Bruce Billson (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) recognises the importance of changing the national culture to make disrespecting women un Australian;

(2) welcomes the Government's $100 million Women's Safety Package to combat domestic violence;

(3) supports efforts at the upcoming COAG meeting to engage all levels of government and the broader community on this shared national endeavour;

(4) places on record its deep concern about the use of new technology and in particular smart phone tracking applications by family violence perpetrators to obtain and monitor the location of their victims; and

(5) calls on all governments to consider this as part of their strategy to combat domestic violence and technology facilitated abuse.

This motion aims to highlight a number of things: the importance of respect for women, government efforts to tackle domestic violence, the impact of new technology as a new avenue for perpetrators to exert power over their victims, and how a comprehensive and contemporary strategy to combat domestic violence needs to include measures to tackle technology facilitated abuse. It addresses the sad reality that domestic violence and feeling terror in your own home, your own sanctuary, is still an all too frequent part of too many women's lives, and how technology brings another tool, another threat, another source of power perpetrators can exercise over their victims. Domestic violence campaigner and former Victorian police commissioner, Ken Lay, made the point that domestic violence breeds from a lack of respect for women and the exercise of power over women and their dependants.

Technology is very powerful, and of great concern is that this power is being deployed as part of the power being brought to bear by perpetrators. The vehicle of this new form of power is this—these smartphones. They are great tools for busy people and are near essential in modern life, but they can also be a mechanism perpetrators use to exercise power over their victims. Tracking technologies can be installed and activated by perpetrators without the knowledge of their victims and give perpetrators the power to be able to follow the movements of their victim, who is simply going about their daily life.

Apprehended violence orders can and have traditionally sought to maintain physical and communication separation between applicants and respondents, but what about the secretly installed app or the activated hidden feature on a smartphone which can tell the perpetrator or the AVO respondent every detail about the victim or applicant's movements?

One of the major issues we now face in the modern age is tracking, which can lead to stalking, cyberstalking—an issue that is becoming more prevalent in our community. Every person has a right to feel safe and secure in his or her home, and everyone should feel safe out in their community—particularly, and I very much emphasise this, where courts have had to intervene and find additional protections in the form of AVOs or sentencing are necessary for victims or people at risk to enjoy this basic right.

Concerns have been raised with me by the Peninsula Community Legal Centre CEO, Jackie Galloway, that current AVOs fail to address the activation by respondents of hidden location tracking technology on applicants' smartphones without their applicants' knowledge. This exercise of control and movement-monitoring power is precisely what Ken Lay was referring to when he said that in the event of domestic and family violence, 'there might not be punches, but there is always the exercise of power by the perpetrators'. The key issues raised by the Peninsula Community Legal Centre, when it comes to domestic violence specifically in my electorate, is the number of cases they are having to contend with—one in four of the cases that are before the Peninsula Community Legal Centre, or some 2,000 cases a year, involve domestic violence. There is an increase in the use of technology tracking devices and other technologies, but it is proving to be very difficult to prove that the tracking has been occurring when fighting a domestic violence case. Social media is now a major aspect in family violence, with tracking apps able to see everywhere at any time where the victim is at a specific part of their day. Unfortunately, legislation is not keeping up with technology updates. While some of this technology is designed for good purposes—for example, apps developed to keep an eye on where your children are going—it is also being used in a malicious manner.

New training is now available to help people understand these threats, but the law needs to keep pace with the changes in technology. Control and power are big factors in family violence. The coalition government, to its credit, is implementing the largest package of measures to tackle this scourge in our community. It is not okay to physically or emotionally abuse your partner or family in any shape or form. In 2015-16, the government is providing over half a billion dollars to frontline services and other support efforts, particularly to assist vulnerable Australians—very much so women having to live with domestic violence. It does not need to be like this. We need to get across the impact of technology. Good work is being done in the United States; the Department of Justice has done some work on this, along with the University of Illinois, outlining what the conditions are and how technology needs to be part of requirements if someone wants to remain out of jail or where they are defying a domestic violence order. Victims report relief when they can go about their daily business unsupervised, unobserved, unhindered by perpetrators. Sadly, technology can impede on that opportunity and cause great harm and hardship. We need to make sure, as we tackle a scourge that has been in our community for way too long, we understand the new tools that are being used by perpetrators. (Time expired)

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