THE mum of murdered boy Luke Batty has broken down on Studio 10 this morning blasting the show’s co-host Joe Hildebrand for his “misguided” comments about changes to Victorian law which could make it a crime not to disclose a case of child abuse.
He said,
“Obviously you can’t help but feel a huge amount of sympathy for anyone who’s in an abusive relationship but ... you have to get out, you absolutely have to get out. There are huge economic costs associated with that, yes there are often other things, but anything is better than staying in an abusive relationship. Frankly, to say that you’re going to not report a case of child abuse or child sex abuse by your partner because you are scared for your own safety, I’m sorry, it is not an excuse.”
The comments riled Ms Batty so much that she was visibly distressed by the time the hosts crossed to her.
“Joe, your comments are so, so misguided,” Ms Batty said. “If you minimise how it feels to feel unsafe, and when we’re talking about unsafe, we’re talking about the risk to our lives, we’re talking about when women finally may decide to leave their partners they have the most risks.
“I am absolutely outraged. I was living in hope that because of Luke’s tragic death it would bring a huge awareness to family violence. This is beyond my comprehension how, again, the woman who is the victim is punished.”
Ms Batty then went on to give detail about the violence she faced at the hands of her estranged husband Greg Anderson who killed his son before being shot by police earlier this year.
“Do you know what happened to me?” she asked. “Greg had finally lost control of me and the final act of control, which was the most hideous form of violence, was to kill my son. So don’t you ever think that if we don’t report it’s because we don’t want to. It’s because we are so scared about what might happen.
“Joe needs to look at his views as a man and he needs to step up and get informed. Because when I hear comments like that I am so saddened that the focus is still on the woman. Where the hell is the perpetrator? Why isn’t he being jailed for three years?”
Hildebrand, who stayed mostly silent during the cross, then tried to explain to Ms Batty that his understanding of the proposed changes to the law is that they are to protect women not punish them.
“The intention of the law is not to punish women, Rosie,” he said. “The intention of the law is to make the protection of the child an absolute priority and to prevent that child from being exposed to sex abuse or further abuse ...”
Ms Batty then cut him off and asked: “Joe, where do you go to be protected 24 hours a day, seven days a week?”
The show’s other hosts including Sarah Harris and Jessica Rowe tried to regain control of the interview calling Ms Batty an inspiration and asking her about her fundraising efforts.
But Ms Batty was not ready to let it go saying “I really, really didn’t like the way the panel spoke about that situation and I think there’s still so much education to go for men and women about what I’m now experiencing.”
After the segment ended Studio 10 thanked Ms Batty for her “grace” and “passion” in a tweet.
News.com.au has asked both Hildebrand and Studio 10 if they would like to comment further and is waiting a response.
Family violence victim groups are concerned women with abusive partners may be unfairly jailed under new Victorian laws that make it a crime not to disclose a case of child sex abuse.
The crime carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. The laws were announced in a statement by Attorney-General Robert Clark yesterday.
“This new law will make clear that people who know or believe that a child has been sexually abused cannot just keep quiet about it — they have a duty to tell the police what they know so that the police can bring the offender to justice and prevent further abuse,” Mr Clark said.
"It will not be an offence if a person does not report and has “reasonable fears for their or another person’s safety and it is reasonable not to report in the circumstances”. That should settle it, but apparently not.
Dr Chris Atmore, senior policy adviser at the Federation of Community Legal Centres, told news.com.au one concern with the laws is that women in domestic violence situations could be jailed with failing to protect and disclose sexual abuse. Doesn't the statement above contradict that? - I guess it's a matter of determination by a judge and so anything is possible.
Dr Atmore said in a “horrible minority” of cases overseas, the perpetrator of the abuse has done a deal with police and left jail before the other parent. “That’s one of our major concerns,” she said. No kidding, what a nightmare that would be.
Ms Batty first spoke out about family violence the day after her husband Greg killed their son Luke at cricket training.
The 11-year-old boy died from severe head injuries after his father bashed him in front of onlookers at a cricket oval in Tyabb, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the evening of February 12.
“It’s a tragic situation that no one could see what was going to happen. I’m still dealing with disbelief,” an emotional Ms Batty told reporters at the time.
“I want to tell everybody that family violence happens to everybody, no matter how nice your house is, how intelligent you are, it happens to anyone and everyone.”
Part of the exchange can be seen here. Please pray for Rosie and her daughter (assuming from picture). They will need a lot of help to come to terms with this horror story.
To donate to the Luke Batty foundation visit http://www.gofundme.com/lukebattyfund.
For help with sexual assault, domestic and family violence, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800respect.org.au. If you, a child or another person is in immediate danger CALL 000.
He said,
“Obviously you can’t help but feel a huge amount of sympathy for anyone who’s in an abusive relationship but ... you have to get out, you absolutely have to get out. There are huge economic costs associated with that, yes there are often other things, but anything is better than staying in an abusive relationship. Frankly, to say that you’re going to not report a case of child abuse or child sex abuse by your partner because you are scared for your own safety, I’m sorry, it is not an excuse.”
 |
| Show host Joe Hildebrand and guest Rosie Batty |
“Joe, your comments are so, so misguided,” Ms Batty said. “If you minimise how it feels to feel unsafe, and when we’re talking about unsafe, we’re talking about the risk to our lives, we’re talking about when women finally may decide to leave their partners they have the most risks.
“I am absolutely outraged. I was living in hope that because of Luke’s tragic death it would bring a huge awareness to family violence. This is beyond my comprehension how, again, the woman who is the victim is punished.”
Ms Batty then went on to give detail about the violence she faced at the hands of her estranged husband Greg Anderson who killed his son before being shot by police earlier this year.
“Do you know what happened to me?” she asked. “Greg had finally lost control of me and the final act of control, which was the most hideous form of violence, was to kill my son. So don’t you ever think that if we don’t report it’s because we don’t want to. It’s because we are so scared about what might happen.
“Joe needs to look at his views as a man and he needs to step up and get informed. Because when I hear comments like that I am so saddened that the focus is still on the woman. Where the hell is the perpetrator? Why isn’t he being jailed for three years?”
Hildebrand, who stayed mostly silent during the cross, then tried to explain to Ms Batty that his understanding of the proposed changes to the law is that they are to protect women not punish them.
 |
| Rosie and son Luke |
Ms Batty then cut him off and asked: “Joe, where do you go to be protected 24 hours a day, seven days a week?”
The show’s other hosts including Sarah Harris and Jessica Rowe tried to regain control of the interview calling Ms Batty an inspiration and asking her about her fundraising efforts.
But Ms Batty was not ready to let it go saying “I really, really didn’t like the way the panel spoke about that situation and I think there’s still so much education to go for men and women about what I’m now experiencing.”
After the segment ended Studio 10 thanked Ms Batty for her “grace” and “passion” in a tweet.
News.com.au has asked both Hildebrand and Studio 10 if they would like to comment further and is waiting a response.
Family violence victim groups are concerned women with abusive partners may be unfairly jailed under new Victorian laws that make it a crime not to disclose a case of child sex abuse.
The crime carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison. The laws were announced in a statement by Attorney-General Robert Clark yesterday.
“This new law will make clear that people who know or believe that a child has been sexually abused cannot just keep quiet about it — they have a duty to tell the police what they know so that the police can bring the offender to justice and prevent further abuse,” Mr Clark said.
"It will not be an offence if a person does not report and has “reasonable fears for their or another person’s safety and it is reasonable not to report in the circumstances”. That should settle it, but apparently not.
Dr Chris Atmore, senior policy adviser at the Federation of Community Legal Centres, told news.com.au one concern with the laws is that women in domestic violence situations could be jailed with failing to protect and disclose sexual abuse. Doesn't the statement above contradict that? - I guess it's a matter of determination by a judge and so anything is possible.
Dr Atmore said in a “horrible minority” of cases overseas, the perpetrator of the abuse has done a deal with police and left jail before the other parent. “That’s one of our major concerns,” she said. No kidding, what a nightmare that would be.
Ms Batty first spoke out about family violence the day after her husband Greg killed their son Luke at cricket training.
The 11-year-old boy died from severe head injuries after his father bashed him in front of onlookers at a cricket oval in Tyabb, on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, the evening of February 12.
 |
| Rosie Batty at her son's funeral, Feb 21, 2014 |
“I want to tell everybody that family violence happens to everybody, no matter how nice your house is, how intelligent you are, it happens to anyone and everyone.”
Part of the exchange can be seen here. Please pray for Rosie and her daughter (assuming from picture). They will need a lot of help to come to terms with this horror story.
To donate to the Luke Batty foundation visit http://www.gofundme.com/lukebattyfund.
For help with sexual assault, domestic and family violence, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800respect.org.au. If you, a child or another person is in immediate danger CALL 000.
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