Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the International Day of the Girl Child:

(a) will be celebrated globally on 11 October 2016; and

(b) is an international day of observance that promotes girls' human rights, highlights gender inequalities that remain between girls and boys and addresses the various forms of discrimination and abuse suffered by girls around the globe;

(2) recognises that:

(a) the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals include key targets for gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by 2030;

(b) achieving these targets will require increased investment by national governments, national aid agencies, and global companies and foundations; and

(c) increased investments in gender equality are vital if the world is to achieve sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth and development;

(3) calls on the Australian Government to work towards the longstanding internationally agreed aid targets in order for Australia to contribute its fair share to international development and aid the empowerment of all women and girls under the Sustainable Development Goals; and

(4) urges all Members to be leaders in their community and in Parliament, to act on the advancement of gender equality.

It is my pleasure to move this motion before the House today recognising that tomorrow, 11 October, is the International Day of the Girl Child. On 19 December 2011, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution to create the International Day of the Girl Child to recognise girls' rights and the unique challenges girls face across the globe. Discrimination against girls and women is a devastating reality in countries across the globe. It results in millions of individual tragedies, which add up to a lost potential for entire nations. Studies have shown that there is a direct link between a country's treatment of girls and women and its progress socially and economically. The status of women is central to the health of a society. If one part suffers, so does the whole.

What are some of the issues for girls today? Over the period between 2011 and 2020, we know that more than 140 million girls will have become child brides and many will drop out of school. Every day that is 41,000 girls. Every 10 minutes an adolescent girl dies as a result of violence. Right now, as I speak, an estimated 62 million girls are not at school and 16 million girls between the ages of six and 11 will never start school. That compares with a figure of eight million boys. Gender remains a central factor in deciding a child's access to education, health care, safety and wellbeing and, significantly, their opportunities.

Globally, there are more than 1.1 billion girls under the age of 18. Their future is our future. If we are to leave our world in a better state than we found it, which should be the aim of all of us here, we must redouble our efforts to redress gender inequality wherever it lives. That means we need to invest in girls' and women's health, education, safety and wellbeing. Supporting girls to build better lives gives us renewed hope to create a more peaceful and prosperous world for all.

In 2015, Australia signed up to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals, which included a renewed commitment to achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls. These goals provide a tangible pathway towards a more equal society. Under the previous Labor government, Australia led the way on programs to empower women and girls in our region. While I welcome the foreign minister's efforts to uphold this important work in the Pacific, there is no denying the impact of her government's cuts to the overseas aid budget—a massive $1.3 billion. These cuts, which take Australia to our lowest level of spending on overseas aid as a proportion of gross national income since records were first kept, mean less education, less access to health care and less opportunity for the poorest in our world—and that means girls and women. The cuts to the African programs alone have meant that 220,000 girls every year are denied the chance for an education.

The correlation between the progress of girls and the amelioration of poverty is well supported by research. We know for, example, that one extra year of primary school increases a girl's eventual adult wages by 10 to 20 per cent, while every year of secondary school increases them by 15 to 20 per cent. Studies from Brazil, Kenya and India show that delaying adolescent child-bearing could increase national economic productivity by US$3.5 billion, US$3.4 billion and US$7.7 billion respectively.

It is time for the Australian government to step up to the task of rebuilding our overseas aid budget. We need to invest in programs that empower women and girls and that expand women's access to political, economic and social opportunities across the world, if we want to make lasting change. We know that investing in adolescent girls not only improves their lives but also is critical to the success of key development goals like reducing property and improving global health and education. Challenging institutionalised and ingrained inequality may not be easy, but it is essential. If we want real progress and prosperity for all human beings, we need to invest in our girls and women.

I urge all members of parliament to become champions of change, to stand up and be strong advocates for gender equality, both in this House and in our respective communities. Failing to do so is tantamount to planning for a world that will never reach its full potential.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to rise to support the motion of the member for Newcastle. I know from my experience at school that the girls were always much smarter than the boys and they were much more mature than the boys. But I see, as life has gone on and I go to school reunions, that more of the guys I went to school with have high-profile jobs than do the women. That is something that we need to do everything we can to change in our society, because if we are going to achieve the maximum economic potential of this nation we must ensure that everyone can achieve their maximum potential. There are so many girls I went to school with who had so much talent, so much skill and so much ability. We have to make sure that girls are not denied some of the opportunities that they have been denied in the past. There are some things that we really need to look at, not just in Australia but also around the world, if we are going to make sure that all young girls have full opportunities.

The first issue is that of forced marriages. We hear in our country today of young girls being taken offshore and sent back to the Middle East to engage in forced marriages. That is something that we, as members of parliament, have an obligation to speak out against. Every person, irrespective of their sex, should be able to choose the partner that they wish to married. We must all rise and keep that voice going against forced marriages.

The second issue is that of female genital mutilation. Some people say this is akin to male circumcision, but we must say what it is—it is mutilation. It is a gross abuse of the rights of young girls and women. We have seen examples of it in the suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne; it is not something we see practised only in the Third World. Again, we, as parliamentarians, must speak out against that.

The third issue that I would like to raise is about how we can improve the wellbeing of and opportunities for women in our society. A fortnight ago, I had the pleasure of travelling to Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic located between the Soviet Union and Iran. Azerbaijan is a majority Islamic country but its people are very proud of the rights they have given to women. In fact, there is a statue in the centre of Baku which celebrates women's suffrage. That is because Azerbaijan was the first Islamic country in the world to give women the right to vote. That statue has a woman removing her headscarf to show her face because if your face remains covered in any way so that you cannot make facial contact and your facial expression cannot be seen, you cannot make a full contribution to the society you are a part of. Although I do not want to see in this country any law that defines how people should be dressed, I do not want to see a situation where women are forced, against their will, to wear any garment that prevents them having the opportunity to become full participants in our society.

These are not just problems for around the world. These are problems that we have here in Australia. There is much that we can do to ensure that our girls have equal opportunity. I have a young daughter and I want to see her grow up. I want to see her have every opportunity that this great country offers. I want her to succeed on her merits and not be held back in any way because of her success. This motion is one way to help us to do that. I congratulate the member for bringing it to the House.

Cathy O'Toole (Herbert, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion addresses one of the most critical issues of the modern day—that is, gender equality. Whilst we have moved some distance over the past decades, on average women in the labour market still earn 24 per cent less than men, globally. Girls are not receiving the same educational opportunities as their male counterparts. There is also a disparity in relation to health for women. For example, in Papua New Guinea—which Townsville, in my electorate, is closer to than it is to Brisbane—one in seven women die in childbirth. Added to the fact that women are still victims of relentless domestic violence, not to mention the impact on global productivity and economic outcomes, this is simply unacceptable both nationally and internationally.

If we support the other 50 per cent of the population, our economy will prosper. As reported by the Australian Human Rights Commission, the average full-time weekly wage of a woman is 18.2 per cent less than that of a man. There is absolutely no legitimate reason for this difference. There should be equal pay for equal work.

The United Nations has set out goals for sustainable development by 2030. Goal No. 5 is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. The empowerment of women must start in the cradle for our girl babies. Women represent 50 per cent of the world's population and, therefore, also half of its potential. Gender inequality persists everywhere and it is stagnating social progress. Gender equality is therefore critical to ensuring the advancement of women. Maybe the question for us to be consider is: what happens if we do not ensure gender equality?

Inequalities faced by girls can begin right at birth and follow them all of their lives. In some countries girls are deprived of access to health care or proper nutrition, leading to a higher mortality rate, as mentioned earlier. As girls move into adolescence, gender disparities widen. Child marriage affects girls far more than it affects boys. Globally, nearly 15 million girls under the age of 18 are married every year. To put that in context, it is 37,000 girls per day. Marrying young also affects a girl's education.

About one-third of developing countries have not achieved gender parity in primary education. In Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and western Asia, girls still face barriers entering both primary and secondary school. Disadvantages in education translate into lack of access to skills and limited opportunities in the labour market. Women's and girls' empowerment is essential to expanding economic growth and promoting social development. The full participation of women in labour forces would add percentage points to most national growth rates—double digits in many cases.

Worldwide, 35 per cent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence and non-partner sexual violence. An estimated 133 million girls and women have experienced some form of female genital mutilation or cutting in 29 countries in Africa and in the Middle East, where the harmful practice is most common. There is a high risk of prolonged bleeding; infection, including HIV; childbirth complications; infertility; and death.

Addressing pay equality, for example here in Australia, we should look at the frontline workforce in both the aged care and early childhood education sectors, where we primarily see female workers, and where the rate of pay is probably one of the lowest of any of our industries—two sectors where the work should be valued and respected. At the last parliamentary sitting I met with some of our dedicated early childhood educators. I know the importance of their work in shaping our future generations and the heavy weight that this rests on their shoulders. This workforce must be recognised.

Girls can stay in school, help empower female classmates to do the same and fight for their rights to access sexual and reproductive health services. Women can address unconscious biases and implicit associations that can form an unintended and not-often-visible barrier to equal opportunity. Governments can fund campaigns to curb cultural practices like female genital mutilation and can change harmful laws that affect the rights of women and girls.

As the first female elected to the seat of Herbert, a Federation seat—which took 115 years—I give my commitment to my community and this place to always act on the advancement of gender equality. I am proud to live in a world where we see the possibility of a female being elected to represent one of the largest countries in the world.

Julia Banks (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tomorrow the world will recognise the fourth International Day of the Girl Child—an opportunity to raise the awareness about the rights of girls and the particular challenges they face. Girls face particular barriers and challenges which can restrict them from reaching their full potential and which do them harm. They hold the potential to become leaders and effect change, yet their empowerment can be hindered by factors such as unwanted pregnancy, forced early marriage, gender based violence and limited access to higher education and reproductive health services. It is my honour to join all Australians and our friends globally in celebrating the day and to take this opportunity to describe this issue of gender equality—an issue about which I have always been an advocate and to which I am deeply committed. Gender equality is vital to the ongoing prosperity of our country and to continued economic growth and development worldwide.

Australia continues to empower girls in its foreign policy agenda and aid program through: appointing an Ambassador for Women And Girls; creating a $55 million Gender Equality Fund; implementing Australia's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Strategy, a new $10 million gender action platform that will provide more opportunities to improve outcomes for women and girls in the Indo-Pacific region; and the government's Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development program.

Despite making up half the population, in too many countries girls do not get an education if they are from a poor or rural family, are in an ethnic minority or have a disability. And no-one can forget the case of Malala, who was shot in the face by the Taliban merely for fighting for the basic right of young girls to get an education. Child marriages, early marriages and forced marriages are violations of human rights which have diverse consequences for the enjoyment of human rights such as the right to education and health care. According to UNICEF, every 10 minutes an adolescent girl dies somewhere in the world as a result of violence.

Under the women's leadership and development strategy, the Turnbull government has provided funding to a number of organisations aimed at empowering young women and girls, especially in the areas in which they are most vulnerable. These include the Multicultural Centre for Women's Health and Women With Disabilities Australia so that they can undertake the development of position statements, workshops and a national forum. I am proud of the investment that the Turnbull government has made to address this critical need to build the evidence base for gender indicators for culturally and linguistically diverse women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and women with a disability. Of course, there is also last month's announcement of a $6½ million investment in the United Nations Women's Making Every Woman and Girl Count program—a public-private partnership. These and other initiatives, as well as consistent, ongoing efforts, go a long way to achieving the targets for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls by 2030, as established by the United Nations sustainable development goals. Furthermore, they directly address the requirement that governments, national aid agencies, global companies and foundations all contribute their time, energy and resources to gender equality.

I have stated before that I believe that authentic feminism, practised by men and women alike and underpinned by structural mechanisms such as those the Turnbull government have implemented, will pave the way to address the complex and multidimensional issue of gender equality, where men support men and women and where women support men and women. It follows that men and women must support boys and girls in equal measure and that our boys and girls are actively encouraged to support each other from the outset. Achieving gender equality is indeed a continuous and long-term undertaking that requires the commitment of us all, for us all.

In Australia we are comparatively immune from the atrocities and crises that afflict girls in some other parts of the world. Child marriage, honour killings and trafficking are all alarmingly widespread practices which deprive girls of their most basic of human rights and entangle them in vicious and limiting cycles. However, the challenges faced by Australian girls are no less worthy of our attention and our action: poverty, discrimination, family violence and mental health concerns. It is paramount that we continue to actively invest in the health, safety, quality education and rights of our girls, not least to ensure that they enjoy the full breadth of their human rights and unlock their potential personally and in their families, communities and society.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly, I want to thank my colleague, the member for Newcastle, for bringing this motion before the House today to acknowledge the International Day of the Girl Child, which will be celebrated across the globe tomorrow. The International Day of the Girl Child was launched in 2012 in response to widespread youth advocacy demanding acknowledgement of the unequal experience of disadvantage borne by girls across the globe. The United Nations responded to this campaign by establishing the International Day of the Girl Child, which is celebrated annually on 11 October. The mission statement for the annual celebration is to:

… help galvanize worldwide enthusiasm for goals to better girls’ lives, providing an opportunity for them to show leadership and reach their full potential.

It is very unfortunate that here in the 21st century we need a day to highlight that, globally, women and girls continue to bear the greatest burden in society. In poverty, violence, disadvantage and access to educational services, girls are always affected the greatest and suffer the greatest. This reality should be an outrage to us all. Despite a century's worth of women's activism and the suffragette movement, girls still experience discrimination and disadvantage based on their gender. Most alarming are the issues around violence, forced marriage, poverty and access to education and to opportunity which exist globally and are rife in a number of developing countries. However, they are also present in the developed world, including Australia.

One of the most damaging sources of discrimination and disadvantage that girls face is that of access to education. Currently there are more than 60 million girls around the world who are not in school. Removing barriers to education is vitally important not only due to the positive flow-on effects a girl experiences once she is educated but also because education is a right for every human being, regardless of their gender. The evidence shows that educated women are generally healthier and are less vulnerable to diseases, including HIV and AIDS; are more likely to be employed and earn better incomes; are likely to marry later and have fewer children; and are better able to provide health care and education for their children and for their families. All these factors create a better life for girls and for their families, and they also provide for the advancement of communities and future generations.

Another great source of concern for girls that often prohibits girls from receiving an education is the issue of forced marriage and becoming child brides. Over 100 million girls are predicted to become child brides over the next decade, with evidence suggesting that one-third of girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18 and one-third of women in the developing world will give birth before the age of 20. But it is not just in the developing world where incidences of child brides and forced marriages occur; it is also happening here in our country, in Australia. In 2013 the Australian parliament criminalised forced marriage but, to date, there have been no prosecutions. However, many cases of forced marriage have since come to light. In the past two years a child welfare hotline has received more than 70 calls relating to child brides and, in the past financial year, the Australian Federal Police has investigated 69 incidences of forced marriage—more than double the number for the previous year.

With the rising incidence of forced marriages, I was pleased to participate in a theatre workshop at a school in my electorate, Roxburgh Park College, that addressed these issues. The workshop, which took place last year, was conceptualised by Miss Thoiba Saeedh, who was an intern in my office, and formed part of the forced marriage pilot project run by the Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans. Issues relating to cultural identity, gender equality and the competing demands of family expectations with individual rights were raised during the workshop. I represent a very diverse migrant community with newly-arrived and emerging communities from Africa, the Middle East and South-East Asia, making my electorate an appropriate place for such a pilot program to have taken place.

I was very pleased to work with the Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans order. I work with them often, and have been doing so over the years. I was pleased that they were able to come into my electorate and conduct this workshop at a secondary school which is very diverse. I found the one-day experience to be very rewarding not just for those of us who were involved in conceptualising the workshop but also for the students who participated in it. The workshop allowed them to confront and come to terms with some of the issues that many of them were experiencing at home. Often it is fear, embarrassment and not wanting to get their parents into trouble. These are some of the reasons why these issues are not raised and perhaps why so many young women are forced into marriage.

Nicolle Flint (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Newcastle for presenting this motion today to recognise the International Day of the Girl Child, to inspire worldwide enthusiasm for goals to better girls' lives, providing an opportunity for them to show leadership and reach their full potential. We know we often do not have information on what is happening to women and girls. On many issues we lack agreed and resourced data collection and methodologies. Better data, as we know, always allows decision makers like us to set goals, develop policy and make a real difference for girls.

The Australian government has provided a total of $180,000 to the Australian Bureau of Statistics to build the evidence base for gender indicators for culturally and linguistically diverse women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and those women with a disability. Australia's decision to invest in helping to meet this critical need reflects the importance our government places on achieving real progress on gender equality and women's empowerment. We want to be part of a coordinated international and cooperative effort to move us forward in this agenda.

Last month, I believe, we announced a $6.5 million investment in the United Nations Making Every Woman and Girl Count program, which is a public-private partnership aimed at closing the gender data gap. As I said, we know this is critical to help decision makers like us do our job and do our best in a public policy sense, which will then also help to progress gender equality.

I would like to mention the motion that I just moved in the main chamber on domestic violence, which is another issue that affects women everywhere in the world every day and on which Australia can provide a leadership role. The motion recognised the importance of changing the national culture to make disrespecting women 'un-Australian'. It acknowledged the Turnbull government's $100 million women's safety package, which was launched last September, to combat domestic violence. It encouraged the ongoing efforts within COAG to ensure that all levels of government and the broader community are cooperating on this shared national endeavour. It recorded concerns about the use of new technology to encourage or allow domestic violence against women and it encouraged governments to consider addressing this as part of their overall strategy to do what they can to protect women and children.

Australia is, and will continue to be, a strong and committed advocate for gender equality, for girls' empowerment and the advancement of girls nationally. We want to get to a place where girls around the world have access to the sorts of opportunities that my sister and I did when growing up, whether that is in health, in education or, just as importantly, in not being forced into marriage against their will, certainly when they are underage.

The United Nations facts on underage and forced marriage are incredibly concerning. Globally, one in seven adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 are currently married or in a union. In developing countries, excluding China, one in every three girls is married before reaching the age of 18. This means the futures of 47,700 girls are derailed every day. Girls who are married early often face a cascade of other human rights abuses. They are more vulnerable to physical and sexual violence. They are often pulled out of school to take on domestic responsibilities and thus are less able to advocate for themselves and their rights. Child marriage is often followed by pregnancy, even if girls are not physically or mentally ready. Across the globe, rates of child marriage are highest in sub-Saharan Africa, where around four in 10 girls marry before the age of 18.

I conclude by recommending a book that provides, to my mind, one of the best and most thought-provoking summaries of forced and arranged marriages, particularly of young women. The book is Deranged Marriage. It is memoir by Sushi Das. Chapter 8 does an excellent job of outlining the very serious problems that girls around the globe face and that we all need to focus on addressing.

Scott Buchholz (Wright, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for the 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.