The huge volume of cases involving violence against women and children is disheartening.
Despite all the protests against gender-based violence and efforts to educate and help the abusers deal with their issues in non-violent ways, women are still being brutalised and killed every day.
And there is no sign of this epidemic of violence slowing.
There is not a day that goes by that we do not carry reports about women being raped, beaten and/or killed.
Our sister newspaper, the Weekend Post, carried three reports on Saturday about incidents involving some form of violence or abuse against females, whether it was being stabbed and left for dead, or murdered or allegedly being victimised on social media, and it is hugely disappointing that nothing seems to be changing despite all the publicity.
There is so much talk about the issue, but what is actually being done to help these at-risk women break free from their abusers and rebuild their lives in a safe environment?
What keeps them there in too many cases is the lack of a safe place to stay and the financial means to support themselves and their children.
Endless reports, opinion pieces and letters are written about the problem.
There are webinars, public meetings and talk after talk about it, but nothing changes.
Now we hear about people battling to get protection orders against their alleged abusers, with some having to go back to the courts day after day in a desperate bid to obtain some form of legal protection.
While a protection order in itself is nothing without the appropriate backup of law enforcement, it does — in most cases — make an abuser think twice before lifting his or her hand in anger.
The key is that the police act immediately should the order be breached.
The court will allegedly hear only 10 cases a day.
Absorb that for a moment — ONLY 10 cases a day. Take just that number of cases a day multiplied over a year and it is a frightening statistic.
If we cannot stop the abuse, we must find a better way of protecting the victims and helping them to become strong and financially independent.
Most important, they must have somewhere to go where they are confident they will be safe.
So we need many more shelters and less talk.
Let individuals, companies and government officials put more effort and cash into ensuring the vulnerable have a safe refuge — not just for a day or a week, but long-term.
HeraldLIVE