Preventing and responding to violence against women: More needs to be done

Congratulations to Four Corners for documenting the failures in the systems/justice services in adequately recognising and dealing with the insidious issue of men's violence against women.

White Ribbon is committed to seeing further emphasis on primary prevention strategies that are integrated across state and federally funded services and the broader community. These are critical to developing in-depth understandings of the attitudes and behaviours that result in these horrendous crimes.

More broadly, there is a failure in the system to understand and recognise the  behaviours that are clearly indicative of abuse and violence. Four Corners highlighted the inextricable links between the most publicised crimes, namely homicide, and the least publicised crimes that can eventually lead to homicide - that is the daily dripping tap of family violence.

In addition to the need for a review of the response and justice system, Four Corners' story emphasises the need for primary prevention strategies to help stop violent behaviour before it results in homicide. White Ribbon will continue to drive cultural and behavioural change within Australia through men and with men as the agents of this change. This is an issue which requires a whole-of-community approach; men and women working together to ensure violence against women is never tolerated. We are calling on the men of Australia to step up, sign the oath and make it overtly known that they condemn any man who is violent towards a woman.

Libby Davies
CEO
White Ribbon

"A Matter of Life and Death", reported by Quentin McDermott and presented by Kerry O'Brien, first aired on Monday 30th July at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is replayed on Tuesday 31st July at 11.35pm. It can also be seen on Saturday at 8.00pm on  ABC News 24,  ABC iview  and at  abc.net.au/4corners