This newspaper reported last month that Gabriella Thompson's partner, the father of her child, stabbed her to death at Glendale. Police shot the man, Tafari Walton, dead in a subsequent stand-off in the same suburb the following morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nothing can undo the death of Ms Thompson at the hands of someone she knew, but those who loved her are hopeful their tragedy and pain can become someone else's warning or catalyst.
The ugly truth is that the potentially lethal consequences of domestic violence remain too common.
White Ribbon reports that almost 40 per cent of women continued to experience violence from their partner while temporarily separated.
A 2017 Australian Institute of Criminology report found that on average one woman is murdered each week by a current or former partner.
By April 10 this year, Destroy the Joint's count of the women lost to violence in Australia had already reached 15 for the year. The group is clear that the number may already be substantially higher.
"We try to be accurate in our record, and we will not publish without a high degree of certainty, but we can't know the full circumstances of each death until court cases or coronial hearings are finalised," Destroy the Joint notes.
No-one could credibly argue that number is acceptable less than four full months into any calendar year.
No-one could argue it indicates things have changed drastically since Rosie Batty dubbed the problems "unrelenting and overwhelming" more than a year ago.
Still, rates of violence remain high, and action on that front appears to have made little progress forcing the issue to the forefront of priorities or platforms in either our recent state or upcoming federal elections so far.
It is not for lack of effort. Groups including Newcastle's own Got Your Back Sista and Maitland's Carrie's Place remain committed to making a difference, and to offering practical help and options to those who need it.
What is perhaps most frightening is that at least 15 women have come to violent ends this year despite such valiant efforts.
The fault, of course, lies with those who have perpetrated these crimes. Yet the unspoken attitudes that underlie acts of violence against women are that there is a spectrum on which some of this aggression is acceptable.
It is not, under any circumstances, acceptable to act violently towards a partner of either sex.
It is not acceptable to watch women die and expect the same approaches to deliver different results. It is not acceptable to forget the faces of the women whose deaths have come at the hands of those they have trusted and loved.
We cannot continue to accept that this is the way things are. Instead, we must honour the bravery of Ms Thompson's loved ones to share their sorrow. We must keep seeking change, because without it the senseless losses will continue.
We cannot accept that.
- For support: 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732)
