By Doctors Against Violence Toward Women
For many doctors, Preethi Reddy was a colleague and friend. We shared the anxious wait as the Reddy family called for help on social media. We shared the families’ grief with the unthinkable news. We watched along in shock and disbelief as the media erupted into a furore of fact and speculation.
Preethi was a beloved daughter, sister, partner, colleague and friend, “a bright light, lovable and kind”. Her death was an unnecessary tragedy, robbing a young woman of a hopeful future, all for an entitled man, who couldn’t bear to let her go. On Saturday evening, Doctors Against Violence Towards Women is holding a candle lit vigil in honor of Preethi and in solidarity with her family in their grief.
Preethi’s story is particularly close to our hearts, but we are also doctors who see first hand the damage intimate partner violence does to women and families. We specify women, not because men cannot be victims, nor to blame men, but as a statement of indisputable fact. Men commit by far the majority of violent crime. In Australia, one woman dies per week at the hands of her current or former partner. When men are killed by a female partner, the woman is usually acting in self defence. Harsh Narda was not a sinister anomaly. His actions had nothing to do with his Indian heritage. He was an ordinary man, part of the norm.
Thus, in solidarity with Tarang Chawla, we urge the media and politicians to consider why men are violent and to look at how we can change this. Otherwise Preethi will become body number 10, the news cycle will move on and nothing will change. Tomorrow we lay down flowers and grieve for Preethi. We demand genuine justice for her and all victims of intimate partner violence. This should be a bipartisan issue. The time has long past for excuses.
Please find the facebook event info here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/250251229197694/?ti=ia
To find out more information about the organisation, Doctors Against Violence Towards Women, please do sign up to our email list and find us on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrsAgainstViolenceTowardWomen
Instagram handle: @doctorsagainstviolence