Tracey Roberts (Pearce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to present a Raise Our Voice speech on behalf of a constituent. It reads:

My name is Alexis Pallister. I am 22 years old and currently live in Western Australia.

Respect for women, this is the change I want to see to better future generations of young women.

On average one woman a week is murdered due to male violence towards women. This year we have devastatingly lost 56 women to gendered violence. 56 women.

Why is this violence so normalised, where does it stem from? Could it be a lack of respect for women, which in turn creates a culture whereby gendered violence is normalised as women are seen as less than?

Well, if respect is one piece of this violent puzzle the question, I want to post to you all here today is, are women being respected in parliament?

And if they are not being respected, what sort of precedent is that setting for our country?

If women are torn down, excluded, ridiculed, called names and told that their experiences are invalid in a place that is meant to govern and protect us, what sort of message are we sending?

That these gendered atrocities are somehow, okay? What behaviours are we unconsciously normalising?

Respect for women, respect for women in parliament and in every facet of life, this is the change I want to see to better the future generations of young women.

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