The Australian government has launched a $100 million Second Action Plan to stop domestic violence and violence against women and their children.
The plan, which was launched today, is the second phase in a 12-year strategy to curb violence against women and children in Australia and will span the next four years.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said that violence against women and children is “never ever acceptable”.
“This is where urgent action is needed and progress does need to be made,” he said.
The scheme is set to target forced marriages, genital mutilation, violence against Indigenous women and those from migrant backgrounds.
The government is also stepping up its work on a national domestic violence order (DVO) scheme to strengthen the enforcement of DVOs across the country, with $3.3 million slated to develop and test a prototype which will improve the identification and enforcement of DVOs across the state and territory borders.
The scheme will also see state and territory governments commit to implementing a national scheme for domestic violence orders, which means authorities can crack down on perpetrators, who will no longer be able to flee state borders to escape court orders.
The Minister assisting the Prime Minister for Women, Senator Michaelia Cash, told ABC News that the national DVO scheme would also enhance protection for women who have experienced domestic violence and have moved interstate as a result, and these new arrangements would apply across Australia.
“We want to ensure that DVOs are recognised across jurisdictions. We’re going to now look formally at how we would implement it as Commonwealth, state and territory governments, so we can ultimately get to that position in Australia.
“If you are a perpetrator, there is nowhere to hide and if you are a victim of domestic violence, there’s no reason for you to hide.”
The Greens party have welcomed news of the Second Action Plan, but argue that budget cuts by the Abbott government will adversely impact victims of domestic violence that can’t be overcome with the new plan.
In a press release following the announcement, the party’s spokesperson for women, Senator Larissa Waters said a Greens-iniated Senate inquiry will assess the effectiveness of this plan.
She said that the proposed budget cuts were “insensitive” to victims of domestic violence and could trap women in these violent relationships by cutting support for single parents and women’s legal services, and the GP co-payment would mean women in violent relationships may not be able to see their doctors without their partners knowing.
“While we welcome the news that the Second Action Plan will work to recognise domestic violence orders across state boundaries and to protect women who come to Australia on spousal visas, we remain concerned about the impacts of the budget cuts,” she said.
“The Abbott Government’s abolition of the National Rental Affordability Scheme will force women back into violent homes and increase the pressure on already under-funded women’s shelters.
“The Greens-initiated Senate Inquiry will give the sector and victims an opportunity to share their feedback on the Second Action Plan and the budget cuts,” Senator Waters said.
The Senate Inquiry will report on 27 October 2014.