Children hold the key to resolving our violence problem, says A-G
After a spate of domestic violence incidents, and calls from the Liberal National Party for offenders to face tougher punishment, Attorney-General Yvette DāAth said cultural change would have the biggest impact.
āWe need children, from birth to death, understanding as we progress through life that violence against anyone is not okay,ā DāAth said, adding that boys needed to know how to treat girls and girls needed to know how they should be treated.
āWe need to look at our behaviour and how we treat each other. And yes, the statistics are that itās more men against women, but we know domestic and family violence happens in all different circumstances.ā
Opposition leader Deb Frecklington has called for police to have tougher laws, and greater resources, to remove and suitably punish the perpetrators of domestic violence. The altered home conditions brought on by the pandemic is expected to result in Queensland police recording 100,000 domestic violence interactions with the public this financial year, an increase of eight per cent.
DāAth said that while punishment was important, and jail sometimes a deterrent, intervention needed to come earlier. She said helping people escape abusive or potentially abusive relationships remained a priority for the Palaszczuk government.
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āThe very sad reality is that when someone makes a conscious decision to take someoneās life theyāre not considering what the penaltyās going to be at the end of the day,ā DāAth said.
āTheyāre not actually stopping and going āoh, I could get imprisoned for this, or I could get life, maybe I wonāt do itā. Theyāre making a very deliberate decision to take the life of a loved one or to seriously harm a loved one. And, so, penalties are an important part of our justice system but they are not the only solution. Letās not wait until peopleās lives are lost and people are seriously injured before we start intervening.ā
The government hosted a virtual domestic violence summit in May and given increased funding to service providers. Awareness campaigns have also been expanded and extended.
Ā
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