IT was not that many decades ago that domestic violence was simply not talked about in this country.
There might have been a bit of juicy gossip at a backyard barbecue among friend or relatives about some bloke being a “wife beater”.
But the world of domestic violence was a distant, shadowy one that seemed to rarely touch the lives of most Australians – and certainly one that was not widelydiscussed in everyday life or in the media.
Thankfully, in 2021, we are finally talking about it.
And even more importantly, men are now opening up about how ashamed they are that other blokes are being physically and mentally aggressive towards their partners and children.
As The Bunyip reported last week and again today, a social football match at Argana Park at Elizabeth Downs on Sunday was the latest example of blokes saying to other blokes “enough is enough”.
The Gawler Districts Masters AFL Club, affectionately known as the Bunyips – this newspaper likes that name – raised money for the fifth consecutive year to go towards White Ribbon Australia to fund education and prevention of violence against women.
The Bunyips’ Mark Schuster said the idea for the game came out of the Hillier triple murder in 2016, with the 35-and-over men saying more needed to be done to protect women.
What a wonderful example these men are setting for other Aussie bloke to follow.
Also today, The Bunyip reports on a new Gawler commemorative space dedicated to women and children who have lost their lives to domestic violence.
A mosaic mural is planned for the Mural Pocket Park next to Walker Place.
It is being organised by the Gawler Domestic Violence Network, aided by the Zonta Club of Gawler and other local organisations. Gawler Zonta and Gawler Domestic Violence Network member Sandra Sullivan reminds readers: “On average, one woman per week is murdered in Australia by a current or former partner, while one child is killed by a parent almost every fortnight.”
That shameful statistic is a sobering reminder to every Australian male that all men and boys need to rethink their attitudes.
“Boys will be boys” does not cut it any more.
