It is an unsettling reality, a scourge so stark and dark it can seem to cast a shadow over entire days, communities and lives.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Today we are so much more aware of the reach of domestic and family violence in Orange and across Australia, primarily because statistics abound indicating precisely how many women and children (for it is they who form the vast majority) are victims.
For now, the estimation among many experts is that somewhere in the region of one-in-five Australian women have suffered or are suffering some form of domestic violence.
Royal Commissions in Australia and more robust and honest conversations in all walks of life about the shameful realities of domestic violence have empowered victims to speak out.
If anything, that ratio is likely to rise because for too long so many victims of domestic and family violence have not felt able to come forward to tell their stories, to escape the quagmire. That could have been based on fear, shame, or simply because they did not know what they could do or who they could turn to.
Thanks to the issue moving to the forefront of our conversations these days, these previously silent and unknown victims are seeking ways through the trauma.
For that reason, many in the field suspect the prevalence of the problem - or perhaps, more pointedly, the numbers who are truly impacted - will become more apparent over the next decade.
Royal Commissions in Australia and more robust and honest conversations in all walks of life about the shameful realities of domestic violence have empowered victims to speak out.
The turnaround, though, from this violence becoming an unspeakable, hidden part of everyday life to where we are today, where the prevalence of the violence - that experts say is so much about men exercising power and control - is truly shocking.
Thankfully, there are people from all walks of life invested in throwing a spotlight on both the problem and its possible remedies.
As an obvious and timely example, it's fantastic to see siblings Edwina and Millie Samuels bringing their 45-minute one-act play about domestic violence to Orange next weekend.
The duo will use their show to create awareness of services available in the regional towns they visit, which, in addition to Orange, includes their home of Dubbo, and Bathurst.
Finding solutions to domestic violence isn't easy, but we have no other choice; for the sake of the victims and future generations.
DO YOU WANT MORE ORANGE NEWS AND VIEWS?
- Receive our free newsletters delivered to your inbox, as well as breaking news alerts. Sign up below …