New figures this week show the number of family and domestic violence offenders rose by 8 per cent last financial year. We also know two in five Australian women have experienced violence since the age of 15.

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Some of my bosses over the years have claimed to find this statistic both horrific and, ah, boring. Yet it still plunges me into anger and sadness. Now it's in my immediate world. I got a text from a mate at some ungodly hour - before 9am - on Saturday: Have you seen the Catalano story?

The story? The ABC's Kristian Silva reported that Antony Catalano, the co-owner and then executive chair of Australian Community Media which owns this newspaper, faces charges of assault, false imprisonment and making threats to kill. He was granted bail on Friday night. Silva was watching the proceedings via video link. The bloke's on leave but this story, from a tip-off, was too big to miss.

Folks are tiptoeing around the relationship of Catalano to the victim. Let me give it to you in his own words. He was "deeply ashamed and humiliated". His actions had "caused hurt and concern for others, including the woman involved, my family [and] friends". Does that sound like a perfect stranger to you?

Now I've worked at a lot of places with bosses in trouble so I was expecting the usual. Nothing to see here. We will investigate. That's 1000 per cent true when it comes to men described as rainmakers. Money always beats women's safety - remember Julia Szlakowski who blew the whistle on the man who sexually harassed her at AMP.

Not this time. Soon after the story appeared everywhere, news followed that Catalano, in his Fairfax days affectionately called "The Cat" back by dolts who think a creepy boss should have a cute nickname, ACM announced he'd been placed on an immediate leave of absence. Next minute, Catalano was telling the world he had mental health problems. Der. And instead of doing what organisations usually do, i.e., say we'll support him as he recovers, ACM did the right thing. Catalano was gone. At ACM, he'd been barely visible anyway. One senior woman told me: "I wouldn't recognise him if I fell over him." Mind you, she wouldn't be the one falling over.

Managing director of ACM Tony Kendall held a meeting on Monday afternoon for staff. Catalano would not be provided a lifeline. "Personally, I'm shocked, I'm appalled and, quite frankly, pretty pissed off," Kendall told staff. On Tuesday, ACM union members passed a motion of no confidence in Catalano. And on Wednesday........

© Canberra Times