Violence in the home a global epidemic: Bleich
DOMESTIC violence causes more death and disability among women aged between 15 and 44 than cancer, traffic accidents, malaria and war combined.
DOMESTIC violence causes more death and disability among women aged between 15 and 44 than cancer, traffic accidents, malaria and war combined.
This alarming statistic, which encapsulates violence against women in all its forms, was brought to light by the United States Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich, at the annual Nathan and Pamela Jacobson Lecture at the Melbourne Law School on Monday night.
The Jewish ambassador said that 90 per cent of domestic violence cases were directed against women, with 10 per cent directed against children or male partners in a homosexual relationships. This was an epidemic, setting a “cycle that bleeds into every aspect of society”, the ambassador said, before exploring the kaleidoscopic consequences of domestic assault.
“Imagine that you are a child living with domestic violence. Every single day you’re scared that your mum will be beaten, of what may happen when your father comes home, or that he won’t come home at all. You hate your father for beating your mother and you hate yourself for not stopping it,” the ambassador said, before stating that family violence was proven to be the biggest determinant of future aggression.
Bleich who was an adviser to former US president Bill Clinton, called for America and Australia to commit to an alliance against domestic violence, referencing the joint effort of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd at a conference against domestic violence in the Pacific in September.
Bleich praised last Friday’s White Ribbon Day, an Australia’s initiative to end violence against women.
He said family violence was a global problem that had been the “front and centre part of international policy” at the White House.
“It is not a peripheral issue, it is a centrepiece, a cornerstone of foreign policy,” he said.
“Violence against women does not respect borders, it doesn’t know when the neighbourhoods end, or where the national border is.”
The ambassador listed countries that have benefited from tireless campaigning by the US, including Albania, where legislation against domestic violence was previously non-existent, and Cambodia, where “women and girls are attacked with acid”.
He cited the successful intervention in the Congo by Hillary Clinton, who launched a comprehensive strategy against rape by increasing women’s access to services and protection.
Tightening legislation, enhancing education and increasing funds for appropriate help had also proven valuable in the US, where incidents of domestic violence dropped by 53 per cent between 1993 and 2008.
But these numbers have had a “modest increase” in recent times, proving that legislation alone would not dampen the scourge of domestic violence, he said.
“In law school we’re so used to talking about laws as though it will solve all our problems. We pass a convention and think maybe this will go away but what we really need, is a change in culture, a change in attitude, and this demanded generational change,” he said.
TIMNA JACKS
Photo: US ambassador Jeffrey Bleich
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