Linda Burney (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Domestic, family and sexual violence affect everyone. We know that women are disproportionately impacted. It is everyone's business. One woman a week is murdered in Australia. It is a national crisis. But it's not just about the murders; it's also about the injury, the permanent disability and the maiming. Eight women a day are hospitalised as a result of assaults from their partners and others, and Indigenous women's experience of violence is three times higher than non-Indigenous women. Preventing violence against women requires fundamental cultural and attitudinal change through awareness and education, especially the education of young people. Governments are absolutely integral to this, as is this place. We can improve access to social security systems. We can provide more safe places for women and children to stay. We can introduce more perpetrator programs. We can ensure that women from non-English speaking backgrounds and First Nations women are also able to access family violence support services that understand their cultures and are safe spaces. It is a national crisis; violence against women should be seen as a national crisis, not something that is business as usual. It is everybody's business.

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