By GARRY HOWE
SCOTT Holmes was still a child when he first became exposed to family violence.
It was a school day, and when he presented for breakfast, a strange woman was sitting with his parents at the kitchen table.
He sensed the mood and beat a hasty retreat, leaving the adults to talk through what was clearly a sensitive situation.
It transpired that the strange woman was a neighbour, who after running through the streets after a violent incident with her partner, knocked on the door of the Holmes family home and sought the solace of his parents.
Mr Holmes, a Healthy Workplaces Senior Advisor with the YMCA, told those gathered at a recent Challenge Family Violence showcase event that a lot had changed in the world in the 45 years since that day.
“There have been amazing advances in technology, the Berlin Wall was knocked down to end the Cold War,” he said.
“Yet women are still running around trying to hide and knocking on other people’s doors.”
Mr Holmes said he was pleased society was finally shining a light on family violence and its causes.
He said that, in the past, the focus on family violence was on the victims, primarily looking out for their welfare.
“Those people were too busy looking after the women, that they didn’t have time to look at the causes,” he said.
Initiatives like the Challenge Family Violence program are now helping to address the causes.
“The larger issue has now emerged – looking at the role of women and men in society, specifically stereotyping and gender gaps that help build a perception that women are lesser than men,” he said.
Mr Holmes described the three-year Challenge Family Violence program – in which 100 predominantly male community leaders were educated in the causes and effect of family violence with a view to helping change attitudes and behaviours in their spheres of influence – as a “great and groundbreaking effort”.
“It represents women and men working together to achieve a world of gender equality and respect,” he said.
