Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Families and Payments) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak tonight on a crisis that faces our nation. This is a real crisis which can only be addressed through cultural, behavioural and attitudinal change. This is the crisis of violence against women in this nation. I raise this issue in this place ahead of a very important day next week. Next Tuesday is National White Ribbon Day—a day which highlights the campaign to stop violence against women.

Violence against women is a serious problem in Australia and around the world. On Monday, in Sydney's south west, a man was arrested after the death of a 49-year-old woman. Police said the suspected murder was a domestic violence incident. This is an all too common story in our nation. One woman is killed almost every week in Australia as a result of domestic violence. One woman is hospitalised every three hours across Australia because of domestic violence. According to the World Health Organisation, intimate partner violence is the most common type of violence against women and affects 30 per cent of women worldwide. That is almost one in three women worldwide who are affected by domestic violence. One in four children is also exposed to domestic violence. These are frightening statistics.

As alarming are the latest results of the National Community Attitudes Survey on Violence Against Women. The survey results, released in September, show that a sizeable number of Australians still believe there are circumstances in which violence against women can be excused. Writing in the Conversation, two people involved in the most recent survey, Kim Webster and Kristin Diemer, said:

Most measures of community understanding and attitudes on violence against women have not improved in Australia in almost 20 years.

In some areas, they've worsened.

Sadly, violence against women in Australia, over their lifetime, is not declining.

Two out of every five women experience some form of physical or sexual abuse.

And nearly half have experienced sexual harassment since the age of 15.

Few Australians openly support violence against women but many others subtly endorse it by trivialising and excusing acts of abuse.

While there are some encouraging results, these are dwarfed by some startling findings.

The survey found that one in five people believe that there are circumstances in which women bear some responsibility for violence. It is shocking that this type of victim blaming is still so pervasive in our community. More than half of those surveyed believed women fabricated cases of domestic violence to improve their prospects in family law cases. Whilst nearly eight in 10 agreed that it is hard to understand why women stay in a violent relationship, more than half agreed that—and I quote—'women could leave a violent relationship if they really wanted to.'

As the Tasmanian Women's Council chair, Lindy O'Neil, has said, the findings of this survey should be an important wake-up call. Ms O'Neill said:

It is worrying that, while we have come so far as society in relation to this issue, we still see a large number of Australians who believe that violence and rape against women can be excused.

What is clear is that, in spite of the work under the National Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children and initiatives such as the Foundation and OurWatch, harmful misconceptions about the causes and impacts of violence against women prevail. If we are ever to make a change, we must elevate the crisis of violence against women to the centre of national debate. This is a crisis that confronts women and girls across every state and territory. It is a crisis that pervades families and communities from any postcode. It is a national shame. We cannot merely pay lip-service to the issue. We cannot ignore it because it is difficult to talk about.

High-profile cases, such as the murder of Allison Bayden-Clay in Queensland, have shone the media spotlight on the issue of violence against women. Earlier this year to mark International Women's Day, the Sydney Morning Herald launched a year-long campaign to show the impact of domestic violence. In an editorial published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 8 March this year, the paper said:

Domestic violence ruins lives.

For every high-profile case, more victims die shrouded in silence and countless others endure the daily torture of not knowing when it will happen again.

Far too often we as neighbours, family, friends and fellow Australians fail to see it.

Even worse, we turn a blind eye.

It is time to Shine a Light on domestic violence.

It is our responsibility and the responsibility of all in our community to take up this challenge and shine a light on this national crisis. We know that we must bring it out in the open and change people's views on stereotyping women and trivialising violence against women. We must encourage women to speak out against family violence. As we mark White Ribbon Day next Tuesday, we must tell men that violence against women is not acceptable. We must tell women that there is no excuse—it is a crime. We must stop women living in fear.

I would like to pay tribute to the enormous courage of domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty who was recently named Victorian of the Year. Earlier this year, her 11-year-old son Luke was murdered by his father when he was at cricket practice. When she won her Victorian award the National Australia Day Council said that Rosie Batty had given 'voice to many thousands of victims of domestic violence who had until then remained unheard.' The council went on:

Her incredible strength and selfless efforts are an inspiration to many other victims of domestic violence, while her courage and willingness to speak out will make Australia a far better place.

Speaking with the strength and wisdom we have come to know Rosie Batty for, she said:

… I'm here because one in three women is affected by family violence, one in four children, and one woman a week dies.

It's really important that we all understand it's no longer a subject that stays behind closed doors.

My commitment is I will continue to push this message, and I accept this award for all victims of violence who have no-one and [for whom] it's unsafe to speak.

After a New South Wales farmer killed his wife and three children in September this year, The Guardian Australia sought the views of police commissioners on what needs to be done to reduce family violence. They agreed that changing the behaviour of men is the only way to tackle a crime that kills one woman every week. The police commissioners referred to 'vulgar and violent attitudes towards women.' They said that the high rates of violence would not stop until men's attitudes change, and they urged victims of domestic violence to report assaults to police. Victoria's Chief Commissioner Ken Lay said:

I place family violence in a wider culture where vulgar and violent attitudes to women are common. These attitudes show that we perceive women differently than men and by differently I mean we perceive them as less valuable. In order to stop a problem we have to tackle the cause.

Tasmania's Police Commissioner, Darren Hine, agreed that our culture must change. Commissioner Hine said cultural change can begin with people of influence such as sportsmen, businessman, actors and other personalities standing up to condemn violence against women and children. Commissioner Hine said:

And it continues at footy games, BBQs, cricket matches, school, college, university, at work, the pub; we are all in a position to make a positive influence when we see unacceptable behaviour or attitudes.

I commend the Tasmanian Police Commissioner, who with fellow White Ribbon ambassadors and other Tasmanians will be leading the charge in raising awareness of the issue of violence against women. On White Ribbon Day, Commissioner Hine will lead a walk through Hobart to Parliament House lawns where he will host a breakfast and discuss ways to consider the cultural change that is so desperately needed to end violence against women.

We know that our culture must change. If we are ever to combat this national crisis we must all speak up to stop violence against women. To stop violence against our sisters, our daughters, our mothers, our neighbours and our friends we must not stay silent.