“He is not my Minister for Women”: Protestors march against cuts to women’s services - Women's Agenda

“He is not my Minister for Women”: Protestors march against cuts to women’s services

On Saturday, March 14, a crowd of protestors gathered in Town Hall Square in Sydney to rally against the state and federal government’s ongoing cuts to women’s services.

The cuts have affected women’s legal services, many of which have lost a majority of their funding, women’s refuges, with some now turning women away who can’t pay for shelter, and domestic violence advice and casework services nationwide. 

The federal government has cut $300 million from domestic violence services and peak bodies this year, and will not commit to refunding a pivotal National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness when its funding expires in July. 

The state government, under its Going Home Staying Home reforms, introduced competitive tendering to refuges, crisis accommodation and homelessness services, a process that resulted in women’s only services closing their doors or transforming into generalist services.

The Going Home Staying Home reforms forced the closure of Elsie, the oldest women’s only refuge in Sydney, and many others like it. It also saw large, religious organisations like the Salvation Army win tenders for services that had previously been women only and independently run.

Last week, Women’s Agenda published a story from Broken Hill, where a Salvation Army worker who admitted he had no experience with domestic violence took control of a women’s refuge and said he wanted to stop women who “use and abuse” women’s refuges. It is indicative of the state the domestic violence support sector in Australia now finds itself. 

This morning, lobby groups and politicians from across NSW came together to protest the cuts. In attendance was Sophie Cotsis MLC, the NSW Shadow Minister for Women, and Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC, the NSW Greens spokesperson for women. Groups represented included the Australian Services Union and the Women’s Electoral Lobby.

Marchers held signs with the names of the 20 women who have been killed in 2015 as a result of violence. They also held signs that asked, “who will be next?” 

In front of a 200-strong audience, commentator and co-founder of Elsie women’s refuge Anne Summers spoke about the importance of putting domestic violence on the agenda and stopping government cuts.

“We are here today because of the appalling statistic that 20 women have been killed in the 11 weeks of 2015. We are here to honour those women and seek justice for them,” Summers said.

“It has become necessary to do everything we can to draw attention to the lives of these women. We hold signs up with their names and, unfortunately, we hold signs up asking who will die next.”

Summers spoke about the importance of Australian of the Year Rosie Batty’s contribution to the dialogue on domestic violence, but emphasised that Batty needs support from the whole community.

“Rosie Batty is an unparalleled voice speaking out on this subject; She has turned the tragic murder is her son by his father into a rallying call. But she can’t be expected to do it alone, she can be the voice but we have to be her foot soldiers,” Summers said.

“Tony Abbott – the Minister for Women, the man who awarded Rosie Batty her Australian of the Year award – has stripped $240 million from front line services. Rosie Batty herself has pleaded with him to restore that action, and we have to get behind her.”

“We demand action to end this crime wave. We want the money back and we want Elsie back.”

Deputy Secretary of the Australian Services Union Natalie Lane also addressed the crowd.

“In a tide of blue tides, knighthoods, gaffes and bad policy decisions, Tony Abbott has continued his attack on women’s services,” Lane said.

“When Abbott attacks these services, women in danger are left with nowhere to go. We want the money back.”

“He is not my Minister for Women, he doesn’t speak for me, and he doesn’t speak for us.”

As well as the ongoing federal cuts, Lane also spoke about the cuts being put in place by the Baird government.

“While Tony Abbott is chipping away at our services in Canberra, what Mike Baird is doing here in New South Wales is far worse,” she said.

“Mike Baird introduced competitive tendering to a sector that is built on collaboration, and the results are disastrous.”

“Mike Baird and Tony Abbott want us to forget who we are, but we won’t. We are the women who run these services, we are the women who use these services, and we are the women demanding them back,” she said.

The protestors marched through the Sydney CBD, from Town Hall to Hyde Park.

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