The Morrison Government is keeping Australians safe through a $1 million grant from Proceeds of Crime to the Stop the Coward Punch Campaign, which is helping to reduce the scourge of unprovoked violence in the community.
The Coward Punch Campaign was founded in 2014 by Australian world boxing champion Danny Green to raise awareness about the devastating effects the coward punch has on victims and their families.
Minister for Home Affairs Karen Andrews said the campaign helps to educate young people about positive behaviour.
“We see it all too often – on the news, on the internet or when we’re attending events or enjoying a night out – lives wrecked by cowardly and unprovoked violence,” Minister Andrews said.
“To change behaviours, we have to change minds – that’s why campaigns like this are incredibly important. They’re helping to save lives by preventing a punch from even being thrown.
“Since 2000, 172 Australians have lost their lives to coward punches, with countless other victims left injured or traumatised and families left devastated as a result of these cowardly assaults.”
Member for Stirling, Vince Connelly MP, welcomed the funding saying it’ll send a strong, local message.
“As the Liberal candidate for Cowan, I commend Perth’s Danny Green and his team for the work they do in engaging with schools and sporting clubs, raising awareness and supporting young people with strategies and information on the terrible consequences of unnecessary and cowardly acts of violence,” Mr Connelly said.
“It’s largely thanks to Danny’s efforts that the term ‘king-hit’ has all but disappeared and been replaced with the more accurate coward punch description, which is designed to shame and deter people from engaging in violence.
“It’s a very powerful deterrent for a young person to be branded a coward.”
Previously known as a ‘king-hit’ or a ‘one-punch,’ a coward punch is defined as a strike that is unprovoked and delivered without warning.
Campaign research shows the people involved in coward punch incidences are overwhelmingly men, with more than half aged between 18 and 23-years-old. Around 70 per cent of attacks were carried out between 10pm and 4am and 12 per cent resulted in death.
Since 2013, the Coalition Government has provided funding of more than $209 million under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (the Act) to Commonwealth law enforcement agencies to support key crime prevention and law enforcement initiatives.
The Coward Punch Campaign grant is funded by the Act, which allows for confiscated funds to be given back to the community in an endeavour to prevent and reduce the harmful effects of crime in Australia.
For more information on the campaign, visit www.cowardpunchcampaign.com.
