How To Save A Life

In a world reeling with crises, domestic violence is one we can solve. But it will be hard, says jane gilmore, a journalist who specialises in the topic

- Jane Gilmore

Hannah Clarke did everything right. She left her abusive partner. She reported him to police. She took out an AVO. She tried to keep him in their children’s lives. And still, this self-proclaimed “loving father” murdered the Queensland mother and her children. Friends of his said they knew he was in trouble but never dreamt he would hurt anyone. Others said it wasn’t a surprise. None of them knew how to help her stay safe or help him choose something other than violence.

The statistics on men’s violence against women are repeated so often the meaning almost becomes lost. One woman a week is killed by a current or former partner in Australia. More than 1.5 million Australian women have been subjected to violence by a current or former partner since the age of 15. And with coronavirus making people self-isolate at home, reports of domestic violence are already rising.

No-one but the man himself is to blame for Hannah and her children being killed, but the circumstances of these murders force us to examine what we can do to reduce the frightening levels of violence some men inflict upon women. In simple terms, there are two key elements to reducing domestic abuse. One is prevention: changing the underlying factors that enable or even encourage violent men. The other is crisis response: improving the services and protection available to women trying to escape violence.