Firearm Bill needs to consider women’s safety
Firearm Bill needs to consider women’s safety.
The issue of women’s safety and the fear of violence is an essential consideration of the Firearms (Miscellaneous Amendment) Bill 2015 currently before the Legislative Council.
“When talking about firearms and family violence, focusing just on injury and death ignores the issue that it is the threat – it is the fear of violence against herself, or her children that gives the perpetrator his power,” says Ms Alina Thomas, Executive Office of SHE, a local specialised domestic violence counselling service for women.
“We need to be concerned about women being injured and killed as well as the insidious and covert emotional abuse which leads to post-traumatic stress syndrome and long term mental health problems for hundreds of women in Tasmania. This cannot be measured as statistics in reports. If you add firearms to the power and abuse that is already being used by perpetrators of family violence then you get a huge increase in the level of fear that women experience. Women will go from fearing for their safety to fearing for their lives,” Ms Thomas explained.
“If we are to be genuinely concerned about women’s safety we need to be looking at reducing fear and increasing opportunities for women to leave relationships – giving violent and abusive partners access to guns will do neither of these things,” stated Ms Thomas.
Advocates have been calling for the inclusion of a “spousal notification” provision in amendments to the Tasmanian Firearm Act so that partners or ex-partners are notified when someone is applying for a firearm license. This amendment will bring Tasmanian law into line with provisions already operating in Canada and England. This law is an opportunity for the government to demonstrate a fundamental level of care and concern for women’s safety.
Domestic and family violence is the leading cause of death, injury and disability in women under the age of 44.
If you need help please contact the Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 633 937 (9am – midnight Monday – Friday, 4pm – midnight weekend and public holidays).
For immediate release.
Please contact Alina Thomas on 0438 788 291 with enquiries.
Addressing community attitudes is key to violence prevention
Domestic violence continues to be a serious issue for our community and a recent VicHealth survey has revealed some disturbing attitudes and statistics which only scratch the surface of an issue that is also affecting the Tasmanian community.
The recent VicHealth survey revealed that most people believe violence is caused by men being unable to control their anger and their need for sex. “This is an insult to men and not an attitude we want to be nurturing in boys or girls growing up in Tasmania” stated Alina Thomas, EO of Domestic Violence Counselling Service, SHE.
“Declaring that certain behaviours entice rape and violence against women is a sad indication that we are not placing the responsibility of violence on the perpetrator. Instead we are blaming the vulnerable person and in doing so excusing the behaviour” says Ms Thomas.
Despite enduring misperception in the community, intimate partner assaults and homicides are beginning to attract more attention however, less explicit violence is still unacknowledged. “We have recorded a stark increase in the number of women contacting our service who are under strict prohibitive monitoring by their partners. Some women experience such a lack of freedom that they feel unable to come in for appointments, use their phones and in some cases even leave the house” explains Ms Thomas.
Abuse can be very subtle forms of control, for example financial, where women do not have access to household money and their spending is restricted or controlled by their partner. Stalking and surveillance is another example of women being overly monitored and intimidated by partners and accelerated dramatically with the proliferation of smart phones, personal GPS’s and social networking.
Domestic violence has a profound impact on the physical and mental health of women. It can lead directly to serious injury, permanent impairment, disability or death. VicHealth (2007) found that among women under 45, domestic violence contributes more to their poor health, disability and death than any other risk factor.
Domestic violence often has a very severe negative impact on the wellbeing of the whole family. Children’s physical health, learning, cognition, social and emotional development can all be severely impaired by experiencing domestic violence (Chadwick & Morgan, 2009).
Violence against women needs to be addressed in homes, in schools, in workplaces and in parliament. “We have a long way to go before we acknowledge that violence against women affects the whole of our society. Burdens on the legal system and on the health system show the greater impact, however the individual costs to women and children is where we see insurmountable evidence that we are failing to provide a safe environment for families in Tasmania” stated Ms Thomas.
Violence against women is preventable but it does require systemic shifts in attitudes and behaviour.
If you need help please contact the Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 633 937 (9am – midnight Monday – Friday, 4pm – midnight weekend and public holidays).
For more information contact Alina Thomas, 0438 788 291
Engender Equality offers a free and confidential counselling and support service to women who have experienced abuse in an intimate relationship. The service also provides community based programs such as KYSS (Keep yourself safe and sane) and educational workshops. Engender Equality is funded by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Sources
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/…
http://www.ncsmc.org.au/wp-con…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/201…
VicHealth. (2007) Preventing Violence Before It Occurs: A Framework and Background Paper to Guide the Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women in Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth).
Morgan, A. & Chadwick, H. (2009). Key Issues in Domestic Violence. Australian Institute of Criminology. Australian Government: Canberra
Remembering Women Who Have Been Killed By Their Partners
The impact of domestic violence is difficult to measure. Domestic deaths in Australia reportedly occur once a week. Further impacts of injury, homelessness, post-traumatic stress and unreported deaths – occurring through suicide or complications from injuries – completes a picture of devastation to individuals, families and communities. In Tasmania since 2012 three women have been murdered by their former partner along with three males who were these women’s partners at the times.
“It is important that we come together in a ceremony for people who have lost their lives at the hands of their intimate partner. It is important for victims, their families as well as survivors in order for us to lift the burden of silence of this tragic crime,” explains Alina Thomas, Executive Officer of Support, Help and Empowerment a specialist counselling service for women effected by domestic and family violence.
In line with other states across Australia, Tasmanian domestic violence services have collaborated to host the 2014 Candle lighting Ceremony on Wednesday the 7th May at 5.30pm in Franklin Square. Simultaneous vigils will be held in other parts of the country. This is the 6th year the vigil will be held in Hobart.
Despite violence against woman and children in Australia being in a diabolical state, women’s safety is routinely ignored or downplayed. Alcohol related public violence has recently captured the community’s attention but occurs at only 1/7th the rate of domestic violence. The Australian Institute of Criminology indicated that 36% of ALL homicides occur in a domestic setting, 73% of these involve a women being killed by her male partner.
For the 2012-2013 period the Tasmanian Police reported 2254 occasions for domestic violence, this equates to 6 incidences per day that the Police are called to. These are the ones that are reported.
“We need to lift the silence that is preventing Australia from moving through this social crisis. The silence that prevents women for accessing support and the silence that stops governments from prioritising women’s and children’s safety”, Ms Thomas stated.
Domestic and family violence services throughout Tasmania report many contacts predominantly from women who are living in or trying to escape an abusive relationship. Victims are the subject of verbal threats, coercion and intimidation. The violence prevails in situations of excessive control of finances and can also include sexual assault, stalking, verbal abuse and abduction. Domestic and family violence includes behaviours that incite fear, apprehension and mental harm in victims.
The Family Violence Counselling and Support Service operates from 9am to midnight weekdays and 4pm to midnight weekends and public holidays. If you are concerned about your own safely or someone else’s please call 1800 608 122 or 000.
FOR MEDIA ENQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT ALINA THOMAS 0438 788 291.
Sources
Clementine Ford, April 2014, It’s not enough to ask abuse victims to leave, http://www.dailylife.com.au/ne…
Tasmania Police Annual Report 2012-2013 http://www.police.tas.gov.au/a…