Actions speak louder than words on domestic violence

Chester Borrows PHOTO/FILE

Today, like most others, I am wearing a white ribbon. It denotes support for a campaign against domestic violence, but particularly violence against women.

We seem to have various coloured ribbons for a number of causes, which are worn to show support, and I can think of about six different colours used in this way - usually to raise awareness of an illness or note an event.

The most commonly spotted will be the white ribbon - it is a call to people, particularly men, to pay attention to, speak out against and, if in a position of power, to stop violence against women.

I have spent the bulk of my working life dealing with the after-effects of family violence and, in looking back to the 1970s, I can't help but be ashamed of some of the responses services showed to reports of domestic violence.

The call over the police radio to complete the intervention was invariably "NFPA" - "no further police action". The only record of attendance would be a notebook entry, and no file would be generated unless somebody was arrested - and usually nobody was.

The police turned up and growled at the assailant, telling him not to bash his wife. The wife was told to go next door and get out of his way - that was it. Regardless of the presence of children, injuries, confessions and admissions, it was "just a domestic".

Thank God we woke up. Successive campaigns have meant that such a response is abhorrent to current policing practices, and the community's tolerance and numb resignation to the fact of domestic violence is over.

And we have moved from thinking that just arresting offenders and disrupting the incident is enough. Therapeutic interventions are now common and enduring solutions which break the cycles of abuse are normal.

We finally woke up when we acknowledged our incidence of domestic violence was among the worst in the Western world at a time when we considered ourselves the most progressive, peaceful and liberal of countries to live in.

We are a long way from having the problem beaten, though.

Although reports are up and the blind eye is not turned quite as quickly, there still remains the spectre of a clunky judicial response to violence.

While legal aid may be available to a complainant on a benefit, a working victim will pay dearly for legal representation, and timeframes for hearings can stretch out beyond what is reasonable. Some courtroom practices work against a safe outcome - a change of plea to guilty and the offender waiving his right to a probation officer's report prior to sentencing can see them back on the street in days without any assessment as to continuing risk.

Like any other form of criminal behaviour, the sneaky ones find the loopholes and it is them we want to catch the most.

So the work we have to do now is to ensure all practices across government and society match the rhetoric and the gains made so far. Raising awareness is not enough ... actions speak louder than words.