This is Australia....not the middle east. We are all shocked at the oppression of women in other countries, but the silent killer, domestic violence, is a growing epidemic right in our own backyard! 1 WOMAN IS KILLED EVERY WEEK IN AUSTRALIA by a current or former partner, the Australian Institute of Criminology has reported. In NSW, 24 women were killed last year in domestic-related incidents. They spanned all ages and backgrounds, from the eastern suburbs to country towns. ‘‘I never thought I would see my sister in this position, never in a million years,’’ said Charnie Braz, whose ‘‘fearless baby sister’’ Marika Ninness, 35, was allegedly bashed to death by her boyfriend of 10 months, Ross Merrick, in December. ‘‘She was the sort of girl who didn’t put up with anyone’s nonsense ... she was loving and kind but she didn’t take shit from anyone. To suddenly lose her like that is just horrific.’’ Marika, a mother of three, had separated from her husband but was thinking of leaving her new boyfriend for the sake of her marriage and young family. Her friends had heard less and less from her. Posts on social media seemed out of character. ‘‘She was just not as in touch as she had been,’’ Ms Braz said. ‘‘Towards the end I felt like I hadn’t heard from her in weeks, she was just really distant.’’ Mr Merrick, 30, allegedly punched his girlfriend once in the face during a late-night fight outside a Maitland shopping centre. She died two weeks later from serious head injuries. On the same day her life support was switched off, friends of vivacious 29-year-old Ivana Ukropina scattered her ashes at her favourite spot, Coogee Beach. The eastern suburbs law student had just finished working as an intern on a UNSW Pro Bono Resource Centre project on family law and violence. In a cruel twist of irony, she allegedly became a victim of family violence herself, stabbed once in the back by her father, Djuro Ukropina, and found on the footpath outside their Kingsford home. ‘‘Her goal in life was to help people, and she died doing just that,’’ her partner, Nenad Bogdanic, posted online. ‘‘Ican’t think of anyone less deserving of this fate.’’ In January, mother-of-three Victoria Comrie Cullen, 39, allegedly had her throat slashed by her estranged husband Christopher, 50, on the day she was due in court in a legal battle following the breakdown of their 15-year marriage. Her body was found in a Taren Point car park, and her husband was located nearby with superficial, self-inflicted wounds. Less than a month later, Elie Boukarim came home to his Bankstown unit block to see a body being carried out on a stretcher. It was his mother, ‘‘my angel my life my queen the closest person to me’’, he said. Margaret Boukarim, 47, was allegedly bashed by her husband, George Tannous, following ongoing disputes including accusations of affairs on both sides. ‘‘You suffered for 18 years while another woman would have let go after 3months, for us,’’ her son posted in a tribute online. ‘‘You were the strongest woman, the strongest person I knew.’’ Women we have lost to domestic violence this year: Ivana Ukropina, 29. Stabbed once in the back and found outside her Kingsford apartment block on November 14. Father Djuro Ukropina, 59, charged with murder. Keelie Dutton, 41. Stabbed in a Miller apartment on November 26. De-facto partner David Murray, 49, arrested at the scene and charged with murder. Christie Camilleri, 32, found stabbed to death in a Guildford granny flat on December 5. Former partner Stuart Morphy, 25, who she had split with a year earlier, charged with murder. Marika Ninness, 35, fatally punched outside a Maitland shopping centre on December 7 following an argument. Charges against her boyfriend Ross Merrick, 30, upgraded to murder when her life support was switched off two weeks later. Therese Brown, 52, stabbed in her Bulli home on January 3. Brother David Brown, 46, charged with murder after turning himself in to Gladesville police the next morning. [Not pictured] Victoria Comrie Cullen, 39, found in a Taren Point car park with her throat slashed on January 22. Estranged husband Christopher Cullen, 50, found nearby with self-inflicted wounds and charged with murder. She had an AVO against her husband. Margaret Tannous, 47, bashed to death in her Bankstown unit on February 17. Husband George Tannous charged after turning himself in to police. For 24 hour help, call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732). Or see your state and territory helplines here.
Posted on: Sat, 08 Mar 2014 04:57:44 +0000
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