Alannah Joynes

Dear Shire of Ashburton. I think you should know Ben Cousins threatened to bury his wife in her car and to bring her children by so she could hear them playing as she suffocated to death. He also told her: 'I am going to kill you. I'm going to take your life and freedom and the things you love the most'. He was convicted on a charge of aggravated stalking and he breached a domestic violence order more than 20 times. I can only surmise that you have no idea of Cousins' history of domestic violence given you've booked him to be the guest speaker at a community awards night. This includes having him present an award to young people - that's a really shit decision given the children of abusers are also victims. Would you like the boys and young men in your community to aspire to be Ben Cousins or would you like them to respect women? I notice the council provides support for local anti-violence campaigns and for organisations working with domestic violence victim-survivors. All of this good work disappears when you platform domestic violence perps. You may not have noticed, but Australia has lost 55 women to violence this year and all but three were killed by men. Male violence against women is increasing but you are sending a message to young men and boys that hurting women is no impediment to glorification. If Cousins take the stage on your big night, you will be telling women that our concerns about male violence are nothing compared to this man's public standing.

Sam Wood joked about strangling his partner to death before he was charged with a strangulation offence. STORY: australianfemicidewatch.org/…