“Family violence is an epidemic, we will overcome it only by facing it in its entirety. With honesty and tenderness and commitment. By facing it directly and unflinchingly” - Andie Fox [1]
Content warning: discussion of family violence.
One woman dies at the hands of a current or former partner almost every week in Australia[2]. One woman is hospitalised every three hours. Access Economics estimates that around 1.6 million Australian women have experienced domestic violence in some form.
And these are just the official numbers. Researchers estimate that less than half of domestic violence is actually reported.
What we do know is that intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in Australian women aged 15-44. And we know that women in Australia are three times more likely than men to experience violence at the hands of a current or former partner.
Of the women who experience domestic violence in Australia more than half have children in their care. These children can be victims of domestic violence by either witnessing the abuse of a loved one, or experiencing it themselves. Many will suffer the consequences of domestic violence well into adulthood.
PRAY ABOUT IT
Loving Father, we thank you that you bring light to the darkness of this world. We pray that you would bring understanding, knowledge, and acceptance of the truth and expose what lurks in the dark and bring it into the light.
We cry out to you. We cry out that these statistics might change. We cry out to you that the women and children who are victims of violence would cease to be so. We pray that violence in all its forms would cease.
We pray that you would give us courage to face this epidemic with all that we have. To make changes to education, implement early intervention, and resource front-line responders. We ask that the Australian government will start to recognise this tragedy for what it is. Most importantly, we ask that your people would be the hands, feet, and voices for change. Amen.
GO DEEPER
- For more insight into statistics around domestic violence go here
- Why do some women stay with their abusive partners? An insightful look at one woman’s experience here
- In a year dominated by headline stories of domestic violence, ABC journalist Sarah Ferguson has spent six months on the frontline of our national crisis. You can watch her Hitting Home report here
- Read more about some common myths about domestic violence here
[1] http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/real-life/until-domestic-violence-is-everyones-business-it-is-no-ones-business-20161025-gsa3ut.html
[2] http://www.ourwatch.org.au/Understanding-Violence/Facts-and-figures
