Robert Oakeshott (Lyne, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I feel reluctant to speak for the next two minutes because I was enjoying the member for Paterson’s words, but the parliament moves on. I start with a quote:

We must unite.

Violence against women cannot be tolerated, in any form, in any context, in any circumstance, by any political leader or by any Government.

The time to change is now.

That was from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2008. I also quote Parliamentary Secretary Bob McMullan, who said in a recent speech that gender based violence is Australia’s greatest policy failure. I emphasise the word ‘greatest’ for reflection by all members. I also refer to a comment made by Tim Costello, known to many members in this place for the work he does throughout the Asia-Pacific, when asked in a briefing of members of parliament: what is the one thing that would make a difference to the lives of many in the Asia-Pacific region? The answer was: improving gender equity and the lot of women and girls within the Asia-Pacific region. So it is somewhat of a no-brainer to say that this is an important topic.

I fully endorse the concept of White Ribbon Day, the White Ribbon Foundation and, more broadly, the engagement of men and boys in this important topic that, for too long, has not really been on the priority agenda of many men in policy-making positions not only in Australia but throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Violence against women and girls is without doubt an enormous and complex problem affecting every region of the world. In Australia it is estimated that one in three women experience physical violence and one in five experience sexual violence over their lifetimes. Persistence of such a high incidence in the 21st century in a First World developed nation such as ours is testimony to the complexities and the entrenched nature of the problem.

If you are not passionate about this topic of gender inequity, please listen to the economics of the topic and I hope that should engage every single member of this place. The economic burden of violence against women and girls in Australia alone is great. The report by National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children suggests that the cost of violence against women and their children to the Australian economy in 2009 will reach $13.6 billion. Now put that into the context of some of the stimulus money—it is twice the social housing package and twice the subsidy to the car industry—it is a substantial amount of money that has been lost to the Australian economy through inattention by all of us in public policy when making decisions about this vexed question of violence against women and girls.

The expected cost is to increase to $15.6 billion by the period 2021-22 unless there is immediate intervention and that is according to the national council’s Time for action report. So there are opportunities for action by local members of parliament. As many would have seen in their emails I would strongly urge all male MPs in this place to have a look at the White Ribbon Day campaign that is having its highest profile week this week with White Ribbon Day on Wednesday. I would urge everyone if they are not already a White Ribbon ambassador to become one and to get involved in the White Ribbon Foundation. There is this week a friends of White Ribbon emerging. I would urge all male MPs to think about joining that and being involved.

As a general comment about advocating on this topic, please visit a local women’s refuge, listen, learn, respond to the issues that arise and understand that there are local issues at play, but these very much tap into a global campaign. We have heard reference to Millennium Development Goals tonight. Goals 3, 4 and 5 are all relevant and worth getting to understand if you do not already. I would also urge members to look at the Secretary-General of the United Nations UNiTE campaign which has a list of practical steps for people in public policy making decisions, countries such as ours, to embrace on a global scale and be involved in a real push for our generation to do something about a problem which we should not have to deal with but we do. I would hope that we all, particularly men, embrace this topic, get it on our agenda and work hard to minimise it into the future. (Time expired)

Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate the member for Lyne for moving in this chamber what I consider to be a very important motion. This motion is timely as this Wednesday, 25 November, is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women also known as White Ribbon Day. White Ribbon Day started in Canada in 1991 on the second anniversary of the massacre of 14 female engineering students at the Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal and it has since spread around the world. It was an attempt to come to grips with the horrific violence of that and other events and also with the violence and abuse that many women experience every single day of their lives. It was a recognition that for gender based violence to be eliminated men need to take responsibility for that violence and to work to prevent it.

Violence against women can take many forms. It can be domestic and family violence. It can be not just physical but psychological and economic, it can be sexual assault and rape including date rape, and it can be sexual harassment and discrimination. The damaging results of violence against women by men are felt at a personal level, at a family level and at a community level. Far too many women suffer enormously as a result of male violence in our country and, as the member for Lyne has already said, one in three Australian women report experiencing at least one incident of either physical or sexual violence since they reached the age of 15.

The abuse experienced can result in lasting damage particularly where women have been physically or sexually assaulted on an ongoing basis by their male partners or other family members. Last year in this House I talked about the 2004 VicHealth report into the health costs of violence, but it bears repeating because it illustrates the enormous effect of violence on women. For women under the age of 45 being a victim of domestic violence is responsible for more ill health and premature death than any other risk factor. It causes more ill health than high blood pressure, obesity or smoking.

Violence against women takes away from women the ability and the power to make choices about their own lives. Women who feel unsafe in their own homes, unsafe in public, unsafe in the workplace or unsafe in schools and universities do not enjoy the same rights, the same standards of living or the same quality of life that is enjoyed by the rest of the community. Gender based violence disempowers women, and that is why people often talk about it as being an abuse of human rights.

Preventing violence against women requires us to address the underlying issues of sexism, lack of respect for women and a sense of privilege that many men enjoy. It requires us to work to change attitudes, emotions and behaviours that support violence such as sexist jokes. Beliefs that women are inferior or that some women ‘deserve it’ or were ‘asking for it’ do not simply encourage violence; they create a culture in which silence becomes the acceptable response to violence against women.

The White Ribbon Foundation was established in Australia in 2007, and I have been an ambassador for the White Ribbon Foundation since not long after its establishment. As I said last year, it is an association that I am very proud to have. This year the white ribbon campaign is My Oath. I was with the Prime Minister in Sydney earlier this year at the launch of the My Oath campaign. Through this campaign, Australian men are being urged to swear an oath ‘never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women’. It highlights for us again the importance of challenging violence against women every single day. It is not simply about not committing violence against women. When we see violence, we must speak out. When we hear the expression of attitudes that lead to violence, we must speak out.

This Wednesday—which is White Ribbon Day this year—provides an opportunity for all men to commit to the goal of eliminating violence against women. I would urge every Australian man to commit to this goal. Directly, in this parliament on Wednesday, members of this parliament will have the opportunity to join the My Oath campaign. This should mean, I hope, that very many members of this parliament will be swearing never to commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women. I again congratulate the member for Lyne for bringing this motion and commend the motion to the House.

Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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.