“IF YOU want to beat up your wife, you can’t become a citizen of this nation.” Well said Barnaby, but remember, does that go for everyone?
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Our local member and our nation’s 2IC added his two cents to a social media storm on Thursday, as the parameters of our “Australian Values” were thrust into the spotlight.
“We don’t believe there is a polite way to beat up your wife,” Mr Joyce said.
Spot on.
There’s no polite way to beat up anyone.
There’s nothing polite about it and there’s nothing right about it.
But there’s not many things more impolite than being ignorant.
The Australian government’s own Institute of Health and Welfare shone its spotlight on the dark truth about our domestic violence problem.
According to the Institute, more than 6500 women were hospitalised from domestic violence assaults in 2013/14.
Of these recorded incidents, 59 per cent were perpetrated by spouses or partners.
And shockingly eight per cent of the victims were pregnant at the time of the assault.
There’s nothing remotely polite to see here.
It’s confronting and stark and it’s not even the full picture, according to some services.
Tanya Rogers from the Tamworth Family Support Service reckons it would be more accurate to triple that figure of hospitalisations.
“Many of them don’t seek hospitalisation or medical treatment or they don’t disclose that the injuries have occurred through domestic violence,” she said.
These figures represent the women who make it to hospital.
Domestic violence isn’t migrating to the country. It’s already here.
So isn’t a bit disingenuous to say ‘beating up your wife’ isn’t welcome here and it’s not a part of our values.
It’s ignoring the huge problem we already have.
For thousands of women who bravely report abuse and seek help, there are thousands upon thousands of women and families who are living in fear and under the cloak of ignorance from the rest of the population.
Early intervention is key according to services rallying for a women’s health centre in Tamworth. How many more statistics do we need before we get the action required.