Mother of domestic violence murder victim slams system designed to protect women and children
Calls are intensifying for significant reforms to apprehended domestic violence orders (ADVOs) after a woman was murdered by her husband despite having an order in place. Her family argues that the system is not effectively protecting women, highlighting a need for improved safety measures and enforcement.
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00:00Donna Thornell now lives in her daughter's house and is raising her children.
00:05She's created a tribute to Christy, capturing happy memories from before she was murdered.
00:11That will never leave me. I go through that every single day.
00:16Christy Armstrong was killed by her former husband, Troy,
00:20when he ran her car off the road near her home at Molong in June last year.
00:24He was charged with murder but died in jail earlier this month.
00:28Donna Thornell says her daughter's death followed years of coercive control,
00:32financial and psychological abuse.
00:35He said to Christy, if you go, when you come back, the house will be burnt down,
00:39the cat will be dead and you'll find me dead.
00:42Christy had taken out an ADVO against her ex-partner.
00:46It was breached the day she died.
00:49They're nothing. They mean nothing. Absolutely nothing.
00:53Yeah. It didn't work.
00:57Anne-Marie Miosch heads up a domestic violence support provider
01:01servicing more than half of the state.
01:03Like Donna, she has little faith in ADVOs.
01:07For a man who has decided he's going to get that woman, no matter what,
01:12that piece of paper is not going to protect her.
01:15Crime figures also paint a worrying picture.
01:17The ten council areas with the highest rates of ADVO breaches
01:21are all in regional New South Wales.
01:23In recent years, Walgut, the Moray Plains and Broken Hill
01:26have regularly featured in the top three.
01:29Campaigners say the justice system needs to prioritise a woman's safety
01:34rather than the perpetrator's presumption of innocence.
01:37I'd really like the whole system to be looked at from a woman's perspective.
01:42In a statement, New South Wales police say regular checks are made on ADVO compliance.
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