The Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence, like its Federal counterpart into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, has revealed the personal stories behind the statistics.
The Chief Commissioner has also emphasised how appalling and complex the reality of family violence is.
Some of its dimensions are clear. It is gendered: most violence is directed by men against women. But children of both sexes and men, directly and indirectly, can also be the victims of violence. It is also cultural: some men have grown up in communities in which it is common to beat wives and children. Alcohol is constant: men often act beat partners and children when they are drunk.
The challenge of responding to family violence is even more complex than that of protecting children from sexual abuse. In both cases it is to ensure that the environment is safe, that abuse is reported, that abusers are held accountable and, if possible, rehabilitated.
To create a safe environment for children, people working in institutions like schools, churches and community groups can be educated, licensed and monitored, and obliged to report any incidents of abuse they see. Police can follow up reports and prosecute offenders.
To create an environment safe from the risk of family violence is more difficult because it happens in the home, a place for intimate relationships. It would be unacceptably intrusive to vet and monitor partners before allowing them to live together, or legally to require victims of family violence to report it, especially given that they may depend on the partner for shelter and sustenance.
Apprehended Violence and Intervention Orders are helpful in protecting women from violence. But of themselves they do not guarantee protection nor freedom from fear. The rage and desire for revenge of some perpetrators exceed their fear of being jailed. For the victim, too, the cost of freedom from violence can also fall heavily: a person imprisoned for breaching an Order can no longer contribute financially or in other ways to their partner.
The relationship between alcohol and violence is evident. It could be addressed by treating alcohol as a dangerous drug and regulating its advertising, pricing and sale in order to discourage its use. But the romancing of alcohol as an emblem of sociability and manhood is so embedded at all levels of society that this will not happen. Society regards the violence it engenders as an acceptable price to pay.
The difficulties inherent in making the