Every day, thousands of commuters in a Western Sydney suburb walk up a set of stairs that hide a heartbreaking truth.<\/p>\n
But a glimpse at statistics proves the stairs aren\u2019t the only steep incline that victims of family and domestic violence are forced to climb. <\/p>\n
Campbelltown experiences among the highest rates of domestic violence incidents in Sydney, with an annual average growth rate of 2.6 per cent<\/a>. <\/p>\n It\u2019s a location where domestic and family violence is so prevalent that you\u2019re greeted with a footnote immediately after you step off the train and into the suburb.<\/p>\n I can attest to it. I live there. <\/p>\n Every day, I personally walk up and down these steps. <\/p>\n It\u2019s impossible not to think about the women who use them before getting into a carpool with their abuser. <\/p>\n Or even more disturbingly, the attackers who walk up them and ignore their own contributions to the harrowing local statistics. <\/p>\n According to data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research<\/a>, police recorded 933 domestic violence incidents in 2016. <\/p>\n Last year, 1,100 incidents were reported, proving not much has changed since. <\/p>\n In the last four years, 2,742 of the domestic-related assault cases were due to male perpetrators. <\/p>\n These figures are just from cases that have been reported. <\/p>\n The red flags<\/p>\n What\u2019s more infuriating is that the signs aren\u2019t entirely invisible. There\u2019s a screaming warning when you know where to look.<\/p>\n Every week, posts from local mums Facebook groups seek advice on how to leave their partner in a safe way, requesting legal and emergency accommodation resources. <\/p>\n Kelly Stanford, from The Separation Place<\/a>, is a family lawyer. <\/p>\n With 30 years of experience, she says there\u2019s a deep misunderstanding of what constitutes domestic violence.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is that the majority of people\u2026 they just think it\u2019s everybody punching the crap out of each other,\u201d Ms Stanford told news.com.au. <\/p>\n She believes the impact of verbal and psychological abuse is being dismissed. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ll say that\u2019s not family violence. Well, mate, it is,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Last week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shut down the idea of a royal commission <\/a>into domestic violence during an interview with Hit 100.9 Hobart\u2019s breakfast radio show. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s calls for a royal commission about everything\u2026 what does a royal commission do besides fund lawyers,\u201d Mr Anthony Albanese told the hosts.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we need here is solutions that we know, we know what they are, we know what\u2019s required here.\u201d <\/p>\n Ms Stanford was disappointed by his response.<\/p>\n \u201cI just shook my head \u2026 Would you say that if that was going to affect your wife, or your sisters or your mother,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n \u201cHe wouldn\u2019t be saying that. He would be saying, \u2018Let\u2019s find out what we can do to stop this happening to another person.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n She also points to this month\u2019s federal budget, which saw the eligibility for legal aid representation tighten, meaning matters will become harder to resolve for families.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have made the difficult decision to restrict eligibility for grants of legal aid in some family law matters,\u201d the email to lawyers, such as Ms Stanford, read. <\/p>\n She argues the cuts send a message to victims: \u201cYou are not worthy. You are not worthy of funding. You have to stay in this relationship.\u201d <\/p>\n For Stacy Jane, founder of Escabags<\/a> \u2013 a registered charity that provides free \u2018Escape Bags\u2019 to individuals and families escaping domestic and family abuse across Australia \u2013 the demand placed on the organisation from the region proves how desperately worthy they are. <\/p>\n \u201cWe distributed just under 500 escape bags within Campbelltown alone [last year],\u201d Ms Jane told news.com.au.<\/p>\n The organisation packs bags with essentials and provides them to businesses all over the nation despite having no government funding. Campbelltown is among their most dependent regions.<\/p>\n Ms Jane is on the domestic violence frontline, consistently hearing and making pleas for more funding. <\/p>\n \u201cI think that\u2019s what it comes down to. It\u2019s a lack of resources. It\u2019s a lack of funding. The problems are getting bigger,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n More and more people require the bags, which is a devastating marker of success. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still marching the bloody streets of every city in this country and demanding to get a commissioner report done. It\u2019s just fallen on deaf ears,\u201d she pointed out. <\/p>\n \u201cSometimes you feel like you\u2019re turning up to the aftermath of an earthquake with a dust pan and brush \u2026 but if everyone had a dust pan and brush, we could get through it all a bit quicker.\u201d <\/p>\n Ms Stanford is constantly met with women who face the heavy burden of proof and stigma.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hoops you have to jump through to prove that you are a victim of violence or a victim of sexual abuse are crazy,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n So what\u2019s actually being done? <\/p>\n The steps at Campbelltown station may be a valuable resource for escaping, but we\u2019re missing one important step. <\/p>\n Prevention. <\/p>\n For Ms Stanford, it’s the one area she believes needs quick and serious focus. <\/p>\n \u201cWe all wish it would start at home, but I think it needs to start in schools,\u201d she pointed out. <\/p>\n \u201cIt needs to be addressed at a grassroots level, and it\u2019s not just boys that need to be taught, girls need to be taught as well.\u201d <\/p>\n Greg Warren, State MP Member for Campbelltown, also wants to see the focus shift to prevention.<\/p>\n \u201cMen need to take a lot of responsibility, particularly those perpetrators,\u201d Mr Warren told news.com.au. <\/p>\n \u201cWe need to say no. We need to call it out \u2026 Family violence on all levels by any individual is totally and utterly unacceptable. But the reality is most perpetrators are men and most victims are women and children, and that\u2019s just simply unacceptable in a common and good society. So I think the focus needs to be about messaging.\u201d <\/p>\n The stairs were a council initiative and not something Mr Warren\u2019s office had any contribution to, but he still believes there\u2019s room to go further. <\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s most important is the steps that are in place to prevent violence against women,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clearly not making the level of difference that it needs to be, particularly when you see domestic violence remains one of the highest crime rates, not only just in New South Wales but particularly in our region.\u201d<\/p>\n Mr Warren explained that there has been an increase in funding directed toward education programs from the state government.<\/p>\n