John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fowler for raising this important motion in recognition of 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The white ribbon campaign is one of the world's largest movements to raise awareness and funds for the prevention of violence perpetrated against women. As a male-led movement it engages and empowers men and boys to be leaders in a change of attitudes and behaviour.

Violence most obviously damages the victim, but it also has a profound impact on the wider community. The individual carries physical and psychological scars for years, if not decades, to come. Many victims of assault, threats, abuse and sexual violence have summoned the courage to discuss the long-term effects on their relationships, on their children and on their communities. The National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children has also calculated an economic impact, with the estimated cost of reported violence against women and their children totalling $13.6 billion in 2009. This cost is because the victims do not suffer in isolation; they are our wives, our mothers, our sisters, our daughters and our friends. It is vital that from the top down and the bottom up, from our parliaments and from our schoolyards, we show that we treat this issue with the utmost seriousness. In 1991, the White Ribbon concept was started in Canada by a group of men commemorating the second anniversary of one man's massacre of 14 female engineering students. White Ribbon activities began in Australia in 2003. Whilst many events are held close to 25 November, the White Ribbon campaign is year round. This work aims to raise funds to resource and support White Ribbon ambassadors in their activities. I am proud to have recently added my name to the list of White Ribbon ambassadors and have taken the White Ribbon oath. I urge all men to do likewise.

The White Ribbon Foundation participates in social marketing, supports community activities in increasing participation and awareness and distributes school information, education strategies, research information and policy advice to identify effective activities and interventions to prevent violence against women. White Ribbon urges men to be positive role models and to recognise and promote awareness of the shocking extent of violence against women. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, one in three women in Australia reports having experienced violence since the age of 15—that is over 2.5 million women. Of this number nearly 1.5 million, or one in five women, have experienced a form of sexual violence. Almost every week in Australia a woman is killed by a male partner or ex-partner, often post separation. Intimate partner violence, including physical, emotional and sexual violence, is the leading contributor to death, disability and ill health in women aged between 15 and 44. The impacts flow on to our children. Fifty-five per cent of homeless women with children are escaping domestic violence. One in four young people have witnessed violence against their mother or stepmother. Exposure to domestic violence is a form of child abuse that cannot be ignored, with high personality, behavioural and psychological problems amongst these children. Research has shown that young men who have experienced domestic violence are more likely to become perpetrators of violence in their own relationships. Of course, a perpetual problem with statistics in this kind of field is the likelihood of under-reporting, with many women bearing a form of shame for the crimes that have been committed against them.

Violence against women is too often perpetrated by current or former partners of the victim and with the knowledge of male peers of the offender. As a male-led movement, the White Ribbon organisation was formed to encourage men to speak out about violence against women. Silence when we know violence is occurring makes us an accessory to the violence. Challenging attitudes will help other men take the steps necessary to break the cycle of violence. This is essential to promote the cultural change to show that masculinity and machismo are directly linked with respect for women, not associated with violence and domination.

We men are a strange group when it comes to such change. Many in this place commented on my recent physical likeness to my former colleague John Newcombe—the one of the moustache. Whilst I will protest that there is no similarity between our backhands—he was once called by the great Lew Hoad 'Johnny No-backhand'—I was only one step better, in my opinion, not in his. But I am proudly showing my support for Movember, another male-led cultural change program. Recently John Newcombe, John Raper, John Konrads and Ken Rosewall all suffered health scares, broadcasting that even our greatest Australian men are in fact only human. At its core, Movember is a way for a man to proudly announce that he takes men's health issues seriously. Physical and mental health are matters that too many men shake off because of some warped kind of bravado. Movember says that real men acknowledge the need for physical check-ups. Movember empowers a man to tell another man that he needs to get help. Movember applauds those who have struggled and survived to tell their tale, like my colleague the member for Goldstein, who recently documented his inspiring story in the book Black Dog Daze.

The Movember and White Ribbon programs are interlinked. They both deal with a male attitude that restrains so many in our community from speaking up and from influencing their peers on the real meaning of machismo, which is to be honest with yourself and respect your loved ones, not resort to an arrogant response of physical force and ignorant attitudes of invincibility. I again thank the member for Fowler for bringing this important issue to this place for discussion and note the support being duly given by an all-male cast of speakers to follow. Whilst too often our attention is focused on the rifts and divisions between our two parties, it is discussions like these that highlight our shared core values on the issues that are really important in defining us as Australians.

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