Last week in Sydney we saw the tragic death of two teenagers as a result of domestic violence. We know that over 12 months on average one woman is killed every week in Australia by a current or former partner.
Yet national effort and resources are directed overwhelmingly to counter terrorism where in the last decade only three people in Australia have been killed.
How could we get all this so wrong? Why are priorities and resources directed overwhelmingly to counter terrorism when domestic violence is a much greater threat? I suggest there are several reasons.
First, terrorism attracts our attention because it is deliberately designed to be as visible as possible – a street slaying by knife or shooting, a bombing in a street or theatre, or a bus careering amongst pedestrians. An object of terrorists is to make their act as vivid and as public as possible. They then claim credit for their action. By contrast, domestic violence is by its very nature behind closed doors.
Second, not surprisingly the media is drawn into the terrorists game-plan. Public violence is news with pictures of carnage. In contrast there are seldom pictures of domestic violence that are anywhere near as “newsworthy.”
Third, terrorism is ideal for those who work to exploit our fear of the foreigner, the outsider and the person who is different. There is a long history of this promotion of fear. John Howard, Pauline Hanson and Peter Dutton are adept. The fear promoted in Australia used to be about Asians and communists. Now it is about Muslims.
Fourth, industries have expanded to take advantage of the fear of terrorism – intelligence agencies, police, airport security, businesses, think-tanks and even universities. Anti-terrorism is an opportunity in so many ways for more money and more jobs.
So there are a lot of vested interests and particularly politicians who keep pushing terrorism as the chief threat when it is really a scam as Ross Gittins described it when considered alongside the threat and the facts of domestic violence, climate change and gun deaths both accidental and planned.
The facts tell us that violence and deaths from terrorism in Australia are minor compared with the violence and deaths as a result of domestic disputes.
Just look at the following data provided by White Ribbon about domestic violence in Australia.
From ‘White Ribbon Australia’
Statistics surrounding domestic violence and non-physical abuse bring to light how prevalent violence against women in Australia is. Key findings show how violence against women impacts the home, workplace and wider community. Below are some important statistics.
For the latest figures, please view the ABS’ 2016 Personal Safety Survey Findings site or download the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Death Review Network 2018 Report.
John Menadue is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Pearls and Irritations. He was formerly Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet under Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser, Ambassador to Japan, Secretary of the Department of Immigration and CEO of Qantas.
Comments
One response to “JOHN MENADUE. Domestic violence is a greater threat than terrorism”
In 2003 I wrote to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to encourage them to understand that modern war leads not to victory, more to importing into the aggressor country the issues and problems one goes to defeat.
In 2003 shortly after biffing Iraq because the Australian government did not like what Iraq was doing, the same government spent millions of dollars on an advertising campaign against domestic biffing: that is to say, an assertion that you mustn’t bash people because you don’t like some aspect of them. Domestic and international law both prohibit such biffing. That there is a mental disconnect at the top has not altered inevitable processes. That there has been a willingness to disregard the law on the part of government has encouraged minds at other levels to comparable disregard, in the context of widening disrespect of political and governmental authority. The violence of the war on terror has caused proliferation of war between states and non state entities and in my view has filtered steadily into national and also domestic life.