Michelle Rowland (Greenway, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Communications) Share this | Hansard source

I welcome the opportunity to provide some brief comments in respect of the statement on national security. I begin by acknowledging the Prime Minister's statement to the parliament on Monday. As the Prime Minister said, on matters of national security the government and opposition stand together—and there can be no response at this time other than bipartisanship. As the Leader of the Opposition said, our support for the government on this issue is not a case of nationalism but rather 'a calculation of conscience and national interest'. I want to acknowledge the hard work by the government, especially in hand with those departments and those agencies including ASIO and the AFP, in ensuring that all Australians remain safe and that our streets remain peaceful.

The night before last in Melbourne, we saw a young man shot by police after physically assaulting two officers, reportedly following some matters including antisocial behaviour in a public area. I acknowledge the strong efforts by the police to protect our citizens and keep our community safe. Like the entire parliament, I send my best wishes to the officers who were injured and their families. I wish them a speedy recovery and thank them for their service. I also send my thoughts and prayers to the family of the young man who has been tragically killed. They will be dealing with the death of their son, a young man who has apparently been lost to extremism. They will no doubt be asking many questions, and the investigations that will ensue will no doubt be looking for answers.

I would also like to acknowledge the speech made by the Leader of the Opposition on Monday and endorse those comments. As the Leader of the Opposition said:

… we should never make the millions of Australians or people who have become Australians—people of every nation and every faith—feel less safe, or less welcome.

We cannot let extremists destroy our way of life or our diverse society. The rich success of multiculturalism has transformed Australia into a vibrant and prosperous nation. Our multicultural society has made an enormous contribution to the Australia of today, and it is indeed hard to imagine the shape of our nation today without their valuable contributions.

For several month we have been seeing barbaric images of ISIL conducting vicious attacks on young, innocent people, people like American journalist James Foley. But what has not been widely reported until now is the brutal sexual violence and treatment of women in places such as Iraq and Syria. It is these issues that I would like to turn to.

The United Nations estimates that around 1500 women, teenage girls and boys, have been captured by ISIL with some being sold into slavery and for as little as $25. The UN human rights office in Iraq says that as many as 2,500 women have been captured in north-eastern Iraq and forced to marry strangers after being converted by force.

To the specifics of some of these issues: as I said, some of this has now been highlighted and I want to compliment The Sydney Morning Herald journalist Julia Baird who has detailed some of this horrific treatment of women by ISIL. Whilst it is so disturbing, I am pleased to see that we are getting some public recognition of this matter. As Ms Baird said:

If we are to be embroiled in any conflict, in any capacity, we need to include the documentation and combat of systemic abuse of women as one of the top priorities of our mission.

I would like to turn specifically to her article that appeared in the The Sydney Morning Herald on 20 September and, whilst it is difficult to read, as I said, I am pleased to see that the fourth estate is turning seriously to this matter and is, as she puts in her title, 'ISIL death cult obscures its rape cult,' bringing this to light. I would like to quote some of this. She writes:

Over the past few months, Islamic State has been conducting an extensive, barbaric campaign of rape against women in Iraq and Syria.

But, oddly, we're not talking about it very much.

If we're going to be using dramatic terms such as 'death cult', shouldn't it be deemed a 'rape cult' as well?

The stories have a sickening similarity. After sustained aerial attack, when soldiers walk into newly emptied, dusty streets in Iraq, dotted with dead bodies and mangled car carcasses, they have found naked women, bound and left on the ground, who have been raped repeatedly.

Then there are the three 'rooms of horror' in Mosul prison where clusters of women have been kept locked up and raped at will.

I also draw attention to some of the facts documented by Ruth Pollard, again writing in The Herald on 18 September from northern Iraq. She quotes an Amnesty report and also a report by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict. I think it is also worth reading some of these paragraphs. She writes:

An Amnesty International report released earlier this month echoes Zeitoun's—

Zeitoun is the story that was being written about—

testimony, as does a statement released by the United Nations Special Representative on sexual violence in conflict.

'There are allegations that many of the women and girls who have been abducted by IS fighters, notably girls in their teens and early 20s, have been subjected to rape or sexual abuse, forced to marry fighters, or sold into sexual slavery,' the Amnesty report says.

Zainab Hawa Bangura, the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said: 'Atrocious accounts on the abduction and detention of Yazidi, Christian, as well as Turkomen and Shabak women, girls and boys, and reports of savage rapes, are reaching us in an alarming manner.'

I raise this issue, because I think it is very important to understand what we are dealing with here. It reminds us why we need to be unified against such evils and it reminds us that, too often in war, it is women and children who fare so much worse. There can be no other greater testament to this than what is happening at the moment to these innocent women and girls by people who have no right to claim that they are doing this in the name of faith.

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