Sharman Stone (Murray, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

There is an old saying that, for evil to thrive, it only requires good people to do nothing. That is particularly true for domestic violence. It happens behind closed doors fairly often. The screams and distress are too often ignored by neighbours who feel that perhaps it might be dangerous for them to intervene or that it is not really their business. When women go about with bruises, when children go about with bruises or are neglected, the ready explanation that this person banged into the door is accepted. It is not good enough for Australia. We know that domestic violence witnessed by young children—violence against mothers and grandmothers and sisters—tends to be perpetrated on the next generation and the next, unless we do something seriously about breaking the cycle. We know that domestic violence is often associated with drug and alcohol abuse, but that is not an excuse. We know that often it is to do with young people being brought up to think it is okay. The great news is that the White Ribbon Foundation has been able to establish that there are programs and practices that can cut through the attitudes of people—particularly young men—to domestic violence. There are programs that can help young men understand that life can be different.

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