THE appalling statistics about domestic violence don’t seem to be improving, so everything that can be added to strengthen the armoury of weapons should be considered, including monitoring devices such as electronic anklets for offenders.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But no single measure should be seen as a silver bullet, nor should one strategy be employed at the expense of others. Pretty well everything that can be thrown at the problem should be because it is a point of national – even international shame – that on average one woman is killed every week in Australia by someone with whom they have a relationship.
Local domestic violence advocates rightly question the effectiveness of monitoring devices on repeat offenders. If someone has already demonstrated that being confronted by the law is not a deterrent – which, by definition, a repeat offender has done – it is unlikely they will be put off by wearing an electronic monitor. And if they are cranked up on methamphetamine, the device will be next to useless.
However, if such a measure stops one person from murdering a spouse or a girlfriend then it will have been worth it.
Like many social ills, defeating domestic violence involves an entire cultural shift. It means educating the young that violence is unacceptable. It involves breaking the old notion that what happens behind closed doors stays there, even if the screams can be heard from next door. And it means breaking the old fashioned, sexist notions about gender.
Protecting the victims of domestic violence requires adequate funding of frontline staff and refuges so people in need of urgent help get the assistance to remove them from dangerous situations immediately and find them a safe place. The pronouncements of governments about urgency of tackling domestic violence must be matched with funding. Otherwise it is little more than lip service.