By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Domestic violence has reached epidemic levels in Australia. The figures show that on average, one person is killed every week at the hands of their current or former partner. Shelters, crisis services, and frontline community legal centres are stretched to the limit. The Prime Minister has called the problem ...
Category: Assault Charges
Appeal Court Finds GBH Sentence Inadequate, But Does Not Resentence
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim At 6.43 pm on 6 February 2015, Craig Lulham sent a text message to Bill, the husband of his friend Allison’s mother. It stated, “Bring the cops. I don’t care. It won’t stop me from smashing you are [sic] face in, even when I get kicked out.” As Bill ...
Changing Attitudes: An Interview with Domestic Violence NSW CEO Moo Baulch
Last Saturday, NSW Labor committed to introducing 10 days’ paid domestic and family violence leave. The move follows a campaign launched in July by the Australian Council of Trade Unions to have the leave enshrined in the national employment standards as a mandatory entitlement. Pressure is now mounting on Australian Labor leader Bill Shorten to ...
NSW Police ‘Shoot First and Ask Questions Later’
The NSW Police Force Handbook is meant to be the gospel when it comes to policing in our state. It is a comprehensive, 518 page document which provides information, advice and guidance on practically every aspect of policing. The publicly available handbook establishes best practices which all police are meant to follow when executing their ...
A Forgotten Genocide: The Congo Free State
In the last decades of the 19th century, the European colonial powers laid claim to vast tracts of land on the African continent, expanding their spheres of influence and plundering natural resources. It’s commonly referred to today as the Scramble for Africa. At the 1884-85 Berlin conference, the European powers met to negotiate control of the continent. ...
Indigenous Women Unite Against Domestic Violence
Indigenous women are sick and tired of the endemic domestic violence in their communities. Indeed, the statistics paint a horrific picture of the extent of violence against women in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. And that’s exactly what has Indigenous women so frustrated and angry, and banding together. The victims of domestic violence aren’t ...
It’s Time to End Violence Against People with Disability
Violence against people with disability is endemic in Australia. It’s an epidemic that until recently has remained hidden. The abuse and neglect of the disabled takes many forms from violence to sexual abuse to the denial of their basic rights. In Australia, people with disability experience violence at far higher rates than the rest of the ...
The Impact of Islamophobia: An Interview with MUIS President Abdulah Hamimi
On Monday, the Islamophobia in Australia report was released by Charles Sturt University. A first-of-its-kind in the world, the study focused on 243 verified incidents reported to the Islamophobia Register of Australia between September 2014 and December 2015. President of the register Mariam Veiszadeh told us in May the report outlines that “on average the victim tends to be ...
Sydney is No Longer the Violent Crime Capital of Australia
By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) suggest Melbourne has overtaken Sydney as the violent crime capital of Australia. The 2016 ABS ‘Victims of Crime’ survey suggests Victoria has the highest incidence of crimes against the person, including robberies, assaults and car jackings, and Melbourne’s violent crime ...
Surf Rage – The Scourge On Our Beaches
Australian beaches can be a dangerous place and, apparently, it’s not just the big fish you have to be wary of if you’re a surfer. A 29-year old is the latest person to be charged over a surf rage incident, which ironically happened in Byron Bay on the far north New South Wales Coast. A ...