VIGIL TO REMEMBER DOMESTIC MURDER VICTIMS
ONCE a year, Hobart’s Parliament Lawns is filled with candlelight and a deep sense of reverence.
The annual event – which will light up the lawns on Wednesday night – aims to remember those who have died due to domestic violence.
Hobart-based family violence survivor Luisa Mejia said more needed to be done to reduce the grim statistics – that one woman was dying from domestic violence in Australia each week.
“Not abusing women is not enough. That is just the bare minimum,” she said.
“We’re not going to thank you for not killing us. When you remain silent while this is happening, you are allowing that to happen.”
Alina Thomas, CEO of Engender Equality, said domestic murders still continued to plague Tasmania.
“It’s really not getting any better,” she said.
Ms Thomas said reaching out to a specialist service could be “the difference between life and death”.
“Often when women are getting killed, it’s been when they’ve been unable to access support,” she said.
“We need to be able to improve access to services.”
Ms Thomas said it was important that experts also analysed the various abuse patterns of behaviours – and that the community was not blind to the fact that domestic violence occurred in all socio-economic groups.
“It’s more important in Tasmania than anywhere else because we’ve got that massive class divide here,” she said.
“I think that’s where we’re getting it wrong – we’re looking for a bad guy that our police can respond to, that our criminal justice system can process.
“But a lot of people who kill their partners aren’t recognisable by our criminal justice response.”
The Hobart vigil will be held from 5.30pm-6pm on Parliament Lawns. If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence or abuse, contact the Family Violence Counselling and Support Service on 1800 608 122.