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Campaigner blames men for family violence

The 44-year-old farmer shot his three children - Fletcher, 10, Mia, 8, and Phoebe, 6 - inside the family home near Lockhart, 80km south of Wagga Wagga. He killed his wife, Kim, on a path at the back of the house.Locals were horrified but quickly attributed Hunt's violence to the stress of farm life and the strain on the family from injuries Kim sustained in a car accident two years earlier.Rumours swept the town suggesting Kim - who had a brain injury, dragged one foot and did not have the full use of one of her arms - could have committed the murders.Newspaper headlines described five deaths instead of four murders and one suicide, and media reports quoted neighbours, friends and family describing Hunt as a nice man who loved his family.But nice men who love their families do not murder them, says Rosie Batty.
This year's Australian of the Year and an articulate campaigner against domestic violence says we must stop making excuses for the perpetrators and stop blaming the victims. In a powerful speech delivered on Wednesday to the National Press Club in Canberra, Ms Batty - herself a victim of domestic violence - said what many others have not: Australia suffers from a "misguided and damaging narrative that ultimately lets perpetrators off the hook".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-32988950

Reply 1

WokSz

I sympathise with her but I do feel that there's a hint of personal grudge against men behind her statements. Yes, victims do get part-blamed for this but I don't think this deters from the fact that people need to make smart choices in their life as well. The problem isn't as straight forward as simply blaming men as a gender for the problem. We aren't guided by some objective belief that we must control all women and beat them. Believe it or not, the majority of us love women and treat them as equals.