The government, opposition and frontline services are determined to progress with the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032.
Yesterday, Australia’s Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin addressed the National Press Club to provide an inaugural but what will become a yearly “report card” update on how the government is progressing with the national policy framework to end gender-based violence.
This year, 46 women have been killed by male violence, according to Destroy the Joint’s Counting Dead Women. That’s 11 more women than this time last year.
Since she was appointed as Commissioner in November 2022, Cronin has been overseeing the government’s policies to align with the framework, aiming to end violence against women and children within a decade.
Two years on from her appointment, Commissioner Cronin has updated us on how that plan is going.
She said in order to progress the National Plan, the government “must prioritise developing the new data sources” in order to assess the progress of the Plan. Commissioner Cronin also emphasised the need to embed lived experience of DFSV through co-design and decision-making.
Other areas of focus the Commission calls on the government to consider include better funding for frontline services, engaging men in the conversation and building on workforce capabilities.
When the report card was tabled in Parliament, the government, opposition and frontline services responded to the progress update. Here’s what they had to say.
The government
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said the “independent eyes” of the Commissioner is important in order to assess the government’s progress on ending violence against women and children.
“I don’t think governments can be defensive on this,” Minister Gallagher said. “You know, this is not a problem government can solve on its own, it’s a community-wide problem. Anything we can do to raise awareness and shine fresh light on responses and ways of dealing with it is welcome, from my view.
You know, it’s not always going to be a rosy report card. Governments, you know, when you have set up these processes, you’ve got to be open to people saying we need to do things differently, or not enough has been done.”
Justine Elliot, the Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, addressed the House of Representatives yesterday to deliver a statement on the Commissioner’s report card.
Today @JElliotMP updated the Parliament on the work we’re doing to end family and domestic violence.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 21, 2024
This is a priority for my Government and it will change lives. pic.twitter.com/iGre3OuQ8w
“We know that we must continue to push for generational change, otherwise this problem will just never end,” Assistant Minister Elliot said. “If we’re going to get anywhere, we need our whole community, including men, to step up.
“Of course, whilst we are making significant strides when it comes to gender equality, we also recognise that this alone does not safeguard against the perpetration of violence.
“We need to take every opportunity available to intervene early and stop violence from occurring, and part of that is a sharp focus on perpetrators of violence. These perpetrators are criminals and they must always be held to account.”
Speaking to reporters in Canberra today, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus also declared that more measures addressing family violence will be outlined at the next national cabinet meeting in September.
The opposition
Deputy Leader of the Opposition Sussan Ley also delivered a statement to the House of Representatives yesterday. She said the Coalition is willing and ready to work with the government to deliver the intended outcomes of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children.
“Today, I reiterate that the coalition will continue to work with the government to combat the scourge of domestic violence in Australia,” Ley said.
“I have said that many times before in this place and I say it again today. Efforts in this complex space demand we take the long view, and we are all committed to working collaboratively on this.”
Our Watch
Patty Kinnersly is the CEO of Our Watch, a violence-prevention organisation. Last month, Our Watch released its own Progress in Prevention report card, highlighting the progress in reducing rates of male violence in the last 30 years.
The report card showed that there has been a 66 per cent decline in intimate partner homicide rates over the past three decades. There has also been a decline in women experiencing physical violence, as well as an improvement in attitudes that drive violence.
Kinnersly welcomed Commissioner Cronin’s progress update, especially the call to improve data gathering in the space.
“With two in five women experiencing violence in their lifetime and one in four men saying they have used violence, this is an issue that is present in every suburb, every community, every sporting club and many workplaces,” Kinnersly said.
“Significant work is underway to drive the changes needed across Australia to support widespread efforts to prevent and end violence against women and children.”
Kinnersly also echoed the call to build a strong workforce in the violence prevention space, including people with lived experience of male violence.
“An expert workforce has been identified in the National Plan and now in the Report as the cornerstone to delivering the widespread change needed to end gender-based violence,” she said. “An important part of this is ensuring we have a skilled primary prevention workforce.”
Targeting men and boys is an important component of violence prevention that Kinnersly and her organisation focuses on. She welcomed Commissioner Cronin’s call to better support boys.
“Men and boys are facing huge pressures to conform to rigid ideals of masculinity – which is a key driver of violence against women,” Kinnersly said.
“They are being bombarded with harmful content about women in the online space and some of that is reinforced in their day to day lives.
“Supporting men and boys to develop positive ways to be a man and see those positive male role models around them is crucial to ending violence against women.”
No to Violence
Phillip Ripper is the CEO of No to Violence, a helpline and organisation for men and perpetrators of violence against women. Ripper said he applauds the Commissioner’s calls to focus on men and men’s use of violence as a national priority.
“We support the current National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children, and agree with the commissioner’s view the national plan needs to continue to evolve and develop,” Ripper said.
“We can’t end family violence, unless we end men’s use of violence. We were hoping the report would emphasise this crucial need to do more to stop violence at the source. And it did. It was definitive in saying that ‘Men must be a part of every aspect of ending violence’.”
Ripper said those working in the space – frontline workers, governments and other leaders – need to be “brave” in addressing men’s violence against women.
“Governments need to fund and work in ways that they haven’t before; they need to provide sustainable funding for innovative trauma-informed approaches for ending violence, and to facilitate new ways of information sharing and risk assessment processes that can better keep victim-survivors safe,” Ripper said.
Ripper said government action is needed “fast”, especially from the Commonwealth.
“Queensland is leading the nation with a statewide strategy for people who use family violence. Crucial steps are being taken in NSW to advance work strategically and Victoria is also taking important steps towards developing a statewide strategy for people who use family violence. In South Australia they have embarked on a Royal Commission. It’s now time for the Commonwealth to step up and lead a national strategy,” Ripper said.
“We will never end family violence by only providing shelter to women and children who flee. We must address the issue at the source – we must invest in innovation and a broader suite of interventions to hold men accountable and support them to be better partners, better fathers and live better lives without violence.”
Ripper said there is an urgent need for frontline services to be better funded by government, speaking on experience from his organisation, No to Violence.
“As a very first step – we are turning away thousands of men across the country every year who want to change because we don’t have the appropriate services available,” Ripper said.
“So it’s critical that we invest in front line services working with men to change their behaviour and build workforce capacity and capability to do this vital work.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for online chat and video call services.
If you are concerned about someone using violence, call Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit mrs.org.au for advice and support.
Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.