Thirty four women murdered since January 1 in Australia this year alone. What are federal and State politicians and policy makers thinking?
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Answer: They are not thinking beyond their managerialism.
The current LNP government closed specialist domestic violence refuges in 2014 and saved money (while pretending otherwise) by merging homelessness services with domestic violence services. Locally, wonderful services in Kempsey and Taree were crushed and rebranded.
Imagine if 34 people had been killed so far this year in Australia by terrorists? Would governments dally as they do with the lives of women and children terrorised daily by violence or the threat of it?
We know what works – we did it for years – provide immediate safety for women and children at risk of violence, provide access to safe haven and support services no matter the time of day or night and refer the perpetrators immediately to the criminal justice system.
I suggest every concerned constituent contact their local member to demand a return to fully and recurrently funded, specialist domestic violence refuges and services for women and children at risk of violence.
The deaths must stop.
Leonie McGuire, Port Macquarie
IMAGE CREDIT: Julie Hamann
