Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I rise to respond to the ministerial statement on the 57th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Violence against women is a global epidemic and, tragically, a normal part of life for millions of women across the globe, including many in Australia. A World Bank report estimated that more women between the ages of 15 and 54 were at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria combined. And a New York Times article points out that according to the United Nations and other sources more than 600 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not considered a crime, and more than three million girls are facing genital mutilation.

Women in all social, economic, ethnic and religious groups are affected. According to the World Health Organization, in Australia, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States 40 to 70 per cent of female murder victims were killed by their partners. And, at a recent UN women's breakfast for International Women's Day, Papua and New Guinea's chief magistrate, Rosie Johnson, shared her personal and professional experience of violence against women in that country, where there are regions where 100 per cent of women experience violence, including torture.

I therefore commend UN member countries for coming to agreement and signing up to commit to prevent all forms of violence against women and girls as part of the Commission on the Status of Women this year. As Sex Discrimination Commissioner Liz Broderick stated in a press release of 18 March 2013:

The recognition that custom, tradition or religious consideration should play no part in denying women equal rights or justifying violence against them is a major step forward.

There can be no cultural or other justification for violence against women. It is, simply stated, wrong. It is unacceptable both in Australia and around the world.

It is promising to see that member countries at this year's Commission on the Status of Women were able to negotiate this resolution after last year's disappointing result when no consensus was reached. I take this opportunity to congratulate Ms Michelle Bachelet on her leadership of UN women and on the legacy she will leave at that organisation following the announcement of her intention to stand down from her position as executive director.

I would also like to reiterate the coalition's bipartisan support of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. The Liberal Party has a proud history of implementing policies that will reduce violence against women. When it came to power in 1996, the coalition government implemented and funded the Partnerships Against Domestic Violence and the Women's Safety Agenda programs, which included funding for the Australian Bureau of Statistics Women's Safety Survey in 1996.

When in government, the coalition implemented a range of measures to assist women in the many roles they fulfil. During its 11 years in power the Howard government carried on the Liberal tradition of supporting and improving the position of women in Australia by recognising the many different roles that women may fulfil in their lives. The Howard government committed itself to an Australia where women were full and active participants in all spheres of public and private life across a wide range of decision making positions.

The safety of women was a top priority for the Howard government. It dedicated $75.7 million over four years to the Women's Safety Agenda, which addressed four broad themes of prevention, health, justice and services. The initiatives included the national 'Violence Against Women. Australia Says No' campaign and the national 24-hour helpline. The campaign was launched in 2004 and thousands of calls were subsequently fielded.

In relation to addressing violence against women in Indigenous communities, the former Howard government was again committed to reducing such violence. The coalition government convened the intergovernmental summit on violence and child abuse in Indigenous communities in June 2006. On 14 July 2006, COAG reaffirmed its commitment to adopt a collaborative approach to addressing family violence and child abuse in Indigenous communities, particularly in the areas of policing, justice, support and governance.

In 2005, Pru Goward, the former federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner and currently the New South Wales Minister for Community Services and Women, said:

As Sex Discrimination Commissioner I am often asked what is the greatest challenge for women's human rights in Australia - the answer has to be violence against women. If women cannot expect to be safe in their own homes and communities, how can they expect equality in society?

We simply cannot be complacent about violence against women. As elected representatives, we have a duty to do everything that we can to prevent this violence occurring.

In whatever setting, whether at home in Australia or overseas, I believe peer influence and male role modelling, within their families and through their workplaces and communities is effective. Men are able to effect attitudinal and cultural change that will work hand in hand with other strategies. In Australia, we had some great success with the Bsafe program run by the former Howard government.

The Male Champions of Change program run by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, is an excellent example of a program working to change culture through workplaces, using the leadership of senior businessmen. The White Ribbon program, which has bipartisan support, works to change the culture around violence against women through men showing other men that this is simply not acceptable.

We have come a long way in raising both the recognition and the profile of domestic violence over the past few decades, but there is still much work to be done in Australia and globally.