Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

It is 16 years since a handful of men from Canada formed the White Ribbon Day concept. They came together following the massacre by one man of 14 women in Montreal. Thus began the white ribbon campaign to encourage, to urge, to educate and to inspire men to stop violence against women. The White Ribbon Foundation of Australia aims to eliminate violence against women by promoting cultural change around this issue. The major strategies to achieve this are a national media campaign as well as education and leadership programs aimed at men and young boys around our country. The inspiration of 16 years ago continues today. As someone who, of course, has a mother and as a husband, a brother and an uncle to nieces I want in the Parliament of Australia to lend my name to this campaign. I want to encourage all men and all boys to be very conscious of this fact, to be very aware of this issue and to join with members of this parliament and with all men and all boys—it could be at school or at university—across Australia in the campaign against violence full stop and against violence against women.

In 1999 the United Nations General Assembly declared 25 November the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and the white ribbon has come to symbolise that day. Today, hundreds of thousands of white ribbons are worn by men and women across Australia. They are worn by men at work, men in the Australian forces, men in national and local sporting organisations, men in the media, men in the cities and men in the bush. Men across our country are standing together to say to each other as well as to the women of our community that we will not tolerate violence towards our mothers, towards our wives, towards our sisters or towards our nieces. We will not tolerate this.

It is widely recognised that violence against women is a significant problem in our country and, indeed, in our world. The widespread violence has impacts far beyond the immediate physical, far beyond what might be a bruise or a black eye. The significance is profound. It is significant psychologically, it is significant emotionally and it is significant economically as well. One in four 12- to 20-year-old Australians surveyed was aware of domestic violence against their mums or their stepmums by their fathers or stepfathers. Children and young people are also victims of direct violence by adults. We abhor this. We reject this. We say it must stop. We must expose domestic violence in its direct and indirect forms. We must do all we can to say that as a country, as a society and as a community we will not tolerate any form of abuse against our mothers, our wives, our sisters or our nieces. We must say no to domestic violence in every form because it is simply wrong and it is simply unacceptable.

Children’s and young people’s education and later employment prospects can be harmed by domestic violence. Living with domestic violence can shape young people’s attitudes towards violence in either a positive or negative direction. Young men who have experienced domestic violence are more likely to perpetrate violence in their own relationships, although the majority do not. We must be consciously aware of this statistic. On behalf of the Ryan electorate, on behalf of all the men of the Ryan electorate in the western suburbs of Brisbane, I wish in the Parliament of Australia to say that we will do all we can to say no to violence against women. We must treasure our mothers, we must treasure our wives, we must treasure our sisters and we must treasure our nieces. They are very special people indeed.

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