COMMENT: Domestic violence's painful ripple
AS WARWICK community members yesterday vowed to stand against domestic violence, another Australian woman has lost her life in brutal circumstances.
A Sydney teenager yesterday returned home to find his pregnant mother dead from multiple stab wounds to her face and chest.
The woman's de facto partner was last night expected to be charged with her murder.
It is truly heartbreaking to think of the sheer number of victims this one act of violence has caused.
Kirralee Paepaerei's unborn baby will never be born to meet his or her five siblings, who are all now grieving the senseless loss of their mum.
Those children's lives have instantly been thrown into turmoil and they must now face life without their protector, their friend, their mother.
Domestic violence is a deplorable and insidious epidemic that ripples through the community.
It's not just the person on the receiving end of the fist, knife or verbal tirade who suffers.
Children are often physically hurt or are forced to go through the rest of their lives carrying the burden of their violent past.
Or worse, they are forced to grow up without the person they love and need most.
It has to stop. These domestic violence levels are our national shame and the victims - and their innocent children - deserve better.
- Kerri Moore, Print Editor
