To say that this is out of hand is a completely ridiculous understatement.

We need to band together and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. 

This week a local woman said goodbye to her work mates, collected her handbag and walked to her car. Surely a process she had done many times before.

Except this time was different. Today would change her life forever. She was beaten without mercy by her former partner. He abused her and left to die alone in her car.

He decided it was his right to abuse her.

I don’t know their personal circumstance, nor do I need to.

I do know that no woman deserves to be treated so appallingly by another human being.

What is absolutely devastating is that this is not an isolated incident.

Earlier this year in Bathurst, a man shot dead his former partner. He killed her with a shotgun and then turned the gun on himself. He did not face punishment. He was not able to be held accountable for his actions. He took her from her family and then took the cowards way out. Her family will live on without her, and that is completely unfair. She didn’t choose to die, he made that decision for her.

So, my question to you is, where is the outrage?

If a woman was killed on our streets by a stranger there would be fits of anger.

If she were killed by a Muslim extremist there would be protests, red alerts and media coverage for weeks.

Where exactly is the line drawn? So is it okay to beat your wife because you know her? Because you own her?

Of course it isn’t.  

These women are not even safe in their own homes. Something needs to be done. We need to make a stand and say that this is not okay.

Every single week in Australia one woman is killed by a current or former partner. On top of that it is reported that 1 in 3 women experience some degree of violence.

1 in 3.

Just let that sink in.

Why are we not taking this seriously? What will become of us?

Do you want a world where our daughters are unsafe, even in their own homes?

No of course not.

So what can you do?

You need to take a stand and reject the sexist attitudes and behaviour that creates a culture whereby violence against women is tolerated.

You need to treat all women as equals.

You need to speak up if you believe violence against women is occurring.

You need to make a world where little girls are protected. Young women are respected and females are not victimized.

If you know something is happening and you do nothing then you are also to blame.

Living in fear is not an option. Change must happen.

I stand for change.

HELP IS AVAILABLE: 

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, you can ring the Domestic Violence Line for help on 1800 656 463

The Domestic Violence Line is a statewide free-call number and is available 24 hours, seven days a week.

EDITORS NOTE:

We send our thoughts, prayers and best wishes to those involved in the circumstances above.

I thank everyone for the comments and messages, I just want to take this opportunity to reiterate that violence against anyone is horrendous. To men. To women. To children. Every single person deserves to be safe and protected against violence. Men do. Women do. Children do. It was definitely not my intention to belittle or diminish the impact of violence against all other members of society.