The time to talk about domestic violence IS NOW
With the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children bringing the number of Queenslanders lost to alleged acts of domestic violence this year to six, the need to be moved nto action has never been stronger, writes Sherele Moody
IN ONLY a few months, Jonty Bush will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the violent killings of two of the closest people in her life. Jonty’s sister Jacinta was stabbed to death by Kris Slade in July, 2000 – two months later their dad Robert was killed in an unrelated attack.
In the decades since the deaths of Jacinta and Robert, at least 754 women and children have been killed as a result of domestic violence across Australia – 186 of those deaths happened in Queensland.
It’s a tragic set of numbers that Jonty has worked tirelessly to reduce over the years.
On Wednesday, the former Young Australian of the Year and aspiring politician was working on her campaign to win a spot on Brisbane City Council when she heard another four innocent lives would be added to Australia’s toll of violence.
“My first reaction was shock,” Jonty says of the murders of Hannah Clarke and her children Aaliyah, 6, Laianah, 4 and Trey, 3, who were brutally set upon by Rowan Baxter in Camp Hill.
“I won’t say I was surprised because I’m no longer surprised by reports of domestic homicide given one woman dies every week in Australia.”
Hannah’s former partner – and father of the children – purchased a can of petrol, muscled his way into their car as they drove to school, doused the vehicle and its occupants with the fuel, lit a flame and let them burn.
He fought off those who tried to save the victims, ultimately ending his own life in the street, surrounded by shocked helpless onlookers and brave good Samaritans who – despite incredibly heroic efforts – had no hope of saving the mum and her little ones.
“This murder was
particularly violent and I know I’m not the only one who has had intrusive thoughts about what Hannah must have been going through, what the children must have gone through,” Jonty says.
“When I speak with people about this incident, they inevitably shudder and say ‘I don’t want to think about it’ or ‘let’s not talk about it’.
“I say ‘No. Let’s think about it, let’s put ourselves in Hannah’s shoes, in Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey’s shoes because we need to be moved into action. Change only happens when we become deeply uncomfortable with the status quo.”
RISING TOLL
The killings of Hannah and the children brings to six the number of Queenslanders lost to alleged acts of domestic
violence since January 1 this year. No Queensland men have been killed as a result of domestic violence at the time of writing. I’ve been researching the violent killings of women and children across Australia for several years now.
Family massacres occur in Australia at an average of one per year – but there have been years in which multiple murderous sprees have been recorded. The family massacre with the most victims was the Bartholomew murders in September of 1971 in South Australia.
Clifford Cecil Bartholomew murdered 10 people – his wife, his sister-in-law, his nephew and his seven children.
Originally sentenced to death, Bartholomew’s penalty was commuted to prison time. After serving eight years he was released from jail, quickly remarried and went on to raise another family.
More recently, Peter Miles shot to death his wife Cynda, daughter Katrina and grandchildren Taye, Rylan, Ayre and Kayden at their home in Margaret River, WA.
My research shows that family massacres are overwhelmingly perpetrated by men, but history shows women are capable of ending the lives of loved ones.
The horrific slaughter six years ago in Cairns by 37-yearold Raina Mersane Ina Thaiday rocked the country.
Thaiday killed seven of her own children and one of their young cousins. She was later found to be suffering extreme mental health problems and remains in high-security ward in a forensic facility.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data proves domestic violence is primarily perpetrated by men, with the main victims being women. In 2018-19, there were 10,825 male offenders of domestic violence in Queensland compared to 2308 female perpetrators. Queensland cops deal with about 267 domestic violence cases daily.
THERE ARE NO EXCUSES
Every domestic violence death is brutal, but the cold, calculated and callous nature of Baxter’s actions were among the worst this nation has seen. Yet, not everyone considers Baxter a “monster”.
Over the past few days, a sickening wave of support for the killer has emerged with hordes of social media users posting excuses and justifications for the “controlling and possessive” man’s homicidal actions.
“Women just push and push men until something like this happens,” one bloke rants on Facebook, disregarding the fact Hannah endured ongoing abuse during her marriage, that Baxter continually harassed and stalked her, that he had kidnapped one of the children and that he was the subject of a domestic violence order that he breached.
“I don’t condone what he did and it’s such a tragic loss of three small children, but what did the wife do to get him to that point? People just don’t do that out of the blue,” another man claims. Victimblaming is par for the course when men murder women and/or children, but this one comment by a so-called father’s rights activist raises multiple red flags.
“You women were warned,” the man – who has previously been kicked off Twitter and Facebook – opines.
“You brought this on yourselves. If you continue to support the criminal abuse of men in the divorce courts some men will kill their exwives and children. The blood of this man, woman and children is firmly on the hands of you women.”
Sonia Anderson is frustrated by the victimblaming. She has been trying to get people to understand the complexities of family abuse since her daughter,
Bianca Faith Girven, was strangled to death in 2010.
Bianca’s killer was her boyfriend. She died a horrible and terrifying death at Mt Gravatt, where a memorial now stands in Bianca’s honour.
Sonia says “every mum” who loses a child to domestic violence must endure the ‘good guy who snapped’ trope – the belief by outsiders that men are “pushed” into violence by the actions of their former partners.
“Baxter is a perfect example of this – people are saying he loved his kids and he was great dad but he was a bad man,” Sonia says.
“By killing the children and their mother, he proved exactly why Hannah had to take such extreme steps to keep the kids away from him.”
The 55-year-old antiviolence campaigner says it is vital for “men to be outraged by these killings”.
“I want them to understand it is not the woman’s fault,” she says. “We need senior leaders from business, politics, sports and academia standing up and calling these blokes out.
“Things won’t change until men call out other men for doing the wrong thing.”
In an ideal world, Sonia believes all people will learn to successfully negotiate relationship breakdowns in a healthy and safe way.
“I also want to empower men who use violence to seek help and to know there are support services available for them,” she says.
The public commentary has been so heated and volatile that Queensland’s Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Di Farmer, called for keyboard warriors to back off.
“I have been absolutely horrified to see some of the views expressed by some … that if women treated their men better then they wouldn’t
have to be hit,” Farmer says.
“These are not the views of a respectful society and unless we address that, we can only get so far in tackling domestic violence. We have to call out domestic violence. We have to set a standard for the way we treat each other.”
On Thursday, as police continued investigations into the deaths, Detective Inspector Mark Thompson was subject to widespread criticism for seeming to indicate police were open to the suggestion that Hannah’s attempts to keep herself and her children safe had “pushed” her former husband “too far”.
He also said officers were keeping an “open mind” about Baxter’s motives.
He later clarified the comments, saying: “There is no excuse for perpetration of violence in our community, and there is certainly no excuse for perpetration of violence among families in behind closed doors.” However, Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll stood him aside from the investigation. She also gave an insight into how police were affected by the murders. “Even when I heard it, I had tears running down my face,’’
she told
The Courier-Mail.
“What’s so upsetting is the viciousness of the murder – the way it was done is incompreh ensible.” Queens -land’s key service for people in domestic violence crisis is DVConnect, which fielded about 200,000 calls for help in the past year. Not surprisingly, the Camp Hill killings resulted in a huge influx of calls to the charity’s Womensline and Mensline.
“We have had calls from women who would not have contacted us, or thought their situation was as serious, had they not seen the news (of the deaths),” chief executive Rebecca O’Connor says.
“We have had individuals contact our Mensline and explicitly name the events of Wednesday as motivation to reach out for help.”
The Brisbane Domestic Violence Service has confirmed it was supporting Hannah and her children in the months before their deaths.
“The loss of this young family to domestic and family violence has deeply affected all of us,” BDVS says in a short statement on Facebook. “We are constantly thinking of Hannah’s loved ones.”
O’Connor hopes the community will understand those at the frontline of family violence will be impacted for some time.
“We are not immune to the sadness and grief associated with such a deliberate act of violence, however, we also acknowledge that we are in a very privileged position to be able to assist individuals and families who reach out to us for support,” she says.
As the initial shock and anger fades, sector professionals, anti-violence advocates, media and the community will want to know if our governments are going far enough to provide safety nets for victims and behaviour change supports for perpetrators. On the day Hannah died, the University of NSW issued a shock report into 1800 RESPECT that showed calls for help had doubled but many women were left out in the cold because the national domestic and sexual violence service was unable to deal with “complex” cases and the “unprecedented” demand.
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston says the multimillion-dollar contract – currently held by Medibank – will be put out to tender to ensure shortfalls are rectified.
“We are absolutely committed to ensuring 1800 RESPECT is able to continue providing the highest-quality support for all Australians affected by domestic, family and sexual violence,” she says.
Announcing the Federal Government will invest a further $2.4 million into behaviour change programs, Ruston reiterated that abusive men must take responsibility for their attitudes and behaviours and seek help to change them.
“Violence against women and children is abhorrent,” Ruston says.
“It is as simple as that and we must never make excuses for these sorts of behaviours.”
Queensland has one of Australia’s most comprehensive plans to reduce domestic violence, but there are always holes to plug, experts say.
Last financial year, the State Government contributed about $116 million specifically to services for victims including counselling, refuge and temporary accommodation, courts and legal services, sexual assault services, postcrisis support and a range of programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples impacted by domestic violence.
The State Government’s Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Council will meet this coming week and the murders of Hannah and her children will no doubt dominate the discussions. The council is tasked with overseeing the state’s action plan for the Domestic and Family Violence Strategy. The council’s co-chair, Kay McGrath, hopes the Camp Hill tragedy will spark change.
“This will undoubtedly galvanise us and hopefully the entire community to put an end to such suffering,” McGrath wrote on Facebook.
In the meantime, Hannah’s loved ones have a long road ahead of them as they prepare to bury their family members, navigate the police and coronial investigation processes and learn to live with the fallout of murder.
“For all those who knew Hannah or had even just met her once, they would know how much of a beautiful soul she was,” Hannah’s sister-inlaw Stacey Roberts says. “All she ever wanted was happiness. Her children were only a reflection of her. We will miss them all more than anything.”
Let’s put ourselves in Hannah’s shoes, in Laianah, Aaliyah and Trey’s shoes ... Change only happens when we become deeply uncomfortable with the status quo