No matter which numbers you look at, Australia’s domestic violence statistics are horrific. Here are just some of the facts regularly cited in the media over the last six months:

• The police respond to a domestic violence matter every two minutes, which amounts to 239,846 callouts per year on a national level.
• One in four Australian women is suffering from violence at the hands of an intimate partner.
• At least one Australian woman a week dies as a result of domestic violence.
• Out of all women murdered in Australia, 81% will have been killed by someone with whom they were in a domestic relationship.
• Alcohol was consumed by the perpetrator in one third of intimate partner homicides.
• Over 400,000 Australian women have been attacked during pregnancy by an intimate partner.
• More than 500,000 children have witnessed domestic violence.
• More than half of the respondents to a survey of NSW’s gay and lesbian community said they had been in an emotionally abusive relationship and more than a third had experienced sexual or physical violence from an intimate partner
• More than one in five domestic violence offenders reappear in court convicted of similar crimes within two years.
• 74 women a day sought help from Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia following rape or domestic violence over the 2015-2016 Christmas break.
• Less than half of all domestic violence cases are reported meaning that as high as these numbers are, the real numbers are much higher.

In one sense, it is good news that barriers to discussion are being broken down and awareness of domestic violence is increasing rapidly along with an acceptance of the urgent need for more to be done. Domestic violence is no longer a taboo topic in the mainstream media, partly thanks to the efforts of Rosie Batty, who received the Australian of the Year award in 2015 for her determination to bring the story of her family’s private tragedy into the public arena.

The Commonwealth and many State governments reacted by promising big projects to combat domestic violence and setting aside budgets to match. In the second half of last year, the Commonwealth government announced $100m funding to tackle domestic violence, particularly focussing on indigenous communities and the introduction of new technology to assist victims. Queensland committed $66m to supporting survivors and increasing police presence, and the Baird government in NSW committed to $20m for women’s refuges and services to help women left homeless by domestic violence, as well as a $60m program that included:

• compulsory behaviour modification programs for perpetrators;
• dedicated police teams to monitor breaches of apprehended violence orders
• increasing the numbers of domestic violence liaison officers in local area commands

Despite this, women in danger are still being turned away from refuges or having to wait in long queues to speak to domestic violence services because those services are stretched beyond their capacity to cope.

Suburban police officers report that the majority of their shift involves dealing with domestic violence calls which are often complicated by the victim’s mixed emotions of love and fear, or their desire to avoid being seen to assist police out of fear for what will happen once the perpetrator is released. When victims seek apprehended violence orders it can often be their word against the perpetrators with no real evidence to back them up, and even if they are granted the protection of an order, they are regularly breached – at best, AVOs are a flimsy barrier against the violence.

The situation is much worse in rural and regional areas where local courts and police stations are being shut down due to lack of funding, making it much harder for victims to seek help and even longer response times when they do.

Dealing with domestic violence is not solely a matter for Parliament, the courts and the police, however. A number of campaigns aimed at the general public encourage all of us to help stop the violence by taking action, calling for help or making a report when we see something that makes us concerned or uncomfortable.

If you or someone you know is exposed to domestic violence, don’t wait until it is too late to seek help. Call the NSW Rape Crisis on 1800 424 017 or 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. The more people speak out, the sooner we will see lasting change.