As the Queensland Police Domestic and Family Violence Coordinator for the Bayside Patrol Group, Sergeant Sharlene McMahon sees all too frequently the impacts of domestic violence.

“As Police we often see the worst side of people’s behaviour and the negative impact domestic violence can have on individuals, families and children who experience domestic violence, which not only includes physical violence, but can include threats, harassment and intimidation,” she said.

“We see the physical injuries on people which can be quite severe and life threatening at times. We see the break down in families and the impact violence within the home can have on children.

“Police Officers in the Redlands and Bayside areas are called to incidences of domestic and family violence on a daily basis, which can be reported by the parties involved or by community members or neighbours who hear or witness the violence.”

In the lead up to Redland City Council’s Diner En Rouge later this month to raise awareness of domestic violence, Sergeant McMahon has supported the push for increased awareness of the issue in the local community.

“The Queensland Police Service recognises that domestic violence is a serious and complex social problem within our community and the Redlands and bayside, despite its idyllic location and surroundings, is not immune to this problem,” she said.

“The initial aim of police is to ensure the safety of all persons involved, including themselves, as situations can often be quite dangerous and volatile.

“Part of our role is also to ensure that the people who commit domestic violence are held accountable for their actions and a clear message is sent that the community does not accept or tolerate violence towards another person.

“The Redland City Council’s upcoming Diner En Rouge is a great opportunity for everyone in the community to get involved and help raise funds and awareness of domestic violence, so that we can work together to prevent or reduce domestic violence within our community.”

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the special dining experience would be an opportunity to put domestic violence on the local agenda.

“This is a difficult topic, but it exists in the Redlands as it does in all communities, so it is important that as a community we start talking about it and look for ways to deal with it,” she said.

“To assist Council has combined with the Redlands Domestic and Family Violence Action Group and Zonta clubs to host Diner En Rouge on 29 November.

“This will be an evening of fine local food held at a secret location to help raise awareness of domestic and family violence in the Redlands.

“Domestic violence has the potential to touch everyone in the community, so everyone is encouraged to get behind this cause by attending this event.”

As a domestic violence counsellor for 23 years, Rosie (surname withheld) has witnessed firsthand the effects domestic violence has on families, effects that can sometimes be confronting and heartbreaking.

A DVConnect telephone counsellor for the state-wide support service, Rosie is one of the voices on the other end of the phone offering support and information for those trying to escape the cycle of domestic violence. 

“Our primary role is to help women and children escape domestic violence.  We are the leading agency for referrals to women’s shelters,” Rosie said.

“But While Domestic Violence services will always attempt to assist victims of Domestic Violence to access accommodation in a safe area, sometimes finding a place for someone can be difficult with a state-wide shortage of vacancies at shelters.”

It is the lack of such services in and around the Redlands that has prompted a push from Council and other community groups to raise money and awareness for domestic violence, with the ultimate aim of setting up a regional service in the Redlands.

This push includes the Diner En Rouge event being held 29 November, where local residents and businesses will join for a unique dining experience to raise money to support the cause.

According to Rosie, someone suffering domestic violence making the decision to leave is not only hard, it is just the beginning, with them then needing ongoing support to rebuild their life.

“While keeping these women and children safe is the most important thing, they also need support to get back on their feet.  Often they can only take what they can carry on public transport because a lot of them don’t have cars; so they have to leave a lot of things behind,” she said.

“They also may have to uproot their children, sometimes taking them out of school, so they may lose their support network, their friends and have to start from scratch.

“Just simple things like school uniforms and household cooking items; they often have nothing so they need support to start again.”

An alarming trend Rosie is seeing more and more is domestic violence against the elderly by their adult children and, in some cases grandchildren, who have moved home following a marriage breakdown.
 
“Often it is elderly women being abused by their adult sons who have moved back home after the breakdown of their own relationships.  These women are often very vulnerable because they are alone following the death of their own husband,” she said.

“One of the hardest things for a parent to do is say no to their child, so it puts these women in a very difficult situation and often they don’t even recognise that they are suffering domestic violence or that there is help out there.”
According to Rosie one in three women will experience some form of domestic violence in their life, a statistic that will only change if attitudes change.

“People need to stop turning a blind eye.  Remaining silent when you know someone is doing something wrong is essentially condoning it,” she said.

“If people hear men talking about giving their partner a ‘touch up’ or putting them down, they need to say something, neighbours who hear it happening next door need to call the police, we can’t keep quiet on this.”

Redland City Mayor Karen Williams agrees, saying that unfortunately the Redlands was not immune to the problem of domestic violence.

“Redland City is a truly beautiful place, but like everywhere else, we suffer from domestic and family violence,” she said.

“In fact Redland City accounts for about three per cent of all domestic and family violence protection orders applied for across Queensland.  That’s more than 600 a year or 12 victims per week.”

Cr Williams has been lobbying for years for more local domestic and family violence services, a cause that was boosted recently with the Redlands included in a State Government tender to provide these services in the city.

“We welcome the news that the Redlands is one of 12 locations across Queensland included in this State Government tender, but we still need locals to recognise this issue exists and start talking about it,” she said.

“To help tackle this issue Council together with the Redlands Domestic and Family Violence Action Group and Zonta clubs are hosting Diner En Rouge; a dining experience that will help raise awareness of domestic and family violence in the Redlands.

“This will be an evening of fine local food held at a secret location where it is guaranteed diners have never dined before.  All locals, particularly local businesses should get behind this event, so as a community we can put domestic and family violence on the agenda.”