Tuesday, 19 March 2024

Family violence

Samantha RATNAM (Northern Metropolitan) (14:59): Sixty-four women were killed by violence in 2023, researchers from Counting Dead Women Australia at Destroy the Joint have documented. In 2024 the count is already at 14. The latest casualty in Victoria in the devastating scourge of family violence was Chaithanya Madhagani, affectionately known as Swetha. The community that loved her described her as active, energetic and involved in the community. She was a devoted mother and daughter and a friend to many. Her death has rocked the Point Cook and broader culturally diverse community of Victoria. News of her death came just days after International Women’s Day and a powerful event hosted by the Multicultural Women’s Alliance Against Family Violence in this Parliament to raise awareness of the need for more funding and other support for culturally diverse communities being impacted by family violence.

In the days after Swetha’s death the alliance issued a statement highlighting how they had been calling for an increase in funding and capacity for culturally responsive family violence services. Could Swetha and her family have been helped by such a service? Would it have made a difference if faith leaders and community leaders had spoken out more openly about the social and personal tragedy of family violence? Would it have made a difference to Swetha’s family if political leaders and policymakers paused before denying funding?

For years our culturally diverse communities have been raising the alarm about the rise in family violence and its deadly consequences. We have been told many times that the government wants to mainstream culturally specific services, but it is not working, and while we wait for decision-makers to listen, more women are dying. If we want to prevent more deaths like Swetha’s, we need to do things differently.