Lidia Thorpe (Victoria, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to send a message of love and support to the women, girls and gender diverse people out there, black, brown and white, who have experienced gender based violence and harassment. I have been touched by all the messages of support that I have received over the past 48 hours, and I thank you. To all those who continue to stand up and refuse to stay silent about the ongoing violence and harassment inflicted on the bodies of our women and girls, sister girls and brother boys and other gender diverse folks: I thank you.

When we speak about violence, we get asked, 'Why didn't you take it to the police?' We know that the police are not the experts. Eighty-seven per cent of sexual assault cases in Australia go unreported because we don't want to go to the police, yet they are the only body that is fully resourced and funded and wandering the streets 24/7. The experts are our friends, our matriarchs and our sisters who answer our calls in the middle of the night when we are feeling unsafe and look after us. The experts are those working for support services that provide vital assistance and services that are stretched, under-resourced and hard to access. They cannot keep up with the demand.

To all those still fighting against the violent colonial system and the conditions that allow gender based violence to continue: may we continue to find strength in solidarity with each other. This country has the capacity to properly fund those support services, legal services and advocacy groups who are saving lives and protecting our community against gender based violence.