STATISTICS on domestic violence paint a very disturbing picture of assaults in Orange, but the sad fact is the city is not alone and known assaults could be just the tip of the iceberg.
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The hidden nature of most domestic assaults and the taboo on victims and the community speaking up means there is little reason to doubt researchers’ estimates that the real numbers could be three times higher than those reported.
Breaking down the barriers to reporting domestic assaults is the first step towards bringing more perpetrators to justice and reversing this crime trend.
In Orange last year Operation Courage helped more than 70 women with crisis management, including emergency accommodation for them and their children. It must be remembered that children are one of the main reasons victims of domestic assaults remain in environments where they are at risk.
In addition to the support of Operation Courage a court support service for women helped 117 obtain apprehended violence orders to keep violent men at bay.
But such is the risk of serious injury or homicide that police are trialing yet another support tool here, while White Ribbon Day yesterday saw the launch of a smartphone app that can provide a discrete emergency hotline to a friend and a position locator device.
When police say they are throwing everything at this type of crime it is not hard to see why.
Outside of the privacy of the home environment this level of violence in society would simply not be tolerated. Compared to street crime and crime in late-night trouble spots, domestic violence is far worse and yet it often receives far less publicity or public debate.
Changing this attitude and the attitude of perpetrators requires our community as a whole to declare that assaults in a domestic environment will be treated no differently to assaults in plain sight.
We will not turn a blind eye but instead will intervene, support the victims and pursue perpetrators vigorously.
