Manning Valley Says “NO” to Domestic Violence

Recently, Greater Taree City Council organised for a large billboard to be placed on the highway just north of Taree. Consequently, many people approaching the town from the north will have seen the bold plea to “Stop Domestic Violence in the Manning”.

In addition, a family day of activity and fun was held in Fotheringham’s Park in November where members of the public were treated to a free sausage sizzle, jumping castles, entertainment and access to information on family violence, assistance and support. Everyone present received a show bag full of goodies promoting the anti-violence theme, such as lollipops saying “violence sucks”, balloons with the message that “domestic violence hurts kids too” and mints in containers shaped as houses with the words “Happy Houses are Violence Free”.

Lollipops, breath mints, balloons and billboards. Gimmicks? Maybe, but all these methods enable the message that domestic violence is not acceptable anywhere to reach a broad audience. Appealing to children through the balloons and other items helps to reinforce this message in the hope that they will not perpetrate violence in later years.

Funding from the NSW Attorney-General’s Department enabled Greater Taree City Council (GTCC) to undertake initiatives such as the fun day and billboard and others to be rolled out over the next few months. Council’s Crime Prevention Plan recognises that domestic violence is an issue within the community. In fact, GTCC ranks second only to Kempsey in recorded Domestic Violence related assaults in the Mid North Coast.

Domestic Violence (DV) takes on many forms. What we hear on the news or read in the newspapers are the extreme cases. For instance, over the Christmas/New Year period alone there were four major cases reported in the news. One was of a man allegedly running over his girlfriend, another of a father allegedly strangling his daughter then killing himself, the third of a father allegedly raping his underage daughter then killing her and the fourth of a mother and son, allegedly hacking to death the mother’s ex de-facto.

However, DV is more than just physical abuse and so the recorded statistics are generally just an indication of the extent of the problem within our society.

Domestic Violence can take many forms: “physical, sexual, psychological or financial violence that takes place within an intimate or family-type relationship and that forms a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour” is one definition .

The NSW Government recently introduced new legislation – the “Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007” in which Parliament formally recognised that ‘domestic violence, in all its forms, is unacceptable behaviour”, that “domestic violence occurs in all sectors of the community” and that “domestic violence extends beyond physical violence and may involve the exploitation of power imbalances and patterns of abuse over many years”. It also importantly recognises the “vulnerable position of children who are exposed to DV as victims or witnesses”. By removing the section involving domestic violence from the larger Crimes Act and creating its own legislation, the NSW Government has placed greater emphasis on domestic violence as a major issue for NSW.

So what can the people of Taree do who experience or know of people experiencing any form of Domestic Violence?

Through the greater awareness made of the issue of DV, it is important that those affected seek help. There are a number of ways available for all people to do this.

• Domestic Violence Help Line = 1800 656 463
• Domestic Violence Advocacy Service Advice Line = 1800 810 784
• DoCS Helpline (to report child abuse and neglect) = 13 21 11
• Contact Taree Police Station on 6552 0399.

The important thing for all to remember is that domestic violence in all of its forms is unacceptable. Congratulations to the Greater Taree City Council for undertaking this work to get this message out to the broader community. Manning residents are also well served by the Manning District Emergency Accommodation Service (who run Lyn’s Place Women’s and Children’s Refuge), the Taree Women’s DV Court Assistance Scheme, the sexual assault councillors at Community Health, and the Police/Women’s Refuge Partnership project.