When Darryl Jobson was a rookie cop back in 1988, he was posted to Mt Druitt. It was his first – but unfortunately, not his last – experience of domestic violence.
“I saw first hand the effects of domestic violence,” he said this morning at a White Ribbon Day breakfast hosted by the mayor, Mark Greenhill. “I have never forgotten my formative years which has shaped my response to domestic violence.”
The now Superintendent Jobson said he was honoured to be named the 2016 Blue Mountains White Ribbon Ambassador at the function.
He said policing work had come a long way since those days in Mt Druitt and pointed out the recently launched No Innocent Bystander campaign, which calls on the community to report domestic violence.
He also referred to the speech given this week in Federal Parliament by the MP for Lindsay, Emma Husar, detailing the years of abuse she faced, both as a child with her father and later in her own marriage.
Superintendent Jobson described the speech as “inspiring, courageous and compelling”.
And listening to the responses to the speech, he said “it’s clear she has had a profound effect on the community”.
Cr Greenhill bemoaned the sexist remarks which have been made in recent times by some prominent politicians, including Donald Trump and Mark Latham.
He said the “connection between sexism and domestic violence is real”, and called upon everyone to report abuse to help break the cycle.
Katoomba High School principal, Jenny Boyall, declared: “We will not be silent. We will speak out as a community. We will and we can, together, make a difference.”
The men in the audience then stood and together made the White Ribbon Pledge to stand up, speak out and act to prevent men’s violence against women.
