When you break down domestic violence into the bare figures, the situation in Maitland is nothing short of a disgrace.
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Some people may have been surprised to read in today’s Mercury that the Central Hunter local area command, based in Maitland, is consistently among the 10 worst regions in the state for domestic violence.
But it wouldn’t be a surprise to members of the local police force, where almost half the time on the job is taken up responding to incidents of family violence.
When even one incident is too many, the fact that 4000 acts of domestic violence have been reported in the past year in the Maitland area shows that something clearly has to be done.
Domestic violence liaison officer Senior Constable Jenny Brown knows better than most the terror that too many women and children experience in homes across the Hunter.
Each day, she goes to work and sees the faces of helpless victims who have been physically and mentally scarred in their own homes, where they should be safe – often by the people who are supposed to love and care for them.
Senior Constable Brown is spot on when she says it’s the responsibility of the whole community to address the scourge of domestic violence.
The problem is so big here, that it seems a united and proactive approach to educating young people, helping victims and condemning offenders is the only path forward.
White Ribbon Day is a time to reflect on how we can all help address this massive problem in our community.
But it is clearly something we should be working hard to eradicate every day until this blight on society is gone.