This is not the first time domestic violence has been declared a national crisis. Australian governments first got seriously involved in 1985. What can the past 40 years teach us?
It has been almost 40 years of national talk fests, plans and initiatives. The feminist knowledge accrued in a fledgling but impactful women’s refuge movement was core to the 1985 national conference that started the Australian government’s move towards a national domestic violence policy. The expertise of victim-survivors and those who work closely with them – in a sector often stretched to near-breaking – has been central since. It continues to be a crucial resource for decision-makers.
[Ed: but since then DV campaigners and decision-makers have forgotten how to define the word woman.]