February is Peace and Conflict Prevention Month.
The media is running hot: Russia musters tanks and ballistic missiles on the border of Ukraine. China is determined to bring Taiwan “back into the fold”, and.. and... Yup. And whaddya want me to do about it?
That is the obvious question the average ‘Mr & Ms Average’ ask themselves. [Is there such a thing as a Mr & Ms Average? After all, we are all individuals, aren’t we? Like everybody else.] One gets a feeling of helplessness and irrelevance; if one has relatives “over there”, even anxiety. Whenever the subject of Peace and Conflict Prevention is brought up, the first thing that pops into your mind is international conflict. We visualise war, in whatever form, from economic coercion all the way to… (shudder).
Our club has in recent years proudly sponsored multiple International Peace Fellowships. But Peace and Conflict is not limited to international, political boundaries. It is as much an issue in the work place and at home. Just ask your local police officer how many Domestic Violence incidents they respond to every day. In Australia, the statistics are stark: according to the Federal Government’s Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), one in six women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former partner, but men are not entirely safe either: there, the ratio is 1 in 16. (1) But it’s not just the immediate violence that concerns us. DV is one of the leading causes of homelessness. And, by the way, DV is not just happening in the so-called ‘lower socioeconomic classes’.
So where do we come in as Rotarians? Well, if it is that pervasive as one in six, perhaps it occurs right in your neighbourhood. Perhaps you could take an active role, at least advise the authorities, if not “give an ear” to a person whom you know (or suspect) is affected. If you don’t want to be directly involved, you can volunteer or donate. Pick your favourite charity, from Mission Australia, the Salvation Army, Lifeline, Vinnies; they are all battling this insidious disease.