation, but I think you need to get much more informed.”
Following the interaction, Professor Hurley listed off some of the solutions he said can help reform the judicial system.
“If a male has a history of crimes of violence, of any form of domestic violence, coercion, physical, emotional, they should not have the presumption of bail,” Professor Hurley said.
“They should not get bail. At all.”
And while Profesor Hurley said he understands the civil liberty concerns involved with this, “for the immediate concern of the women here, they need to have that offender taken off the street to give them breathing space to get away to a women’s refuge.”
If offenders are released into the community while awaiting court appearances, Professor Hurley says they need support too.
“If there was some intervention so he could talk to someone, to vent his frustration, then that might be a safety valve … to defuse that really dangerous period,” he said.
“We have witness support officers in our local courts that help witnesses. Something along those lines might be worth exploring.”
He also said this kind of intervention would need to be independent from police and the courts, so governments should look at funding groups such as Saint Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army instead.
While Professor Hurley’s fiery speech, full of solutions, has gained much-needed viral attention, he has also gone on to admit that he recognises this attention is likely due to his identity as a white male.
“If a woman had said it, it would have been dismissed, or it would have been [viewed as] ‘just another woman complaining’,” he told 9news.
If you were not a white, middle-aged […] male, this would not have gained traction.”
“I’m glad I gave them ‘the spray’–as my friends have said– because they deserved it,” he said.
“None of them had the guts to get up and either apologise and to say ‘I’m sorry’– not to me, I don’t care about me– to the women in the audience and the schoolgirls [in the audience].”
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au.
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