Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last Friday, 25 November, marked International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. I would like to thank Minister Rishworth and Assistant Minister Elliot for marking that occasion with statements in the House and commend them on their ongoing work towards eliminating violence against women.

In Australia, one woman dies every 10 days at the hands of her former or current partner. One in two women will experience sexual harassment in their lifetime—that means 50 per cent of all adult women you know have experienced, may currently be experiencing or will experience sexual harassment. And every two minutes in this country police deal with a domestic or family violence matter, but let's call them what they are—assaults.

While it is true to say the violence against women happens across every community in Australia, across every demographic and every postcode, we know that some women are more likely to experience violence. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 11 times more likely to be killed due to family violence than non-Indigenous women. And women with disability are more than twice as likely to experience domestic or family violence than those without disability. Compounding social disadvantages also play a role in increasing a woman's risk of experiencing violence. But let's be clear: there are no excuses, there are no reasons. Violence is never acceptable.

Last month the Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, released the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032. Importantly, this government, along with all states and territories, has committed to a shared goal of ending gendered violence within a generation. This is a very ambitious goal, there's no denying it, but it's critical. Women and children have a right to feel safe in our communities, and that's why we're investing a record $1.7 billion towards that goal.

Our national plan involves actions that could be structured into four broad domains. Prevention: we will work to change the underlying social drivers of violence by addressing not only the attitudes, but also the systems that give rise to violence against women and children—to stop it before it starts. Early intervention: we will focus our efforts on identifying and supporting individuals who are at high risk of experiencing or perpetrating violence. And, to be clear, we do need to work with perpetrators and those at risk. Response: we will continue to build on, and improve, services and supports to support victims-survivors experiencing violence, such as crisis support and police intervention and a trauma-informed justice system. Recovery and healing: the plan has a focus on reducing the risk of retraumatisation and supporting victims-survivors to be healthy and safe, and to recover from trauma in terms of both the physical and the mental, emotional and economic impacts of violence.

The national plan also works in collaboration with our implementation of the recommendations of the Respect@Work report—which passed parliament last week—because women should be safe in the workplace as well. And, of course, there is the 10 days of paid domestic violence leave because a woman shouldn't have to choose between her job and her safety.

Boothby is filled with wonderful women's organisations. These groups often do unrecognised work, providing safe places, resources and other supports and awareness raising, for women in our community. I particularly want to acknowledge the Zonta Club of Adelaide Hills. Zonta are participating in the 16 days of activism campaign, which calls for action against one the world's most persistent and insidious human rights violations: violence against women. Zonta in the Adelaide Hills are holding displays in community settings which highlight the importance of stopping violence. They are providing local businesses and offices, including my own electorate office in Glenelg, with posters. Ours is proudly displayed in our office in Boothby.

I spent my last three years of high school education at an all-girls school. It's the sort of school that does high school reunions. The 10-year reunion was about careers and marriages and how lucky and happy we all were. The 20-year reunion was about children: every one a gifted student. The 30-year reunion, sadly, was about divorce. Then the true stories came out: the woman whose first marriage lasted three months because her new husband broke her leg; the woman who endured a 25-year marriage of financial and social control, threats and violence, followed by a couple of years of abuse via the legal system; the woman whose ex-husband kept driving past her house, years after their separation, knowing that that was enough to terrify her after decades of conditioning—just knowing that he was somewhere nearby; and the woman who was too frightened to leave, knowing her husband had the financial wherewithal and contacts to take the children and leave her destitute. These were secrets that had been kept for years. There were women and children living in fear and misery; women thinking it was only them having that sort of experience or conditioned to think that it was because of them—that it was their fault; women terrified to leave because they knew it would anger him; and women terrified to stay because it was only getting worse. Sometimes family didn't even know. Sometimes they did know, but they didn't support the woman to leave.

Working in the homelessness system and in women's health and safety services, I saw women from all walks of life. Domestic and family violence was very often a part of how they had become homeless, and sometimes it was years after the actual experience of violence, because the trauma that comes from experiencing violence stays with you. The trauma that comes from being psychologically manipulated, being belittled and undermined, being isolated from family and friends and being financially manipulated has lifelong impacts. Homelessness, joblessness, poverty and loss of family are just some of those impacts. No-one deserves violence, and no-one should expect it or have to live with it. This must end.

There is no place in our society for violence against women, and that's why I'm proud to stand here today to recognise, on behalf of the people of Boothby, the government's support for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

See this speech in context