Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Today is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. I'm very supportive of the Senate acknowledging this day, but I'm sad that we even need to acknowledge it at all. Yet here we are. As much as this makes me angry and sad, I know we must talk about domestic and family violence—that is, violence against women, children and partners—because sweeping violence under the carpet allows a violent culture to continue. The United Nations tells us that violence against women and girls goes unreported in so many cases because of fear, stigma and shame. As hard as it is to talk about violence, the more we do it, the more that stigma is reduced.

Violence against women and girls can be physical, sexual and psychological. It's more than the images our minds replay when we think about family and domestic violence. Earlier this year I spent valuable time with a beautiful group of women in Hobart who are part of the Be Hers mentoring program. Be Hers runs events and online campaigns to raise awareness about human trafficking. When I spoke with these women from Be Hers, they shared horrific stories about how they and their children had been subjected to violence. It was really confronting to hear, but I was so pleased to see that they had survived and were using their experiences to fight for the freedom of vulnerable women and children being trafficked.

These and other violent acts are happening around us daily. Crime statistics for Tasmania make sobering reading. In 2022-23 Tasmania Police recorded 3,906 assaults, a number that is 14 per cent higher than the year before and an increase on the previous five-year average. Violence is on the rise in my state. Tassie's police stats also show that, in 74 per cent of cases, the person committing the assault was known to the victim and that women were the victims in just over half—54 per cent of cases. These women are more than numbers in a crime report. They're your neighbour, your friend, you sister or even you. It's so important that victims of gender based violence know they are supported and know where to go to get the help. They need to stay out of danger.

One of the most important ways to help victims-survivors of domestic and family violence is to properly fund community legal services and legal aid. In the last round of estimates, I asked about funding for legal services in Tasmania to see how my state's funding stacked up after the Australian government announced $3.9 billion in funding over five years as part of the new National Access to Justice Partnership.

When the case management pathway for the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia was introduced, as part of this partnership, it came with additional funding, known as costs consequences. Costs consequences funding was allocated to legal services to account for the additional legal assistance costs that came with the new system, which made sense, considering the increased workload, but that funding has stopped. It wouldn't be so bad if demand for family law services had dropped, but demand hasn't dropped at all. Tasmania Legal Aid has had no choice but to reduce frontline services, and that means Tasmanians experiencing family and domestic violence will have to wait longer for legal services, if they can access these important services at all.

Funding for legal services is only part of the solution to eliminating violence against women. We need action to help those committing violence, too. There are programs to change the behaviour of those who use violence, including the Men's Referral Service, which provides telephone counselling, information and referrals for men in Victoria, New South Wales and Tassie. Men's Referral Service also helps people who want to change the abusive behaviour of their male partners or family members, all with the aim of reducing the risk of violent behaviour. We haven't collected enough data on these programs, so, as well as making sure we are working to change violent behaviour, we must evaluate how effective they are. We need to know what works to change violent behaviour and what doesn't.

The culture and behaviour around domestic and family violence needs to shift. Most of all, we need to keep this conversation going. Everyone has to take responsibility for fixing this crisis, because everyone has a right to feel safe and live free from violence. Australia needs behavioural and cultural change around violence towards women and other victims-survivors. This will happen when those who are escaping violence and those who are committing violence can access the support they need when they need it. When we see these changes, we'll know we're getting somewhere. It has to happen sooner rather than later. Eliminating family and domestic violence is a priority every day, not just today.