In 2001 on a
warm spring morning, I was woken up a couple of hours before school, the news
was on, my family was in shock. On the T.V. screen in the lounge room I
remember seeing a building with smoke billowing out of it, then I saw another that
looked the same. The twin trade towers had both been struck by passenger
planes, and then the Pentagon, 2996 people were killed (Statistic Brain 2014);
among those killed were 10 Australians (Sutton 2013). Within a year Australia
would be at war in Afghanistan, helping the U.S to hunt down the attackers –
the Taliban.
Just over a
year after this, “…on 12 October, 2002, 202 people, including 88 Australians,
died when a bomb went off at the Sari nightclub in Bali’s Kuta district. A further
209 people were injured” (Thomsen 2015). Australia would not seek to go to war
in Indonesia to track down the perpetrators, as there was no need, the
Indonesian police arrested and prosecuted the terrorists who committed the
attack. But in the national psyche, this attack justified the War on Terror
that Australia had already committed to. This bombing had struck close to home,
in a popular holiday spot frequented by Australians, and these terrorists, and
all like them must be stopped. They were killing civilians and breeding horror where
there should only be joy, and life, and all things normal.
Over the
course of this early part of the 21st century, the threat that
terrorism holds, and specifically the Islamic kind, has grown in the minds of
many westerners. But all told, since 1978, 113 Australians have been killed in
terrorist attacks; this number includes those killed at home and abroad (Keane
2014). Now 113 Australians killed in terrorist attacks is 113 too many, but
alongside of this has existed a much more pervasive threat, one which is much
closer to home – domestic violence.
From 2003 to
2012 between 700-1000 women and children have been murdered by their partners
or parents in domestic homicides (Keane, 2014). Add to this statistic that between
2008-2010 75 males were killed in domestic homicides incidents (Oneinthree),
and we can begin to see, that while terrorism holds a grand threat in the media
headlines, an Australian is much more likely to be killed by someone they live
with, and likely love (or have loved), than by a random person with a bomb
under their shirt, or in their car. I don’t want to be seen to be minimizing
the threat of terrorism, and indeed the socio-psychological effects of a terror
attack, but it says something about us as a people, that when a terrorist attack
happens, no matter the size or the impact, the media go crazy, social media
even more so, and there are calls for the police to do something, politicians
do grand speeches, and promise tighter restrictions on visas and new laws to
track down suspected terrorists. But the much more common, and perhaps in the
mind of some mundane act of domestic violence, and even murder, hardly causes
people to bat an eyelid. “Oh, that is terrible!” “What a poor women!” “That man
murdered his own wife?” These seem to be about the extent of our reaction, and
then we move on with our lives, not realizing that a woman, or even man down
the street (one in three victims of current partner violence during the last 12
months (33.3%) and since the age of 15 (33.5%) were male [oneinthree]), or
child, is living in a daily terror, fearing for their lives, and is much more
likely to be killed by their husband, wife, or parent than any of us are likely to
be killed by a terrorist of any stripe.
Did I say
terrorist of any stripe? Because surely a man (and the majority of domestic
violence is committed by men against women [Domestic Violence Prevention Centre,
2015]) or perhaps woman who is abusing their partner, wife, husband, or child,
is as much a terrorist as someone who does similar violence in the name of some
god, or ideology. But our problem is that when we hear about a terrorist attack
in a Bali night club, or inner city café, our immediate thought is “that could
have been me”, or someone we know, and so our minds race with the perceived
threat of violent terrorists. But when someone is abused, or even murdered by
their husband, or wife, or parent/s, we think to ourselves, “That could never
be me,” and we move on with our lives, without giving it much thought. But the
sad reality is that the real threat for too many Australians is at home…and I
mean at home, in the four walls of the house where people lay their head, some
permanently because the person they live with, and once probably loved deeply,
has become for all intents and purposes a terrorist of high magnitude, and has
stolen the life they should have held precious.
Politicians play
up terrorism like it is the greatest threat to face civilisation, who was it
that stated that ISIS presents an ‘existential threat’? I don’t remember, but
when it is known that “…just under half a million Australian women reported
that they had experienced physical or sexual violence or sexual assault in the
past 12 months (Domestic Violence Prevention Centre, 2015) and 119, 600 men
reported “current partner violence” in 2012 (Oneinthree, 2013), we can see
there really is an existential threat to a lot of Australians. This threat
doesn’t come in the form of someone with a bomb in their car, or axe under
their jacket, but in the form of the average person, someone we likely even
know.
The home
should be a safe place, a place where people can rest after a day’s work, enjoy
the sound of laughter as their children play with their new toys, a place to relax
and watch some T.V. in the evening, a place where a good book can be read, and
a home meal enjoyed, and most significantly a place where the next generation
of Australians is nurtured and brought up to lead this country into the future.
But when you read that “…most incidences of physical assault against women in
the 12 months prior to 2005 were committed in a home (64.1%) (Domestic Violence
Prevention Centre, 2015),” and that “32.3% (almost one in three) victims of
reported domestic violence by a current or ex-partner (including both physical
and emotional violence and abuse) were male” (Oneinthree, 2013), it makes you
angry, it makes you sad, it makes you want to do something, because a home
should not be a place where fear reigns, but love.
As a
Christian minister I cannot help but think that the church can take a positive
step in tackling this issue. It is a real problem, one that exists in our
communities, in our neighbourhoods, and sad to say, in our churches. We need to
begin by creating an environment where the abused feel safe to come forward and
the abuser feels the full force of the wrongness of what they are doing. We
should not leave families to deal with this on their own, as we are called to “carry each other’s burdens, and in this way
you will fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2).
We are also
called to “Speak up for those who cannot
speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and
judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Pro. 31:8-9). If there is one thing that an abused person
often feels, it is that they do not have a voice, or that they are too afraid
to use it. We need to speak up on their behalf, to be their champions, and defend
their cause. It is well known that women are often too afraid to tell anyone,
or that even when they do tell someone, they are afraid of what will happen
when action is taken. They may have children, or other family, who are in
danger, and so they often suffer in silence, carrying the burden of abuse, which
is not fair on them. But many people do not know that “men were less than half as likely as
women to have told anybody about partner violence, to have sought advice or
support, or to have contacted the police” (Oneinthree, 2013). The reasons for
this are perhaps complex, but in either case, we need to create church
environments where people are given a safe place to speak, and report those who
are abusing them. And if we see something, or note something, we must speak on
their behalf and defend the rights of people in need.
But perhaps
even more importantly, we must check our rhetoric, and language on this matter.
There has been much anti-male rhetoric on the issue of domestic violence, and
violence against women in general, and though it is undeniable that a woman is
more likely to be attacked by a man, than a man is likely to be attacked by a
woman, it’s not a matter of men verse women, but a matter of all men and women
against any such violence. Some men are violent to women, and some women are
violent against men, but men and women acting together can work towards
reducing both types of violence.
I wish I
could end this article with solutions to all the issues, and a clear move
forward. But the truth is I don’t have all the solutions, but I do know that
creating safe environments for the abused to seek refuge, and to share their
pain, and swift action in seeing perpetrators of domestic violence bought to justice, will make
a difference. I also would like to see the government redirecting some of their
billions away from terrorism, and data retention schemes, and towards support
for victims of domestic violence, because the truth is, for a lot of
Australians, the real threat is at home.
List of References
Domestic Violence Prevention Centre, 2015 http://www.domesticviolence.com.au/pages/domestic-violence-statistics.php
Keane B 2014, http://www.crikey.com.au/2014/09/04/the-real-threat-of-terrorism-to-australians-by-the-numbers/
Oneinthree, 2013 http://www.oneinthree.com.au/overview/
Statistic Brain 2014 http://www.statisticbrain.com/911-death-statistics/
