Andrew Dickens Afternoons

In the wake of the murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children by a former New Zealander who burnt his family to death and then killed himself with a knife, which takes a lot of doing, there has been much wringing of hands.But some are saying we must do something to prevent this from happening to one more woman, one more child.In Australia, Heather Nancarrow, the chief executive of the Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, proposed a dramatic policy.She reckons that during the period of separation, every man must be put on a program. Their mental health should be checked and scrutinised for signs of violence.  All to make sure he is making the transition safely and does not become a risk to women, children or themselves.Even Heather Nancarrow admits her idea is a radical one and it’s easy to pull it apart on logistics only.  And when we concentrate on one gender only in the relationship transition process, we’re ignoring the vast majority of people going through this highly stressf