It is the 3rd anniversary of Sargun Ragi s death and one year anniversary of Luke Battys death. The Coroner Judge Ian Gray released the findings of inquest into Luke Battys death. He found that the system failed to protect Luke and his mother Rosie Batty (Australian of Year 2015) from Luke Father Mr Greg Anderson. He was the perpetrator of repeated attacks of domestic violence against Rosie Batty until he killed his son Luke in full view of the public and then he was shot dead by the Police.
In the case of Sargun Ragi’s inquest held this year the Coroner suppressed the findings stating that some people’s life could be place at risk by releasing the findings.
I read a post on Social media that Sargun had been torturing her husband by having an affair, he therefore was not committing typical domestic violence.
People it seems do not understand the definition of domestic violence. Domestic violence is an act of physical abuse or emotional abuse or financial abuse or sexual abuse with the aim of gaining systematic dominance and control over the victim’s life. The victim is full of fear and loses individuality and ability to seek medical or other social help when she needs. This makes her vulnerable to being abused and murdered.
Sargun was beaten regularly and locked in her room, she had no access to money or telephone.
If she had an affair then her husband had an option to end the marriage. He had NO RIGHT to kill her.
In Luke Batty’s case his father was regularly terrorising Luke’s mother and she never dreamed he would hurt their son Luke. But as the Coroner said in his report it is possible that one reason was that as Luke was growing up he did not want to visit his father as much as before, he perhaps preferred to be with his peers and friends. This might have made his father Greg Anderson angry and he possibly felt out of control over the situation. He felt the final best way to control him was to kill his own son.
This need for control and dominance was behind Sargun Ragi’s death. If her husband felt powerless and out of control, unable to make her love him he thought the best way forward was to kill her. This would give him absolute and final control over her.
The need for control and dominance by one partner over another in an intimate marital situation is at the heart of gender inequality and inequality of power between men and women. One husband said to his wife