WELVic: Issues - Violence

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Much actual or threatened violence by men against women is simply bullying to limit women's autonomy.  In courts, many men claim that the woman's words or deeds "provoked" their violence.  This legalistic defence thinly disguises the perpetrator's rage at losing control of his victim's behaviour. It is quite different from the legitimate claim of self-defence against another's violence, which should be available to women responding to ongoing domestic violence.

Women who have been subjected to any form of violence are often obliged to rearrange their whole lives to evade further attacks or censorious community reactions.  Police, courts and victims too easily succumb to the contention that by staying in your own home, job, school, or community means he knows where you are.  

Some lawmakers have sought ways of counteracting this for battered wives.  They should also do so for cases of rancorous relationship breakdown, persistent stalking and harassment.  

It should be the perpetrator who has to move rather than the victim of violence.

Regulation of workplace agreements under current Industrial Relations legislation must include monitoring their impact not only on the safety of the physical environment, but also on how working hours and conditions may put women workers at risk.  Questions must be raised about, for example, safe transport home late at night and protection for lone workers in areas open to the public. However, protecting women from, say, opportunistic rape is no excuse for discriminating against them as workers.  Both sexes can be mugged and robbed in similar circumstances and provision for women's safety can also improve that of men.