END THE CYCLE: Stop domestic violence

Almost daily, we are confronted by harrowing cases about women and children who are victims of atrocities so often previously hidden from the public’s eye.

It’s tragic that only now are authorities taking a deeper look into why women and children are dying at the hands of people they should be able to trust.

Yet domestic violence cannot be simply “fixed”.

Those who believe legislation or regulation designed to claw back alcohol or drug abuse, increase criminal penalties for perpetrators of violence or change court processing systems will provide a cure for our ills must know such efforts simply fiddle at the edges.

It is our attitudes to each other - and how we must recognise and change our behaviour - that is core to making our homes safe.

It says much about the progression of the conversation about gender equality in Australia that the recent announcement of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s new cabinet was dominated by the juxtaposition of female members pre- and post- the leadership spill.

For so long, Australian political leadership has been dominated by men; ingraining the attitudes of power and roles and responsibilities of our family structures.

For those of us who have grown up in this Australia, it’s difficult to reconcile a different approach because most of us know no different.

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But change we must.

Family violence is not caused by angry men and not by alcohol and not by drugs like ice.

Family violence is underpinned by power; by disrespect and by accepting behaviour which is unacceptable. It’s driven by the put downs and the inappropriate jokes. By workplaces who value one over another for no other reason than their gender.

Now we have a unique opportunity to change our nation’s attitudes for the better.

Last week, Australian Community Media (ACM) launched its End the Cycle campaign.

ACM, a division of Fairfax Media, is Australia’s largest regional news provider, with sites across every state and territory, a reach which delivers great responsibility, and great opportunity.

We’ve teamed with Our Watch, a national body committed to ending violence against women and children, to emphasise the importance of working across boundaries and borders to create awareness of this incredibly complex problem.

We are committed to pressuring government to act. We’re committed to getting the message into schools and to teenagers who can provide the momentum for societal and attitudinal change. We’re committed to ensuring those who aid and abet violence are held to account and we’re committed to educating our communities so you can help make a difference.

We want to end the cycle of violence - and it starts here.

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