ANY doubts about the sheer magnitude of the task Victoria faces in combatting the scourge of family violence were put to rest this week.
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The Royal Commission into Family Violence’s final 2082-page report released on Wednesday outlines in stark terms the challenge confronting this state.
The 13-month inquiry, instigated by the Andrews government, heard testimony from 220 victims and countless support agencies.
Its conclusion? That we, as a society, “are not responding adequately to the scale and impact of the harm caused by family violence”.
Its response? Some 227 recommendations designed to place greater focus on prevention, early intervention and recovery programs.
The commission, headed by Marcia Neave, said quantifying the problem of family violence remained difficult because “a great deal of the violence remains hidden”.
What we do know is that between July 1, 2004 and June 30, 2014, Victoria Police recorded 403,991 family violence incidents against 197,822 offenders.
According to the report, 16,914 perpetrators were recidivist offenders, accounting for 34 per cent of all incidents.
There are some other sobering and indisputable conclusions the commission was able to draw.
It confirmed the widely held truth that family violence disproportionately affects women and children, that the majority of perpetrators are men and female victims are more likely to be a current or former partner of the perpetrator.
The report also found that some groups within our society are at greater risk of family violence or experience it at increased rates, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and women with disabilities.
These and other groups face particular barriers in seeking and obtaining help, including people living in rural, regional or remote areas.
Premier Daniel Andrews has pledged to implement each and every one of the commission’s 227 recommendations.
But family violence is not a problem that can be solved by government intervention alone.
Everyone in this state has a responsibility to stamp out once and for all this culture of abuse that has become entrenched in too many homes.