Credit: Illustration: Matt Golding
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VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Action, not just rallies
Rallying for greater action to address violence against women is well-intentioned and, in many ways, necessary.
But just as Anzac Day doesn't stop wars, rallies won't stop death and violence. Initiatives such as the use of ankle bracelets may offer limited protection, but do not address the root cause.
How much would we be willing to give up to save lives? Violent and pornographic movies and video games? This may be the easy part. But if violence can be shown to be linked to social media content, especially the cesspool X has become, and especially its negative influence on children, we would support a government banning the platforms ? Or would we oppose this move due to personal inconvenience?
Jenny Herbert, Metung
How the murder unfolds
All girls and women must learn the eight steps to domestic violence and murder, as outlined in the 2021 book. In control: dangerous relationships and how they end in murder by Jane Monckton Smith, Professor of Public Protection at the University of Gloucestershire.
We shouldn't, but until the significant number of violent men reform, we could save our own lives or the lives of other women.
Monckton Smith shows how these men invariably repeat their pattern of violent behavior in all their relationships.
The surprise is not that ″dozens of men have five or more victims of domestic violence″ (″Push to show family violence link in deaths″, 27/4), but that so few who have, have been arrested .
Not only do we need to do something to educate better men, but we need it for all the services that are supposed to protect women, especially the police and the judiciary.
Margaret Callinan, Arch
Police surgeons needed
Current community concern about serious assaults by individuals with alleged problems raises questions about how to treat and prevent them in our society.
I think this was better handled in the past through freestanding psychiatric hospitals that no longer exist.
I was a police surgeon in the Victoria Police. The role included the assessment of people placed in police custody. These were individuals who caused a disturbance, with socially risky behaviour, or whose families or neighbors were concerned about them. Statewide, 1200 such individuals were seen annually.
Those who were considered dangerous to themselves or others, or were acutely psychotic, were sent on certificate to the designated local psychiatric hospital that was required to evaluate and observe them. This led to a short- or long-term maintenance and treatment regimen. It defused a lot of situations.
It could be argued that the police should not be community social workers, but no other government body has the availability, authority or geographical spread.
Mental hospitals (then known as asylums) evolved in the 19th century as a response to the need to treat the mentally ill humanely and to control the abnormal, and sometimes dangerous, community activity of such people. I consider current psychiatric services based on the public hospital model to be a failure.
Peter McCleave, Essendon
University inadequacies
As a lecturer and researcher at RMIT, working both on a casual and part-time basis, I found that the remuneration relative to the work required was sometimes as low as $3 an hour and rarely above $10 an hour. Payment systems were regularly changed, apparently to delay the receipt of grossly inadequate payments.
This reflects corporate values, not what educational values should be. So it was interesting to read the opinion of a former member of the university council (Letters, “University presidents pay too much, or are they worth it?”, 27/4), who supported having a group of companies running colleges and universities. town halls, and arguing that students and staff contributed little when they were in town halls. Staff and students want to teach and learn, not profit from the university.
Laurie Comerford, Chelsea
Commentary on the Anzac march
As a World War II veteran, I have watched the Anzac Day march many times on ABC television, but I have never heard a worse commentary than on Thursday.
We learned little about the marchers and the units they represented, while the commentators chatted about their families' experiences in scouting, or even how to make a kilt. It was hard to hear the bands especially the chatter, or give the protesters credit for their performance. It seemed more like cricket commentators filling the time. I hope ABC can do better next year._
Penelope Garnett, Castlemaine
Brighton benefits
The article “The Brighton Bubble” (27/4) was apt to describe the many facets of Brighton. It's not just about wealth, nice houses and big money.
I volunteer for Team Zoe, a community group that supports our MP, Zoe Daniel. Over the past two years, up to 2,000 of us have spoken to many voters across the Bay Area. His choice indicates that Brighton's values do not reflect the stereotype.
We care about climate change, gender equality and integrity in politics.
Jan Marshall, Brighton
The real Scott
Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison says voters didn't know the 'real' Scott Morrison (“Morrison, his faith, anxiety and staying the course”, 4/27).
Oh, I beg to differ. They know you very well, Scott: a Hawaiian vacation while wildfires raged, Robodebt, the French submarine fiasco, and keeping five wallets to yourself.
Greg Bardin, North Altona
