Margaret May (McPherson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House:

(1)

recognises that:

(a)

23 per cent of women who have ever been married or in a de facto relationship have experienced violence by a partner at some time during the relationship;

(b)

the immediate impacts for children of victims include emotional and behavioural problems, lost school time, poor school performance, adjustment and relationship problems;

(c)

child abuse is more likely to occur in families experiencing domestic violence; and

(d)

children of victims are also at risk of continuing the violence with their own children and partners and are at heightened risk of alcohol and drug abuse and delinquency later in life;

(2)

also recognises that:

(a)

the social, health and psychological consequences of domestic violence have far-reaching and longstanding negative impacts on families who suffer from domestic violence and on the community as a whole; and

(b)

there is no excuse for violence and abuse; and

(3)

calls on the Government to:

(a)

establish a National Domestic Violence Death Review Board;

(b)

establish a National Committee on Violence Against Women; and

(c)

increase efforts in the area of primary prevention; and

(4)

calls, on a bipartisan level, for a more coordinated and sustained approach to be undertaken by all levels of government in the area of domestic violence.

Domestic violence is a serious and complex issue that, sadly, affects the lives of many Australians, including children. The significance of this social problem should not be taken lightly. It has become very clear that recognition of the complexity of the issue at the macro and micro levels is needed. Domestic violence needs to be understood in the context of social inequality, not on the dynamics of individual relationships. Our communities and indeed our country need to raise awareness about domestic violence and the fact that it will not be tolerated. Indeed, there is no excuse for it.

It is difficult to measure the true extent of domestic violence, but there are suggestions that up to 80 per cent of women who experience domestic violence do not seek assistance. The 1996 Women’s Safety Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that 23 per cent of women who have ever been married or in a de facto relationship experienced violence by a partner at some time during the relationship.

Domestic violence plays a significant role in the lead-up to lethal violence, accounting for 40 per cent of murder/suicides in Australia from July 1989 to June 1996. On the Gold Coast these homicides were instrumental in the establishment of a domestic violence integrated response, which sees representatives from each of the key stakeholder groups—such as courts, police, women’s refuges, and the DV Prevention Centre, Gold Coast—review systems response and practice and work collectively towards ending domestic homicides in the region.

Absolutely no good comes from domestic violence. It ruins women’s lives and the damage to children is profound. The immediate impacts on children of victims include emotional and behavioural problems, poor school performanceand health and relationship problems. Later on in life, these same people are at risk of continuing the violence towards their own children and partners and are at heightened risk of alcohol and drug abuse and delinquency. On average there were 175 domestic homicides in Australia from 1996 to 2004.

Conducting fatality reviews is one way of gaining a better understanding of the nature and pattern of lethal domestic violence and abuse from a social and systems reform perspective. Domestic violence death fatality review boards have been established in a number of countries, including Canada, the United States of America and Great Britain, and basically bring together representatives from various agencies in a coordinated response to domestic violence, including police, the courts, health domestic violence services, shelters, perpetrator programs, child protection agencies and other professionals with relevant expertise.

A coordinated Australia-wide approach must be adopted if we are to reduce and prevent domestic homicide, identify trends and patterns, improve community interventions and facilitate systemic change. This motion calls on all levels of government to support a national approach. The establishment of a national committee on violence against women would see a coordinated approach where all stakeholders could actively work towards ending violence against women and their children in this country. Over the years there have been a number of programs and strategies aimed at tackling domestic violence, but it is only in recent times that serious consideration has been given to the perpetrator of the violence. There is a need to increase efforts in the area of primary prevention as it is essential to tackle the causes of domestic and family violence rather than simply to deal with the outcomes.

Presently, the system is, in the main, being reactive to outcomes. This is borne out by the fact that the majority of current sentences imposed for a breach of a domestic violence order are primarily a fine. Abusers have often witnessed domestic violence as children. However, abuse that is learned can be unlearned, and positive and healthy ways of relating can be learned. Programs for violent men can have significant effects on the prevalence and frequency of violence. Many men are motivated to change their violent behaviour when they recognise its destructive impact on their children.

The Domestic Violence Prevention Centre, Gold Coast, has been operating a program for men who perpetrate domestic violence. It is recognised as an example of best practice. The program is mandated by the courts, and men are ordered to attend a 26-week educative and therapeutic group. Currently the Domestic Violence Prevention Centre can accommodate only 24 to 60 men per annum due to funding—nowhere meeting the demand when we have 3,600 perpetrators appearing annually before the Southport Magistrates Court alone on domestic violence offences.

The program aims to change violent behaviour over the long term. The program is part of a coordinated systemic response to domestic violence and is of far greater benefit than those programs which are run in isolation from the justice, law enforcement and social services systems. (Time expired)

Duncan Kerr (Denison, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I strongly support the motion moved by the member for McPherson and I congratulate her for moving it. It acknowledges the terrible consequences of violence against women and calls for action to address it. Whilst I am taking this opportunity to speak today in favour of the motion, I also feel a profound sense of sorrow that any of us have to speak about this issue at all. Violence against women is abhorrent and despicable. It destroys lives, families, childhoods and futures, and it permeates every section of our society. According to the 2006 ABS national survey, an estimated 440,000 Australian women experienced physical and/or sexual violence in the last 12 months. Two out of three women said their children had been witnesses to that violence. Perhaps the worst statistic, though, is the rate of underreporting. Only 20 per cent of female victims of sexual assault and 28 per cent of female victims of other assaults report the incident to the police. These figures tell us that we have simply not done enough to address the problem of violence against women.

Eighteen-year-old Sydney girl Tegan Wagner is an example of how far we have come and how far we still have to go. This young woman was the victim of a horrific sexual assault in Ashfield, which is in my electorate of Grayndler, when she was just 14 years old. At the conclusion of the court case this year, she chose to reveal her identity and speak out about her ordeal. In her interview with ABC radio, Tegan said:

I feel society makes victims feel really ashamed of what’s happened to them ... I wanted to—

report it—

at first, but I had people telling me not to ... I advise any woman of any age, whatever their assault is, that it’s assault and it’s a crime against them and that they should stand up for their rights.

I applaud Tegan for her courage, and I echo the call of this strong young woman for all victims of violence to come forward. Tegan’s words are inspiring, but they also reveal a terrible truth about our society. It is a tragedy that female victims of violence still feel ashamed to speak out. This motion calls for a coordinated, sustained approach to the problem of violence against women. It is certainly true that this should not be a political issue. Unfortunately, these issues often are.

The Howard government have run ad campaigns, which are commendable, to raise awareness, and I congratulate the government for doing so, yet they have slashed funding for associations that support women who are the victims of violence. We need to properly fund community legal centres, the very places where many women turn for assistance. The entire federal community legal centre budget for this financial year is only $24 million. It has not even been increased to cover inflation. What is more, we need to make sure that in changes to family law we take into account properly the issue of domestic violence.

This year, the government introduced some definitional amendments which push us dangerously close to the decriminalisation of family violence. We need to ensure that we are very diligent in the changes that are made. The government also put in place harsh financial penalties for false allegations, which could present further barriers to the disclosure of incidents of domestic violence. We need to take a stand and move forward constantly on this issue—not two steps forward and one step back.

A Beazley Labor government will show national leadership in addressing the many and complex problems associated with violence against women. We will establish a national council on violence against women and children, which will engage victims of violence, law enforcement agencies and academics. We will establish national goals, time lines and responsibilities to help reduce the incidence of violence against women. We will work with state governments and the community sector to improve access to key services such as crisis accommodation. Again, it is a tragedy that many women and children who have been victims of violence have nowhere to go and in many cases simply remain in violent situations.

I strongly support this motion and I support future efforts to respond to this terrible problem. I know that the member for McPherson is very genuine in her commitment and I wish her all the best in her party room to encourage positive steps forward. We must do all we can to ensure that Australian women can live without fear of harm or physical aggression. That is an issue not just for the women but, indeed, for the whole of society if we are going to have genuine, loving families and relationships, which we would all like to see happen but which too often are simply not the reality.

Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I congratulate the member for McPherson on raising this issue today. I rise to speak about domestic violence, particularly since this morning we all gathered to remember the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Having worked for 25 years with families, with women and with children who have been affected by not just domestic violence but abuse of all kinds, I feel that I stand here today with some credibility.

Domestic violence occurs when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate or harm another. Domestic violence can be exhibited in many forms, including physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, intimidation, economic deprivation or threats of violence. Domestic violence occurs in all geographic areas of Australia and in all socioeconomic and cultural groups. Most incidents of domestic violence go unreported and it is difficult to measure the true extent of the problem.

A study conducted in 1998 by the Australian Institute of Criminology identified that most assaults against women are where the victim knows the offender and remain unreported. The 2005 Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey estimates that 36 per cent of women who experienced physical assault by a male perpetrator reported it to police. My local police tell me that cases of domestic violence constitute at least 50 per cent of their workload.

The best indicators available to date about the levels of violence against women in Australia are from the 1996 ABS publication Women’s Safety Survey and the more recent Personal Safety Survey 2005. It was found that, of those women who were physically assaulted in the 12 months prior to the survey, 38 per cent were assaulted by their current or previous partner.

There have also been studies of the relationship between domestic violence and homicides. In Homicide between Intimate Partners in Australia, from the Australian Institute of Criminology, it was found that domestic violence played a significant role in the lead-up to lethal violence and accounted for 27 per cent of all homicides in Australia between 1989 and 1996. In Family Homicide Australia it was found that, on average, there were 129 family homicides each year, 77 of which were related to domestic disputes. This is unacceptable in our nation. This is something that we need to tackle head on with innovative and creative solutions.

However, it is not just women who are at risk. Children and young people can be affected by viewing and hearing domestic violence. I have worked with many children. I remember one case in particular where a child of three viewed their father murdering their mother. These experiences have long-term effects on our children, on our future. Violence does affect the children in the home. Of women who have experienced violence by a current partner, 61 per cent reported that the children in their care viewed or witnessed the violence. A survey published in 2001 by the Australian Institute of Criminology—Young Australians and Domestic Violence—found that up to one-quarter of the 5,000 young people aged from 12 to 20 from all states and territories surveyed had witnessed parental violence against their mother or stepmother. Social and psychological impacts include anxiety, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, sleep disturbances, reduced coping and problem-solving skills, and loss of self-esteem and confidence. Problems at home can affect people’s performance at work and even their capacity to continue to be employed.

The role of the Commonwealth to combat domestic violence has increased over time. The Commonwealth has led the standard approaches to policy and legislative reform. I urge the government to establish a national domestic violence death review board, to establish a national committee on violence against women and to increase efforts in the area of primary prevention and intervention. This is not about the tertiary end. I know that we have spent a significant amount of resources focusing on when the violence has occurred, but we need to increase our focus on prevention. We can work with young people to break the intergenerational cycle of violence. We need to work with victims and perpetrators to break the cycle of violence and we need to work with communities to eradicate violence. Programs aimed at re-educating violent offenders already exist in Australia. I strongly recommend that it be made mandatory to refer all men who have perpetrated violence against women to programs, and I call for the cooperation of all state governments to take a strong and bipartisan approach to ensure this happens. (Time expired)

Kirsten Livermore (Capricornia, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Education) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take a similar position to the member for Grayndler, who said that, while he appreciated the opportunity to speak on this very important topic, he would like to be in a society where the problem of violence against women was not as commonplace and as urgently requiring solutions as it is in Australia at the moment.

The member for McPherson is to be commended for bringing this motion to the House today, especially considering that Saturday, 25 November was White Ribbon Day, the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. I was very proud to stand with many of my colleagues earlier on today—men and women and members of all parties—as we put forward our commitment as parliamentarians to work in every way we can to eliminate violence against women and indeed violence wherever it occurs and against whomever it occurs in our community.

I am sure many people would be shocked by the statistics listed in the member for McPherson’s motion and those we have heard in the debate so far. One of those statistics, which we can see in the member’s motion, is that 23 per cent of women have experienced violence by a partner at some time in a relationship. This is a horrendous statistic, one which governments of all persuasions must act urgently to address.

There have been many reports and sources that tell us about the prevalence of violence in our society and particularly in our homes. The 2004 report from Access Economics titled The cost of domestic violence on the Australian economy contained statistics on the impact of domestic violence. The statistics showed that domestic violence costs this country more than $8 billion per annum. The report put the total number of domestic violence victims for the year 2002-03 at 408,100. I note that that is consistent with the Bureau of Statistics figures that the member for Grayndler cited not long ago. That report also stated that there were 268,800 children living with victims of domestic violence.

To go further in setting out the extent of this problem: domestic violence is the biggest health risk to Australian women, with one in four women experiencing sexual or physical violence at some point in their lives. It is clear from those statistics—and the reality and the horror lying behind those statistics—that violence in our community, particularly domestic violence, has to be a priority for all governments and for all of us in this House. While I acknowledge that the government has clearly recognised its role in addressing violence against women in this country through its ‘Violence Against Women: Australia Says No’ advertising campaign, there still are serious gaps in the government’s approach to addressing domestic violence and violence against women in our country. That advertising campaign is a $23 million investment in addressing the problem, but we do not believe the government has done a proper evaluation of the impact of that campaign.

In the meantime, around this country there are other services that provide help to victims of domestic violence and to women who have suffered violence and they are not getting the funding that they need to meet the demand, in particular women’s shelters or shelters for victims of domestic violence. One of the problems that face the Rockhampton women’s shelter in my area of Central Queensland is not so much about meeting the demand for shelter at the point of crisis—when women are fleeing domestic violence—but about where women and their families go afterwards. The rising cost of housing and the very tight rental market in Central Queensland make it very difficult for women and their families who are escaping domestic violence to find somewhere to go—an affordable, safe place to live—after they have left the women’s shelter in our community. If the government is serious about addressing domestic violence and helping the victims of domestic violence, it has to have a much broader strategy which takes into account all the dimensions of the problem. (Time expired)

Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to speak on this very important motion brought into the parliament by my very good friend and Queensland colleague the member for McPherson, whose reputation in this place for bringing important issues and motions to the chamber is indeed unparalleled. She moved this motion on domestic violence because it is an important issue for our country to address. As a member of parliament, as a member of the government party of the day and as a husband, a son and a brother, I want to speak very strongly on this issue. In 21st century Australia there is no place for domestic violence. Domestic violence is unacceptable. People in positions of authority and influence, indeed all citizens of our country, ought to put up their hands to say that the time for domestic violence in whatever form should be stamped out from our communities.

Domestic violence can occur in many forms—when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate or harm the other; through physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, intimidation, threats of violence and economic deprivation. At the outset, I want to thank all of those in our community, right across our land, who have given much of their time to supporting community work, including charities whose focus is taking care of victims of domestic violence. I applaud their great generosity of spirit and heart; they all deserve our applause and our commendation here in the parliament.

There is enough suffering in the world, and we certainly do not need more of it. As previous speakers have alluded to, the financial cost of men inflicting suffering and pain on women in our country is in the billions of dollars. However, the emotional and the human cost is immeasurable and ought to say something of this issue. We should put up our hands and do everything within our human power to eliminate domestic violence in our country.

Following on from the 1996 ABS Women’s Safety Survey, the 2005 ABS Personal Safety Survey surveyed both men and women. The survey represents the most up-to-date picture of domestic violence in our country. The survey asked women about their experiences of violence and found that 5.8 per cent of women in Australia had experienced violence in the 12-month period preceding the survey in 2005, compared with 7.1 per cent in 1996. In 2005 some 4.7 per cent of these women had experienced physical violence, including physical assault and the threat of physical assault, compared with 5.9 per cent in 1996; and 1.6 per cent had experienced sexual violence, including sexual assault and the threat of sexual assault, compared to 1.5 per cent in 1996. Those figures are very startling. They are very instructive to us as leaders in this place that we need to do more to come up with solutions and policies that can address this issue.

The government has done a commendable job in trying to address the issue of domestic violence, but more can always be done. I do not think this should be an issue that becomes party political. We should all stand together, shoulder to shoulder, and say that it is something that both sides of the parliament can work on together and that we can come up with very good policies and ideas to stamp out the scourge of domestic violence in our homes and in our communities.

There is a national 24-hour, seven-day-a-week helpline for victims of abuse. I want to give that number in the parliament so that anyone who might be in a terrible situation and in need of assistance has it. It is 1800 200 526. Over 65,000 calls have been received on this number since 2004. To me, that is 65,000 calls too many in our Australian community. We should all be resolute in trying to address this issue in the interests of our community. (Time expired)

Craig Emerson (Rankin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to commend the member for McPherson for raising the issue of domestic violence in the parliament. It is a fundamentally important issue to any civil society. I would take up the offer of the member for Ryan to seek a bipartisan approach to this terrible problem in our country.

Firstly to the facts: based on surveys done by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, it appears that in Australia only 28 per cent of female victims of assault and just 20 per cent of female victims of sexual assault report the matter to police. Based on that and some other work, the ABS has concluded that one in five women experienced domestic violence or sexual assault in the last year. Any number is unacceptable, but one in five women experiencing domestic violence in the last year is an astonishingly high number. Over their lifetimes as many as 57 per cent of women have reported experiencing at least one incident of physical or sexual abuse. For anyone to suggest—and no-one has in this debate—that this is not a national scandal would be way off the mark. It is a terrible indictment of us as a country and of our hope and aspiration to be a civil society when women are being bashed and sexually abused at this sort of rate.

It is not only the direct victims of domestic violence to whom we should be paying attention. One-quarter of our young people have witnessed violence against their mother or stepmother. In my first speech when I came into the parliament in 1998, I said how horrifying it is to imagine little kids watching their father beat their mother. It is just a shocking thing, and as a parliament we have not done anywhere near enough to deal with this terrible problem in Australia.

Last year, for example, when the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program five-year agreement was to be signed, the government actually reduced base funding for the service. I do not want to make this a highly political contribution, but I do need to point this out. It was done in spite of evidence that there was a lot of unmet demand for the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program by women who needed to flee the violence in the house or the premises in which they were living. The sort of assistance provided through that program is not available to anywhere near the number of women who need it. As a consequence, some women will return to violent homes simply to make sure that their children have a roof over their heads. So women take a beating to protect their children and so that their children are not homeless.

There have been some positive developments. The Victorian government released a survey entitled Two steps forward one step back: community attitudes to violence against women. It showed that community attitudes towards violence against women have not shifted significantly. The positive development is that the survey has at least been conducted. But the brutal truth is that violence against women and children continues to be trivialised and condoned by many Australians.

I think it is great that the Howard government has put the ads against domestic violence to air but that is not of itself a comprehensive response to this problem, and nor do I believe that the Howard government asserts that it is a comprehensive response to it. Instead of a piecemeal approach where a little bit of money goes to the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program and some ads go to air, we need to develop a national plan to prevent violence against women and children. That is what Labor has committed to do.

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

(Hon. IR Causley)—Order! The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.