Easter Sunday Massacre in Sri Lanka
May is Domestic and Family Violence month where the community, including the church, is reminded of the growing and destructive issue of violence in the home.
Domestic and family violence occurs when one partner uses abuse and violence to maintain control over or dominate their partner and family. It usually involves ongoing patterns of behaviour designed to control a partner through fear. It takes many forms including using physical, verbal, emotional and financial abuse, or threats or controlling behaviour.
Domestic and family violence doesn’t discriminate. It occurs amongst people of all ages, educational and sexual status and cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. It can occur within intimate relationships including same sex relationships, family relationships and informal care relationships. In Australia, one in four women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner and one in four women have experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner.
Of those women who have experienced violence more than half had children in their care. In the same way that the community is aware and involved in safeguarding we as church need to be aware of the society issue of domestic and family violence.
Fr. Mark Franklin.
