Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise tonight to speak on the Share This! campaign by the Alannah & Madeleine Foundation and the Supre Foundation. I acknowledge that this speech was largely developed by a participant in the Girls Take Over Parliament program who spent the day in my office. The program gives young women the opportunity to shadow politicians and experience parliamentary life firsthand. Mariam, our participant, is a student at the ANU and has been involved in the program because she wishes to encourage greater diversity and representation in Australian politics and encourage young women to be politically active.

The Share This! campaign surrounds the issue of image based bullying, a prevalent issue in today's digital society. The campaign focuses on examining and explaining the concept of image based abuse, consent and the laws surrounding this issue. This is of utmost importance, as young people tend to be unaware of the laws that protect them with regard to this issue and tend not to seek justice or help if they become a target of image based bullying. In fact, the Share This! campaign has stated that 76 per cent of Australians who have experienced image based abuse did not pursue further action. Often discussions of such incidents focus on blaming victims rather than those who have committed the image based abuse by taking or sharing images without consent.

Bullying clearly has adverse effects on the mental health of victims, and image based abuse is no exception. Not only should individuals be more informed of their rights under the law; they should also be aware of the services available to them with regard to mental health. Certainly, in the school setting, school counsellors should be well informed of these issues and how they affect young people. It is important that those who are offering mental health services to victims of image based abuse understand the effects of these issues on the people they are treating so that individuals have access to the help they need. Institutional changes with regard to education and mental health care as well as social changes are necessary to combat this issue. In order to prevent instances of image based abuse and broader issues of sexual violence, consent is a concept that should be widely understood and codified as an integral part of the education of young people. Mental health care for victims should be followed up after incidents.

The Share This! campaign initiates a social change that encourages young people to be aware of this issue and, more importantly, encourages a better understanding of the concept of consent. We can all be part of this social change by participating in productive discussions about these extremely important issues.

Senate adjourned at 19:39