By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Ex-cop with a camera set to expose family violence…
DAMIEN Howard has swapped his police badge for the camera lens as he seeks to make a TAC-style “shock” commercial against family violence.
He covered the Casey beat for seven years as a cop and said more needs to be done to stop the scourge.
“There are a lot of organisations doing great work for victims but I feel it’s not enough – especially considering the number of people affected.
“It’s a wonder the campaign’s not seen everywhere – on bus shelters and in school curriculums.”
Shockingly, a woman is killed every week in Australia at the hands of her partner or former partner.
Mr Howard has seen hundreds of households wrecked by abusive husbands and dads in Casey.
He said no other issue took up so much police time.
“It’s always the stuff to do with kids that gets to me,” Mr Howard said.
“It’s also when you see a dog neglected. It’s more the innocent victims that shakes me up.”
He said one in four children experience family violence and then copy their parents’ tortured dynamics. They copy those “little things” that go under the radar and as a result they are three times more likely to be perpetrators or victims of family violence as adults.
In his advertisement Mr Howard intends to show not only the impact on the partner but also the damage to her children.
“It will show there are many victims of domestic violence and how it destroys lives.
“It’s designed to educate and shock.”
Mr Howard has seen brutal relationships maintained without complaint through 20 years of abuse.
It doesn’t need to be physically violent to inflict deep wounds on the victims, he said.
Psychological abuse is the most damaging but also, sadly, the most tolerated.
Even after her partner has threatened to kill her, sometimes the victim doesn’t think he is doing anything wrong, he said.
“She says he’s not a bad guy because he doesn’t hit her.
“There’s even a tolerance for it. It becomes the status quo.”
One by one, the wife’s friends stop visiting due to her domineering, belligerent husband.
She has no job, no confidence but is just marooned at home isolated and with “nothing to do”.
“It’s shocking. They look like they’re completely broken and don’t know a way out.
“We nearly have to force their hand for them to walk out.”
Mr Howard had given himself a 10-year limit on his time on the police force.
He had enjoyed the job, its variety and working in the community. It was busy and it got busier as Casey’s population exponentially grew.
He then walked out to pursue his long-held dream to be a film-maker.
Movies grabbed Mr Howard’s imagination when he watched Steven Spielberg’s works such as ET as a child.
“I have vivid memories of these films. They’re timeless.
“I watch them with my own kids and I can see myself watching them with my grandkids.”
His long-held goal was to work in the US as a director. When he won a scholarship to LA, it further whetted his appetite.
It opened his eyes to the creative deluge of film and TV produced in Hollywood where film students inspired him with their proactivity, passion and hard work.
“In any job, I thought I’d retire at 60. But I don’t think I’ll retire as a film-maker.
“It’s not about the money. It’s about when you go to a movie and you feel moved – that feels amazing.”
Mr Howard’s works don’t shy from difficult subjects. He has produced works on depression and on cage-fighting’s positive influence on disaffected youth.
For his family violence campaign, he is seeking $7000 through a crowd-funding site launched on 29 October.
The fund-raising ends on 27 November.
Every $1 in $10 raised will go to the White Ribbon Foundation.
