Joanne Ryan (Lalor, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to highlight to the House an issue that is occurring in my electorate of Lalor and across the western suburbs of Melbourne, and to highlight some action on the ground that is coming from the community to address this issue. It is about domestic violence. It was highlighted in The Age on Saturday in an article by Miki Perkins. Domestic violence in the Indian community has caused some concerns for us locally and across the west of Melbourne. There have been, on record, some terrible incidents across the last several years.

But a young person in my electorate named Jasvinder Sidhu has taken action to ensure that our migrant communities are aware of the laws and have support and to ensure that networks are on the ground to support women and children living with domestic violence. The Indian community in Lalor now talk openly about the issue. They talk about the impact on their children and they talk about the assistance that they can get from Jagriti—a social awakening—which is a network established by Jasvinder and by state member Marsha Thomson.

The work that this group is doing is extraordinary. People now feel safer in their homes. I wanted to share this with the House and applaud those involved to their hard work.

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