Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Askew for her very important question. Today I'm very pleased to be able to advise the chamber that last night the first ads in stage 3 of the Stop it at the Start campaign began airing on national television. We did this, along with a number of other measures, to make sure that we gave the Australian public the tools and the confidence to call out disrespectful behaviour when they see it. We know that early intervention is absolutely the key to giving adults the opportunity to play a role in making sure that all Australians feel safe in their own homes, in their communities and online. Last week, to mark International Women's Day, Minister Payne and I announced and launched the third phase of this campaign, which is targeted at the prevention of family and domestic violence perpetrated against women and their children.

The Stop it at the Start campaign challenges disrespectful attitudes and behaviours that can often be learnt in childhood and, if left unchecked, may escalate into violence. Specifically the campaign is about telling Australians to unmute themselves, to speak up. If you see disrespectful behaviour, don't ignore it, don't excuse it. You need to speak up and call it out. Research which we've conducted shows that four out of five of us agree that violence against women is driven by disrespectful behaviour. But many people do not feel confident to call out that disrespectful behaviour when they see it. Each and every one of us does have a role to play in making sure that every one of us feels safe. Taking action on this issue may seem overwhelming. But if we all take small steps together and we show respect then maybe—maybe—we actually can change the dial here. We know that not all disrespectful behaviour results in violence, but all violence has started with disrespectful behaviour.