The mother of a woman slain by her ice- addicted partner in Sunshine almost two years ago has called for mandatory reporting when domestic violence is suspected in relationships.
Rekiah O’Donnell, 22, was shot by her “paranoid” boyfriend, Nelson Lai, following “14 months of abuse”, her mother Kerryn Robertson told the Royal Commission on Family Violence.
“I think there should be mandatory reporting by doctors, schools and community services where domestic violence is suspected,” Ms Robertson said.
“Police should be able to act on reports from family members or friends and be able to take out some sort of order on behalf of that person, who is usually too weak and fearful to do it themselves.
“If an intervention order is taken out by a person, as soon as the perpetrator breaks it they should be jailed for a period of time … it would at least be good to be able to have some sort of warning issued.”
Ms Robertson echoed the thoughts of Australian of the Year Rosie Batty that relationship education needed to be taught in schools.
“Our boys and girls need to be educated at a young age about what is right and wrong in relationships, what a healthy relationship looks like,” she said. “They also need to be educated about what domestic violence is so they can recognise it in their own homes and know where to go to get help.”
