Safer for all when abuse is exposed

LAST week I received a call from a Carterton resident who wanted to inform me about witnessing a man threatening a woman with a knife in her street.

She was an excellent witness to the events that unfolded, in which, fortunately, no one was hurt.

Perhaps less fortunate was her not going to the police, but she said there were plenty of police on the scene soon afterwards.

It is excellent when people become involved.

The police frown on intervention that might put you in danger, and certainly a man wielding a "great big huge knife" falls into that category.

My woman caller wanted the newspaper to know, and named the street - Clifton Ave - the incident happened in.

I'm guessing she wanted people to know that if you start waving knives around against someone, people are going to observe you, notice you, and do their part to make sure you can't do it again.

In situations of domestic abuse, there should be no hesitation in a third party, a witness, an outsider, calling the police. A knife threat is an obvious one, but sometimes it could just be raised voices, crying, yelling.

Abuse like this survives and thrives when perpetrators believe they are cocooned in their own world, where they (think) they have absolute control and authority over someone.

What can be a shock is the idea that someone else has observed their behaviour, and told on them. It's a reality check.

There's shame involved.

It's the realisation their behaviour is not acceptable.

The newspaper has its part to play in following up on these calls and asking the police what happened next.

Publication of domestic abuse is part of the shame, ensuring it is not a hidden crime.

I've always had the view that if I encounter a bad situation, and I think it's a bad situation, the police are the best people to safely establish what's going on.

If those involved think I've got it wrong, don't waste time explaining it to me. They can explain it to a police officer. At least then everyone's safe.