Perin Davey (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to give a speech, as many of my colleagues have done this week, as part of the Youth Voice in Parliament Week Raise Our Voice campaign. I've been fortunate enough to help amplify the voice of a young man called Patrick Jones. This is Patrick's speech:

Hello to all listening.

My name is Patrick Jones, and I'm a fourteen-year-old from the electorate of Richmond.

Something that I have become painfully aware of in the last year is the undeniable influence of misogyny in our society—it manifests itself as sexist humour and attitudes; harassment at work or on the street; and as crimes of violence against women.

Only when my eyes were opened to the realities of how women are treated in "developed" countries did I become at all aware of the magnitude of these issues.

This being said, I call on the government to take immediate and significant action to combat the epidemic of misogyny and violence that is killing our society and poisoning our youth, the latter being under the constant influence of people like Andrew Tate, now under investigation for rape and sex trafficking.

When 23 per cent of men believe it's ok to use misogynistic language online, it's time for change. When 90 per cent of rape cases go unreported for fear of victim-blaming, it's time for change.

And when a woman is killed by her partner every 10 days, it's time for change. All of these are true—so why aren't we changing?

Well done, Patrick. It is so heartening to see this recognition of a serious issue.