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Wednesday 15 April 2020
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Family in limbo from sounds of silence THE day the music died for Erin Moore was also the day that she realised the precarious situation her family was facing. Ms Moore and her partner Nick Martin run the Soundbar in Rosebud which, like other venues, has had to close its doors in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. The couple live in a residence attached to the venue. Ms Moore is waiting in “the virtual JobSeeker line” for Centrelink payments while Mr Martin, is ineligible for government help because he is a Canadian citizen on a 482 visa. The couple has been “saving every dollar for the outrageously priced partnership visa”, but that has become a distant hope. “We were so close,” Ms Moore said. “Everyone keeps saying we’re in this together, but it’s hard to keep positive when decisions are being made without any thought as to who they might affect. “I want nothing more than to open the Soundbar’s doors again. Welcome our first customer. Book a band and sit back and watch the workplace that we created with so many, many years of hard work.” Meanwhile, the Soundbar is providing an online platform for musicians to play from their lounge rooms on Tuesday nights. Keith Platt SOUNDBAR proprietors Erin Moore and Nick Martin with children Morrison, 6, India, 7 and Frankie. Picture: Yanni
Fears of rise in family violence Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au A DROMANA woman who has been volunteering as a family violence victim’ advocate for the past three years fears enforced isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to an increase in abuse. Geraldine Bilston said isolated living, less contact with people outside their homes, financial pressures and unforeseen stresses could mean “we
are now bracing for an increase in domestic violence on the Mornington Peninsula”. As a survivor of domestic violence who fled with her daughter from a “man we should have been able to trust and feel safe with”, Ms Bilston said she experienced many forms of family violence. “He ran us off the road in his car a day after I escaped the relationship,” she said. “Before I left I was physically assaulted and abused after enduring years of emotional abuse, which had been es-
calating during our relationship.” Her attacker was initially charged with assault causing serious harm, several breaches of an intervention order, and conduct endangering lives. “However, his lawyer got a plea deal with the police prosecutor where he pleaded guilty and the charges were downgraded to general assault, one charge of persistently breaching an IVO, and dangerous driving,” she said. Through her role as an advocate, Ms Bilston said many women were messaging her and disclosing emotional
abuse and controlling behaviours occurring within their relationships. “As we move further and further into isolation, with heightened stress and tension, I worry about how these abusive partners and situations are going to escalate,” she said. Ms Bilston said that as a community “we have to stay physically distanced [but] we should remain socially connected to one another – particularly with those we know who are vulnerable, including people we care for that we know or suspect may be experienc-
ing forms of family violence”. “This includes our family, friends and our neighbours. Stay vigilant, stay in contact via telephone/social media/ the internet, and check in regularly with these people,” she said. Recent statistics show an increase of 75 per cent of Google searches on domestic violence in NSW. “There are several articles floating around about this statistic,” she said. “Unfortunately, I have not seen anything released on Victorian statistics as yet.” Continued Page 6
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