Today’s front page, regrettably, carries yet another story concerning domestic violence.
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A personal issue, with no place on the front page?
That’s the kind of thinking that kept domestic assaults in Australia out of polite conversation for far too many decades.
Breaking the silence on domestic violence is also about breaking down the barriers to seeking help.
Yet, our front page story is, in its own way, commonplace.
One court story is the tip of the iceberg in the Eurobodalla.
Domestic assault cases come regularly before the courts in our shire and we would have to allow more pages than we have to print them all.
Not all cases carry equal weight and not all reported cases proceed, but the frequency at which domestic assault cases appear before the courts is disturbing.
On Monday, eight applications were made in Batemans Bay Local Court for Domestic Violence Orders.
The court was also asked to consider eight charges of domestic assault, two contraventions of domestic violence orders, four charges of domestic stalking and intimidation and two charges of domestic destruction of property.
Alcohol is often cited as a factor, with some partners willing to return to a relationship, provided, under the terms of the domestic violence order, the offender is forbidden from approaching them within a certain number of hours of consuming alcohol.
As emergency service crews know, alcohol remains an ugly driver of violence on our streets, in our bars and in our homes.
Those on the frontline say Australia is experiencing an epidemic of domestic violence, requiring a cultural change.
That conversation cannot begin too soon in the Eurobodalla.