Chamari Liyanage, doctor who killed abusive husband, talks about the domestic violence trap: ‘I thought he would change’

Chamari Liyanage doesn’t look like a woman who’s endured years of abuse.

She doesn’t look like a woman who was beaten by her husband with a wooden rolling pin and a metal chair, forced to perform sex acts for strangers on Skype, who lived in constant fear of the man she thought loved her.

She certainly doesn’t look like a woman who bludgeoned that same man to death with a mallet as he lay in bed in their Geraldton home in June 2014.

And that’s exactly why she’s telling her story.

“I knew all about domestic violence myself as a medical officer, I’ve seen it and I’ve dealt with it,” she told 7.30.

“But in my own life I was trapped and I was isolated and I couldn’t talk about it.

Key points:

• Chamari Liyanage suffered years of abuse by her husband
• In 2014 she bludgeoned him to death
• She was charged and convicted of manslaughter
• Released from prison after serving two-and-a-half years

Family violence support services:

• 1800 Respect national helpline 1800 737 732
• Women’s Crisis Line 1800 811 811
• Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491
• Lifeline (24 hour crisis line) 131 114
• Relationships Australia 1300 364 277

 

MORE: Chamari Liyanage, doctor who killed abusive husband, talks about the domestic violence trap: ‘I thought he would change’ – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)