Letter to Tony Abbott and the Australian Goverment

This week, three more women and two children have been killed by those who were supposed to love them, Fathers, Boyfriends, Uncles. We cannot point the finger at some “other” and blame them and their “other” culture for this atrocity. This is our doing. This is our culture that has culminated in the massive increase in domestic, family and sexual violence that this year has brought. 62 women in 37 weeks.  There is no count for the children. At least one man stands in that tally as well.

It's time to call it what it is, terrorism. 

The Hon. Tony Abbott MP
Parliment House
Canberra ACT  2600
                                                                                                                                    11- September - 2015


Dear The Hon. Abbott,


Today is September 11. A day synonymous with terrorism throughout the western world. On this day, September 11, 2015 we citizens of Australia are once again facing a major terrorist threat.

That threat is not from Islamic State, it is not from militant extremists, and it does not come from far off countries. It is not motivated by religion, oil, wars, or perceived injustice. It is however being carried out by radicalised, homegrown terrorists.


The threat I am talking about is domestic, family and sexual violence.


This week, three more women and two children have been killed by those who were supposed to love them, Fathers, Boyfriends, Uncles. We cannot point the finger at some “other” and blame them and their “other” culture for this atrocity. This is our doing. This is our culture that has culminated in the massive increase in domestic, family and sexual violence that this year has brought. 62 women in 37 weeks.  There is no count for the children. At least one man stands in that tally as well.

These deaths are only the tip of the iceberg, how many thousand more cases are there waiting to spill over into death, flying just under the radar? How many victims both men and women have been turned away from police stations and shelters or had their calls to the domestic violence hotline go unanswered?  How many court cases have ended in little or no protection for the victim? How many AVO’s breached? How many scared women, parents, siblings, children; afraid that they will be the next body?

How many women harassed in the street, or a nightclub by men who think women’s mere existence is an invitation for sex? How many women viciously attacked online with threats of rape and death, even the revealing of their actual addresses and workplaces, only to have police and the social media companies tell them that nothing can be done?


The people of Australia are sick of hearing about the impending threat of terrorism from far of lands and radicalised groups, when the real threat is in our own homes, our own culture.
A culture that radicalises men to see women as theirs for the taking, to see violence as the answer to their problems and to see aggressive behaviours as manly. A culture that indoctrinates women to see aggressive and unhealthy behaviours as romantic, that teaches them that they can fix a broken man with love, and that places the blame for sexual and domestic assault on the victim. A culture where groups have sprung up insisting that women should be relegated back to the kitchen, and correctively raped to teach them not to be feminists. A culture where anyone thinks that it is okay to threaten someone with rape or death, or tell them to kill themselves simply for expressing an opinion, or reporting a statistic.


So please, can we change the focus?


The war in the Middle East is not what is making the citizens of this country live everyday in fear, yet we are constantly being reminded of that threat. It is the predominant discourse in all levels of government, whilst the real terrorist threat goes unmentioned.