Rosie Batty: "Let's put it in its context, this is terrorism in Australia". Photo: Thom Rigney
Domestic violence survivor and Australian of the Year Rosie Batty has described men's violence against women as 'terrorism' and criticised the lack of funding allocated in Tuesday night's budget to tackling the crisis.
Speaking in Canberra on Wednesday, Batty expressed frustration with the government's rhetoric on domestic violence that hasn't been backed up with significant action or funding.
In Tuesday's budget, the government committed just $16.7 million over three years to help fund a $30 million awareness raising campaign. There was no commitment made to funding frontline services for families directly impacted by domestic violence happening now.
Like other critics have in the wake of budget night, Batty drew the comparison between this meagre offering and the $1.2 billion spend on tackling the terror threat.
"Let's put it in its context, this is terrorism in Australia," she said.
"If we look at the money that we spend in terrorism overseas, for the slight risk that it poses to our society, it is disproportionate completely.
"Let's start talking about family terrorism. Maybe then, with that context and that kind of language we will start to get a real sense of urgency."
Joe Hockey has already dismissed the comparison between terrorism and domestic violence, but is it really so far fetched?
Domestic Violence may not look like ISIS, but for women who are literally being terrorised by their partners on a daily basis, for the women murdered at a rate of one a week, and for all other women who understand even the diffuse threat of male violence against some women is a means of controlling the rest, it is absolutely a form of terrorism.
Rosie Batty's new term for domestic violence is very apt - 'family terrorism' http://t.co/V9xfcA9db6 via @ABCNews
— Marion Groves (@MarionGroves)
May 13, 2015
Abbott #auspol Govt proves talk is cheap on what Rosie Batty aptly describes as #familyterrorism. #CountingDeadWomen http://t.co/T8ZwLGef4K
— Cassy O'Connor (@CassyOConnorMP)
May 13, 2015
when @RosieBatty1 - Australian of the Year - calls domestic violence 'family terrorism' we all must act...
— marcus kelson (@marcuskelson)
May 13, 2015
SOURCE: ABC
