Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for the Public Service) Share this | Hansard source

I rise also to lend my contribution to this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, held on 25 November each year. Addressing violence against women remains at the forefront of women's issues right around the world and in Australia as well. I once went to an event to raise money for an organisation that assists women fleeing from domestic violence, and the MC said to the audience, 'Ladies, look into your partner's eyes.' People all dressed up in their ball gowns looked adoringly into their partner's eyes, and then the MC said, 'This is the man whose hands you are most likely to die in.' Of course, there was an uncomfortable titter around the room, but when people thought about what that actually meant it was extraordinarily confronting.

More than half the women killed around the world in 2017 died at the hands of an intimate partner or of a relative. That was around 50,000 women. On average, each week in Australia a woman is killed by a violent or controlling male whom she knows. It's harrowing, it's disturbing and it is totally unacceptable. The figures and statistics don't end there. One in four Australian women have had experiences of physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner, and in all likelihood we know many of these victim-survivors. Indeed there are likely to be many in here today. Intimate partner violence contributes to more deaths, more disabilities and more illnesses in Australian women aged between 15 and 44 than any other preventable risk factor. That includes smoking. It includes obesity. It includes high blood pressure.

Stories of family and domestic violence are distressing, and they stay with you. From my home state of Victoria I think of Poonam Sharma and her six-year-old daughter, Vanessa, stabbed in their home in Mill Park in January this year by her husband. I think of Kylie Griffiths, a mother of six, whose husband set fire to their home in Albanvale. I think of Shirley Kidd, a grandmother who died of fatal injuries in Bacchus Marsh. Of course, no-one can forget the horrific story of Hannah Clarke and her three children in Queensland. It doesn't bear repeating. There are, unfortunately, so many names across Australia, and we hear these stories constantly from police, from nurses, from doctors, from careworkers, from family and from friends, helpless and grieving. We hear them also from the victims-survivors whose lives will never be the same. These stories remind us that, despite the progress we've made as a society, there is still so much that can and must be done. The dedication of this day gives us an opportunity to reflect on, to confront and to oppose violence towards women—the blight that has transcended time, culture and location. While it is a global issue, that is no excuse for inaction. It must be addressed domestically, it must be addressed locally and it must be addressed culturally as well. All forms of family and domestic violence have their genesis in lack of respect for a partner. We need to change our behaviour, change our thoughts, change our values and change our levels of tolerance for this behaviour.

I was very proud that, in government, the coalition committed a total of $2 billion since 2013 to address family and domestic violence through programs that focused on prevention, early intervention, response and recovery. We funded initiatives like Our Watch and 'Stop it at the Start' which was an extraordinarily successful campaign around changing attitudes. It was recognised by three in five adults, encouraging action towards more respectful relationships. We expanded DV-alert training. The escaping violence payment, which was a new initiative, delivered tailored assistance to victims-survivors who were escaping relationships, providing wraparound services to those who wanted to flee a dangerous home. Other initiatives included maintaining protection against cross-examination by family violence perpetrators and increasing legal assistance, including family advocacy support services, children's contact services and the very well-known—in fact, part of the vernacular now—1800RESPECT service.

It's so important that we continue a bipartisan response to this. Women must feel safe, free from violence and free from fear in order to be equal. The responsibility for this lies with us all.