On Monday morning Linda Locke was delivered to Westmead Hospital in Sydney suffering a collapsed lung, a head injury and severe bruising. She had been so badly beaten that she was put on life support. Last night Linda died in hospital.
According to Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women research Linda Locke is the 34th woman killed through violence in Australia this year. In 25 of these cases the woman knew her murderer. It seems Linda will join that group.
Her long term partner was charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm on Monday. SBS have reported that one neighbour said he often heard the pair fighting.
“I heard banging and screaming early and when I woke up, I knew it was them,” he said.
“There were a few police cars and then forensic cars. I thought it must have been pretty bad.”
It was far worse than pretty bad. She was killed.
The death toll of domestic violence in Australia is climbing with alarming speed. And that is only the deaths.
How many other neighbours are hearing fighting that hasn’t –yet – escalated to this extreme? How many women are being admitted to emergency departments beaten-but still alive? How many children are living in homes where this violence is the norm?
Death is at the furthest extreme of the destruction that domestic violence is wrecking through our communities. But it is rarely the starting point. The severity and frequency of domestic violence most often escalates over time. And that is why prevention, intervention and leadership is so necessary.
If we have any hope of stemming the death toll we need to tackle the causes of this violence. We need to reject all forms of violence. We need to confront incidence of domestic violence when we see or hear it. We need to educate and support both victims and perpetrators of violence. We need to stem the inequality between men and women that we know contributes to this scourge.
This horror is taking place in our homes right now and it needs the same cataclysmic reaction as the horrors we are witnessing elsewhere. This is the very real terror threat that is not simply hovering at the doorstep of many Australian women; it is living inside their homes.
It is too late to save Linda Locke from this terror. It is not too late to save others.
But without leadership and commitment we won’t save anyone. We can say with dreadful certainty, without any intervention, the death toll will keep climbing.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au In an emergency, call 000.