[Anglican Media Melbourne] Faith communities and their associated welfare agencies should be resourced adequately to assist in primary prevention of domestic violence, the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne has told the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.
In its submission to the Royal Commission, the Diocese put its focus on primary prevention strategies to avert violence, aimed at education and building capacity for change.
It said men often had power and could be effective carriers of the anti-violence message.
“The focus on primary prevention is for most in society and the Church a completely new approach,” the submission said.
“Taking action after violence has occurred is a secondary or tertiary response, as is a focus on welfare and support. Though urgent, these responses too often ignore the underlying context in which violence occurs and is sustained, including formal and informal organisational cultures, policies and processes.
“The Church’s strategic policy recognises these causes of violence against women and seeks to reverse their negative effects by promoting equal, respectful and non-violent relationships.”
Mr Tony Nicholson, Executive Director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, is a Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Commission, which is due to provide its report and recommendations to the State Government by 29 February 2016. Ms Patricia Faulkner, the Chair of Jesuit Social Services and Deputy Chair of St Vincent’s Health Australia, is the other Deputy Commissioner, with former judge of the Court of Appeal, the Honourable Marcia Neave, chairing the Royal Commission.
The submission was made under the name of the Diocesan Registrar and General Manager of Business Services, Mr Ken Spackman, and was prepared by the Program Director for Anglicans Helping to Prevent Violence against Women in the Diocese of Melbourne, Dr Ree Boddé. It was made on behalf of parishes and diocesan agencies but not on behalf of separately incorporated Anglican bodies such as Anglicare or the Brotherhood of St Laurence.
It recommended that there should be a dedicated approach and resourcing to primary prevention strategies; that current resourcing of primary prevention efforts associated with health promotion and education be enhanced, while recognising current under-investment in this area; and that educational institutions – state and independent Schools, registered training organisations and tertiary institutions – deliver Respectful Relationships education at all levels, from pre-school to tertiary.
“Faith communities and associated welfare agencies are important and appropriate entities to assist in primary prevention and should be resourced accordingly,” the submission said.
“The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne strongly believe(s) the Victorian government must, along with early intervention and tertiary responses, continue to invest in long-term and strategic commitment to prevention that includes primary prevention measures. It is not enough to step in once the damage is done. Without a clear commitment and investment in policies and programs focused on intervening before violence occurs, personal and financial costs will continue to grow leading to increased tertiary sector expenditure.”
The submission cited statistics on family violence as leading contributor to death, disability and illness of women aged 15 to 44 years (VicHealth 2004); that one in three women experience intimate partner violence (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006); and that women represent nearly 90% of reported rapes and 76% of reported sexual assaults (Victorian Police Crime Statistics 2005). The National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children warned that without appropriate action to deal with family violence, an estimated 750,000 Australian women would report experiencing violence from 2010-22, costing an estimated $15.6 billion.
“Regrettably the Church is not immune to this problem, hence its long-term concern to address violence against women,” the submission said.
“In October 2011, the Church and its agencies launched Anglicans Helping to Prevent Violence against Women, the first faith-based violence prevention program of its kind in Australia (jointly funded by Melbourne Anglican Foundation, Brotherhood of St Laurence and Anglicare Victoria).”
The submission said violence against women was “a continuum of acts – from subtle to overt, and attitudes conveyed informally and formally through written and unwritten policies, and instructional practices”.
“This is starkly illustrated by a recent comment concerning a family violence situation threatening the church as an ‘extended family’: ‘Domestic violence exists in the church. My daughter found herself in an abusive situation, one which did not include alcohol or drugs, but rather an abusive husband who claimed to be a Christian. When she fled for fear of her life the church was not there for her. Though she had been an active member – she was told by her Vicar that if they supported her, it would split the parish as her father-in-law held a prominent position, as did her uncles. Essentially, the parish slammed the door in her face while supporting the perpetrator.’
“Men often have positional power and can be effective carriers of the anti-violence message. It is only by men challenging other men’s attitudes and behaviours that we can change the landscape of violence. Involving men in violence prevention will help to transform gender relations by advocating gender equality and respectful relationships…Men are generally the gate keepers for embedding violence prevention initiatives. Mentoring helps leaders deliver more targeted and positive prevention strategies to build stronger and safer healthy relationships in any organisation and community.”
The submission said awareness training helped Anglican leaders look critically at how hierarchical approaches to gender and fixed understanding of gender roles might lead to increased potential for abuse.
“Prevention, in Church and society alike, is about redressing historic gender inequalities and requires challenging deeply engrained norms that affect how women are viewed and treated, individually and systemically… The work and time required to eliminate gender inequalities should not be underestimated. Achieving attitudinal and behavioural change in relation to the structural and cultural inequalities associated with violence against women in any context requires commitment and adequate resourcing.
“Even the best support services and criminal justice measures cannot by themselves end violence against women and children. Primary prevention is the most significant way we can enact a genuine cultural change to build a generation free from such violence. Good policy alone will not have the desired impact, without adequate long-term funding for prevention over several years to effectively address this problem.”
Dr Boddé said in May, the diocesan program had launched “active bystander training” to help people respond to abuse, including discriminatory comments, in Geelong and South Melbourne. She said the training had received favourable responses. Workshops teach people how to safely intervene as an active bystander, how to intervene to prevent domestic violence and how to intervene to prevent sexual violence.
The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Sydney has voted to appoint a taskforce to develop a diocesan response to domestic violence.
The taskforce, which includes the Revd Canon Sandy Grant, the Senior Minister of St Michael’s Cathedral Wollongong, and Archdeacon for Women, the Venerable Kara Hartley, as well as a chaplain and professional counsellor, follows a unanimous vote at Sydney’s 2013 Synod calling for greater education among clergy and lay members of the Church about domestic violence, including how to spot warning signs of possible domestic violence developing.
Bishop Rob Forsyth of South Sydney told The Sydney Morning Herald on 5 June the establishment of the taskforce was recognition of how seriously the Church was treating the issue of domestic violence.
"We know we could deal with it a lot better; we would love to see it disappear entirely," Bishop Forsyth said.
"We would like to see both the church leadership and the laity working together to protect those being abused and diminish the incidence of family violence. Family violence is completely contrary to the Christian faith."
In Tasmania, the ABC reported on 12 June that Bishop John Harrower told his Synod that the Church wanted to develop “wise and trained” clergy and laypeople to deal people suffering family violence and those committing the violence.
"Because we're Christians, we can too quickly run to forgiveness and think, 'Oh well, you must forgive the person’ without actually dealing with the fact that the person is actually doing this terrible thing and they need to change their behaviours," Bishop Harrower said.
Learn more about Anglicans Helping to Prevent Violence against Women on the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne’s website and Think Prevent’s Facebook page.