“It absolutely does happen here”: Jess Hill speaks about domestic violence at North Sydney library

Investigative journalist and author Jess Hill unpacked the brutal realities of domestic violence during a talk at Stanton Library last week, pointing out that the North Shore was not exempt from this kind of crime simply because of its more affluent postcodes.

The talk coincided with the release of the latest Quarterly Essay entitled Losing It: can we stop violence against women and children?

Harsh words

In a lengthy talk, Hill said she was doubtful we can end violence within a generation, as the Australian government committed to doing in 2022.

She had “harsh words to say” about this commitment, comparing it to a failed promise made by PM Bob Hawke in 1987 - that by 1990 no Australian child would live in poverty.

“However,” she said, “I decided: maybe we should just leverage that commitment. Because if you’ve committed to do that you’d want to be taking some pretty massive steps to change the way we’re going.”

Hill, who has spent years reporting on coercive control and the systemic failure to support victims of male violence, told listeners that “this area was seen as experiencing the worst alcohol-fuelled domestic violence in Greater Sydney”.

Every street in Australia

That observation was echoed by Warringah MP Zali Steggall in a recent interview with the North Shore Lorikeet.

“Often this idea that domestic violence is linked to socioeconomic [status] is really misleading. Domestic violence happens in every street in Australia. And often actually in … more affluent communities, it happens in a more hidden way because there is this perception that it wouldn’t be happening here – when it absolutely does,” Steggall said.

Upcoming roundtable

Among the audience at the library was North Sydney Mayor Zoë Baker. Speaking to the North Shore Lorikeet after the talk, she said she attended out of both personal concern and in her role preparing for an upcoming council roundtable on family and domestic violence.

“The key takeaway from the talk - apart from feeling like my heart's been ripped out of my chest - is the need for us as a community to influence state and federal governments in funding recovery and prevention for young people in particular, in order to stop intergenerational violence,” the mayor said.

Call for courage

Hill’s essay concludes by calling for action on evidence-based prevention approaches that “find their way into the minds and bodies of those who are most likely to act violently - and persuade them not to do so.

“No country in the world has cracked the problem of violence against women and children,” she writes. “With courage, Australia could be the first.”

Also in attendance were staff from Mary’s House, a local grassroots organisation supporting women and children escaping violence.

The talk was part of Stanton Library’s free lunchtime author series, which continues to offer space for big conversations and community connection.

Jess Hill’s new Quarterly Essay is now available at local bookshops and at the library.

For more on the talk, you can watch the North Shore Lorikeet’s video below.

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Thumbnail images by Melissa Mantle (Jess Hill presenting on left, Mayor Zoë Baker on right)