Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to address an issue which is one of the most serious and distressing that our community faces. That is violence against women, and particularly, domestic violence. As members of the House would appreciate, 25 November is White Ribbon Day, observed as the United Nations' International Day of the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

A recent campaign by White Ribbon Australia labels domestic violence as our 'nation's most shameful secret'. The statistics, quite frankly, back this up, when you consider that one in three women in our country will experience violence in their lifetime and one in five women will experience sexual violence. A local police officer asked me recently whether I realised that each week at least one woman dies from violence at home. I have to say that I did not know that. According to police, domestic violence exceeds street crime as the fastest growing form of assault. As a matter of fact, Detective Superintendent James Johnson of the Green Valley Local Area Command advised me that, in his command, in excess of 50 per cent of local police work is related to domestic violence. The reason the scourge of domestic violence has become a central focus is that, unfortunately, 64 per cent of violence against women occurs at home. For most of us, home is a place where we feel safe; it is our private refuge from the world. Sadly, for many women and children home is a place of fear, pain and loathing.

It is important to note that under-reporting is still an issue in this country. It is currently estimated that 64 per cent of physical assaults against women are not reported. Even more staggeringly, more than 80 per cent of sexual assaults against women go unreported. Under-reporting is particularly prevalent within multicultural communities, where victims often lack confidence to turn to authorities, and attitudes towards domestic violence may differ depending on the areas people have emigrated from.

The National Survey on Community Attitudes to Violence Against Women 2009 found some truly worrying facts regarding attitudes to violence against women from selected culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Of respondents from these backgrounds, 45 per cent expressed the belief that domestic violence was excusable if the perpetrator got 'so angry that they temporarily lost control'. To compare that with the broader community, 18 per cent agreed with this view. Nearly 60 per cent of respondents from culturally diverse backgrounds also stated that domestic violence was excusable if the perpetrator 'truly regretted what they did'. That would be a truly alarming attitude for any of us.

We need to make it clear that, no matter where you come from, domestic violence is a crime. We need to not only look after the victims of domestic violence; we need to make it very clear to the perpetrators of domestic violence that it is a crime and it is a crime that will be punished. Although no section of the community is immune to domestic violence and violence against women, women from Indigenous communities, from newly arrived ethnic backgrounds and from low socioeconomic communities are at greater risk. My community is the most multicultural electorate in the whole of Australia, so this has some specific interest for me. My community is also rated lowly on the socioeconomic ranking.

There is another issue that needs to be addressed. We need to improve the relationship and trust between victims and, particularly, law enforcement agencies. As a community we need to make sure we make the stand that violence against women is simply intolerable. The local police in my electorate have seen an increase, of between five and 10 per cent, in the reporting rates of domestic violence over a 12-month period. That does not necessarily mean there is increased domestic violence; it just means that the message is getting through and women are becoming more confident about notifying authorities of domestic violence.

Domestic violence is one of the most serious issues affecting our community. It causes serious health problems. And I now know that one woman a week dies as a consequence of domestic violence. Also, it is one of the leading causes of homelessness for women. To add to the social costs—how domestic violence impacts on victims—violence against women costs our economy an estimated $14.7 billion in the past year. Unaddressed, this cost to the community will skyrocket.

We need common definitions of what constitutes domestic violence in this country and a common strategy for tackling the issue. We need to make it easier for our law enforcement agencies, as well as social and government agencies, to assist the victims. One of our main motives in tackling domestic violence and violence against women should be in addressing the cyclical nature of this crime. I ask members of the House to appreciate the fact that the evidence suggests that 50 per cent of girls growing up in abusive households end up being abused by their husbands. What is even more staggering is that 60 per cent of young boys growing up in a similar sort of household are likely to become abusers themselves. This is not an area where we can afford to put our heads in the sand and say, 'This is a matter to be dealt with by the authorities.' This is a matter that must be dealt with by us and the community.

The International Violence Against Women Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that a history of victimization—whether the victim is a child or an adult—is a strong predictor of future victimization. Members, this destructive cycle must stop. I am proud to say that my local community is standing up and is certainly trying to make a change when it comes to the issue of domestic violence. On Friday, together with Detective Superintendent Jim Johnson, I will be addressing a forum on violence against women organised by the Liverpool Migrant Resource Centre. Liverpool MRC, led by Jimmy Mtashar, has done much over the years to address domestic violence, particularly in newly-arrived ethnic communities.

Also on Friday, I will be opening the White Ribbon function at the Cabramatta Community Centre organised, once again, by the Fairfield Migrant Resource Centre. I thank in advance Dr Simon Emsley from the migrant resource centre who has taken on a proactive leadership role in my community in raising and tackling the issue of domestic violence.

On 6 December, which marks Stop Domestic Violence Day, I will join the local Aboriginal women's group 'Sistas for Sistas', the Liverpool Women's Resource Centre and Green Valley Local Area Command at the Know Us Respect Us event. These are people coming together to say, 'Enough is enough; we must make a stand. This is not an issue for the police and the welfare agencies; this is an issue for us.' Being in this chamber means we are community leaders; we must all make sure that we commit ourselves to making a genuine stand against violence against women and children.

I congratulate all the people involved in this and I encourage everyone to increase their activity. As community leaders in the parliament we can be proud of many things but one thing we cannot be proud of is the level of domestic violence occurring in our communities. This is a cancer on our communities—one which can be stopped if we have the will to do it. I encourage members to observe White Ribbon Day on 25 November. Please make a stand in your communities.

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 25 November 2013 is White Ribbon Day, a day dedicated to raising public awareness of as well as eliminating violence against women across the nation;

(b) one in three Australian women over the age of 15 will experience physical violence while one in five will experience sexual violence at some point in their life, with 64 per cent of the incidents occurring at home;

(c) one Australian woman dies every week as a result of domestic violence;

(d) 64 per cent of women who experience physical assault and 81.1 per cent of women who experience sexual assault do not report these incidents to police; and

(e) domestic violence is the leading cause of homelessness in Australia and carries high social and economic costs to the economy—an estimated $14.7 billion annually which is expected to surpass $16 billion by 2022 if significant measures are not taken to challenge the attitudes and behaviours that allow violence to continue; and

(2) calls on all Australian men to take the following oath: I swear never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women.

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