Wednesday is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The aim is to raise the profile of this crime, for that is what it is, to try and change attitudes and lessen the problem. Let’s hope and pray it has some effect.
It saddens me to think that domestic violence is such a problem in our world. No way could I imagine Mick raising a hand to me or my son or son-in-law raising a hand against their wives. Yet, sadly that is not the case for all women. I’ve had a couple of friends who have been in just such a position.
Research from Deakin University found that the data from 2008 that showed ‘22 per cent of Danish women say they had suffered from domestic violence compared with 27 per cent in Australia.’ And that is given that there had recently been a modest reduction in violence by men against their female partners.
Domestic violence is not just a problem for those intimately concerned, it is a problem for society as a whole. ‘It has a huge economic cost that ultimately affects us all,’ Mr. Harper, Vic health chief executive said. How? ‘If we were to achieve this (eliminating violence against woman altogether) there would be savings of more than $2 billion-$207 million in health sector costs like visits to GPs, and $1801 million in production and leisure costs, like absenteeism.’ If we could eliminate violence against women, not only would it save lives but also reduce the numbers of violence caused illnesses.
We may think what can we do in this situation to change the figures? What we can do is ensure that our marriage relationship sets an example to the younger generation of what marriage is about. Children learn from what they see. If they see Dad hitting Mom they can grow up perpetuating the cycle.
If they see a marriage where each partner shows love and respect and care for the other then hopefully that is the pattern they will take into their adulthood and marriage.Let’s do what we can to help change the pattern.
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