Reader advice: This writing contains references to domestic violence. If it raises any issues for you, contact the Women’s Domestic Violence Helpline, a 24-hour service for all Western Australians: 1800 007 339.
VOGUE said boyfriends are over. Cute. What no one mentioned is that sometimes the reason is far darker than fashion.
We know this nation carries a grim history of violence against women.
What I didn’t realise until recently was how close to home it lies.
Fremantle is my haven where creativity thrives and people look out for each other.
Yet over dinner in South Freo, with women I admire deeply, I discovered every single one of us had experienced physical abuse, coercive control or threats from a partner.
I felt winded.
These weren’t anonymous statistics.
They were people you’ve walked past on Market Street.
Ordered coffee behind on High Street.
Sung beside at a Dockers game.
Across Australia one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence by a man they know.
One in five has experienced sexual violence since 15.
One in four has experienced violence by a partner.
And yet somehow nobody knows a perpetrator. How?
Hearing Rosie Batty speak recently I was floored by her grace.
After the unimaginable loss of her son Luke she pushed for national reform.
Yet the needle barely moves.
The stats remain stubborn.
Right here in Freo migrant and refugee women are threatened with deportation, passports withheld and freedom controlled by the very people meant to love them.
We have failed women.
We are still failing them.
Why aren’t more women coming forward.
Because too often they’re not believed.
Police responses vary.
Courts demand proof beyond reasonable doubt.
The burden sits crushingly with the victim while the cycle continues.
I am fortunate.
I am surrounded by kind, protective men who know gentleness is strength.
My dad still opens the car door for Mum and me.
He wouldn’t hurt a fly.
I hope every man would call out a mate who raised a hand to his partner.
We must redefine what a good man is.
A good man protects women.
He listens. He steps in. He speaks up.
This epidemic demands urgent cultural legal and community action.
Believe women. Protect women. Take their reports seriously.
False accusations are rare.
So what will shift the statistics in Fremantle; in WA; in Australia.
More public conversation.
Men holding men to account.
Harsher penalties.
Ending the silence.
All of the above?
Or perhaps it begins with something simple: Believe women.
Fremantle is talking more about violence against women. Leaders are stepping up. Organisations advocate fiercely.
Yet unless our justice system, police response and culture shift we will keep hosting funerals.
The former Terminus Hotel on the corner of Pakenham and Short streets has finally begun its heritage restoration and I’m thrilled to see it transformed into a refuge for women aged 55 and over.
This project will offer safe, stable housing for older women facing or at risk of homelessness, many of whom are rebuilding their lives after leaving abusive relationships.
It is a powerful reminder of what compassion looks like when it takes physical shape in our city.
One woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner in Australia.
One a week.
Imagine if this were footballers. Imagine if this were CEOs. There would be national uproar and immediate intervention.
Women deserve nothing less.
Fremantle has always stood for fairness vibrancy and community.
We pride ourselves on being brave. Progressive. Willing to speak up. This must be another time we do.
Take your hands off her.
She is ours to defend.
by CHRISSIE MAUS