VICTORIA’S Community Sport Minister will meet with a woman severely bashed by her partner at Irymple to discuss her ideas of empowering sporting organisations to help tackle the issue of domestic violence.
Kim O’Reilly was struck multiple times by blows of “significant force” resulting in a fractured eye socket, bruising to her face, arms and upper chest and cracked teeth in the January 2019 attack at her then partner’s house in Irymple.
Ms O’Reilly wants to establish a no violence tolerance policy established throughout Sunraysia sporting organisations and yesterday received a commitment by minister Ros Spence to discuss her ideas for change.
Member for Mildura Ali Cupper facilitated the meeting in State Parliament, detailing to MPs how Jake Frecker beat Ms O’Reilly her until she blacked out and when she asked for help to get up he told her “you still have a pulse, you can get up yourself”.
“Six months later Jake was released on bail and made his triumphant return to the footy field (for Dimboola),” Ms Cupper told parliament.
“One club president resigned over the decision to let Jake play, but the new club president allowed it on the basis that Jake’s father was a club great,” she said.
“Jake’s galling sense of entitlement to bash a woman with impunity doesn’t come out of nowhere — it comes from years of social conditioning by a matrix of enablers.
“Sporting clubs can be powerful enablers — not all footy clubs provide a platform for violent men to be worshipped, but some do.”
Ms Cupper said Ms O’Reilly had some ideas about how to address the issue and requested the minister to meet with her to discuss her thoughts.
In response, Ms Spence said she was “really sorry” to have to answer the question.
“The circumstances that have led to this question are quite heartbreaking and really the question shouldn’t have needed to be asked because it should not have happened in the first place,” Ms Spence said.
“To Kim, can I just say that I’m terribly sorry that this has happened to you.
“Any instance of violence against a woman is completely abhorrent.
“What we do know though is that it happens far too often and this is an issue that is taken incredibly seriously by this government.”
Ms Spence said she would be pleased to meet with Ms O’Reilly and hear her ideas for change.
“I’d like to commend the Member for Mildura for her advocacy and also look forward to hearing from the Member for Mildura and Kim about what we can do working with the community and with sporting groups to get these matters and issues dealt with,” she said.
“Sporting clubs can be a really powerful vehicle for change and as well as strengthening communities, bringing people together, they really can be that very important vehicle for change.”
