Contributed by Val France
EVERY few days in Australia, someone is murdered by their current or former partner, and most of the victims are women. Every 2 minutes the police respond to a call out for domestic violence. We see these statistics and say, ‘But what can I do about it?’ Well, a group in Maleny got together last week to consider just that question. As bystanders not personally affected by domestic or family violence, what is our responsibility as community members, and what can we do?
Speak Up Now – Stop Domestic and Family Violence, is a collaboration of community groups in Maleny and the Blackall Range, who invited Lifeline to run one of their accredited Bystander Action workshops. The cost of the four-hour workshop was sponsored by the Suncoast Coast Regional Council, Rob Skelton MP, Apex Maleny, the Uniting Church of Maleny, the Lions Club of Maleny & Blackall Range, Zonta Blackall Range, the Rotary Club of Maleny, the Maleny Neighbourhood Centre, and attended by 25 participants from those organisations as well as interested individuals. They learnt that domestic violence is not just physical but occurs when one partner in a relationship uses any means to dominate and control the other – this can be verbal, psychological, financial, social, or take many other forms.
The causes of domestic violence are complex, and include factors in the individual, the relationship, their community, and society. While drugs and alcohol may be involved in some cases, these are not the root cause. Often it is societal beliefs that men should control their partner, and women should be submissive. Participants discussed all the reasons that domestic violence is so common, and reasons that the rest of us, as bystanders, do not take any action when we are aware of factors that may lead to violence.