Original source (on modern site)
Family violence prevention advocate and former Australian of the Year Rosie Batty has reiterated calls for stronger language in cases of violence against women. Almost 10 years ago, Ms Batty called for perpetrators to be labelled as "intimate partner terrorists" and says without more action, the cycle of violence will continue. "Language matters and I think it really is a very accurate description of the terror and the terrorisation that occurs," she told ABC RN Breakfast. "There is an unconscious minimisation of violence when we put domestic or family in front of it. "When we hear the word terrorism, it makes you abruptly consider something more sharply and that's exactly what too many women and children are experiencing." Twenty-six women in Australia have been violently killed this year — one every four days on average. Politicians in New South Wales are reviewing bail laws and domestic violence protection measures in the wake of the alleged murder of 28-year-old Molly Ticehurst in Forbes earlier this week. Police say she was killed by her former partner just two weeks after he was released on bail relating to charges of stalking and rape. Molly Ticehurst, 28, was found dead in a Forbes home on Monday, April 22, 2024.(Supplied: Gofundme) Ms Batty said while a review of bail laws is timely, it won't fix the issue. "Ultimately, you are only truly safe if the perpetrator decides to no longer be abusive and violent," she said. "I meet women across Australia who have had to change their names, change their identity, move interstate away from the family and communities, live anonymously in fear, and are always looking over their shoulder because they know he will never rest until he tracks them down. "Tightening of the bail laws or adjusting that justice response doesn't necessarily mean you're safe." Ms Ticehurst had an apprehended violence order out on her former partner and NSW Premier Chris Minns said she was doing "everything right". Loading... "It is a piece of paper, but without that piece of paper, the police, the system doesn't take your violence seriously enough," Ms Batty said. "You're not just at risk for a few days or a few weeks, you're not, this is ongoing. "Stalking is an extremely high-risk factor, and I am not convinced that we really understand those extreme high-risk factors and really escalate someone's safety enough." National Women's Safety Alliance chairperson Angela Lynch said any review of bail laws need to look at how courts make assessments of dangerousness in domestic violence situations. "Why was the accused given the benefit of the doubt and why were the accused's rights elevated above the victim's rights to safety?" she said. "Issues of sexual violence and issues of stalking are well-established high-risk activities; they really go to a person's level of control and entitlement over that victim. "We need to ask what evidence is going before the court, how are they making these assessments of dangerousness, and if there are failures, how do we strengthen those laws and change that so that we can support magistrates making these decisions in the future." National Women's Safety Alliance chairperson Angela Lynch(ABC News: Julie Hornsey) The term "intimate partner terrorists" is one Ms Lynch believes should be used when describing perpetrators of family violence to highlight the "extreme risk" to families and victim-survivors. She's urged the prime minister to "intervene strongly" on the family violence crisis across the country. "We need him to engage on an urgent basis with gender violence experts to listen what's happening on the ground and on the frontline," Ms Lynch said. "We need a new way forward in relation to responding to extreme risk, and all the other levels as well." Posted 25 Apr 202425 Apr 2024Thu 25 Apr 2024 at 3:00am, updated 25 Apr 202425 Apr 2024Thu 25 Apr 2024 at 3:19amBail law review a bandaid solution
A new way forward needed