Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Human Rights Sub-committee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade is set to begin an inquiry into the human rights of women and children. As the chair of the subcommittee I am very keen to advance this important inquiry, not only because I have two daughters aged 11 and 15 but because of so many of the reports we hear of the conditions women and girls have to endure in the world. The inquiry will include an examination of the barriers and impediments to enhancing the human rights of women and girls in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific region, especially regarding the impact of family and sexual violence, women's leadership and economic opportunities.

As we know, violence and sexual abuse against women and children are some of the most universal human rights violations in the world. Tragically, these include sexual harassment, domestic violence, rape, and harmful practices such as early and forced marriages and female genital mutilation. More often than not, human rights violations involve the stronger abusing the weaker. Amongst the very worst examples of such abuses are the issues of female genital mutilation and underage marriage, and it is these two issues that I wish to highlight particularly.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 125 million women and girls have been subjected to the practice of female genital mutilation. This is not an isolated practice; it is an international horror story that must be condemned and stopped. I condemn it as a primitive and ignorant practice that is rooted in gender inequality—ideas about purity, modesty and aesthetics and attempts to control women's sexuality. The trauma and long-term health effects cannot be underestimated. Female genital mutilation is a disgrace that has been outlawed in most of the countries in which it occurs. But the laws are poorly enforced, so it is anticipated that 30 million women and girls will be at risk of the procedure in the next decade. It is uncivilised and unworthy of the modern era. I acknowledge that even in Australia there are some that subscribe to this indecent assault on children, this barbaric practice. I condemn it, regardless of any religious or cultural justifications. All who impose it upon girls should be prosecuted, and their children should be given to someone who will properly look after them.

The other point I wish to raise is that of underage marriage. Again, this is a human rights issue, and I condemn it. Underage marriage is paedophilia. Any religion or culture that condones it, promotes it or accepts it in any way is condoning, promoting or accepting paedophilia. It is evil and has no place in this country or anywhere.

As I said, I look forward to our inquiry. We will cover many important issues, and there will be a variety of opinions on many of those issues. However, we need to recognise that issues such as female genital mutilation and underage marriage are human rights issues of fundamental importance. They are ugly topics, but we must not shy away from them because of mistaken notions of cultural sensitivity and relativism.

On the good side, I also look forward to finding encouragement in the work of the Australian government in empowering women and girls in the Indian Ocean and Asia-Pacific region. More than $2 billion of our foreign aid budget is spent on initiatives that have women and girls as a principal or significant focus. These programs include innovative initiatives such as the multi-donor Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, which is helping to address a major barrier to women's economic empowerment by providing women in the Pacific with access to mobile money—a quick, low-cost way to transfer and receive funds. In Vietnam, we will invest more than $2 million in a new agricultural research partnership project. This will support more than 2,000 women from ethnic and minority groups as well as poor smallholder farmers, enabling them to increase vegetable production by around $3.4 million annually. In Papua New Guinea we are investing $3 million in a new family and sexual violence case management centre at Lae. In Timor-Leste, Australia is funding the International Women's Development Agency to support women to develop micro-businesses and savings clubs. We will also examine the implications for economic and social development of promoting women's and girls' human rights.

This is an important inquiry. It is important that we examine and learn of what is happening in the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific regions. We need to know the good and the bad, the success and the failures. The vulnerable need protection, and this inquiry will give Australia, the government and the parliament a vital insight into the lives and circumstances of women and girls in the regions. I thank the foreign affairs minister, the Hon. Julie Bishop, for referring this worthy inquiry to the subcommittee.