The Australian Government has created a national Lived Experience Advisory Council in an effort to end violence against women and children by amplifying the voices of those with lived experience of domestic, family and sexual violence.
The Advisory Council will share advice with the Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Commission to implement domestic, family and sexual violence policies and services that work towards achieving the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-23.
Established in October 2022, the national plan framework is meant to end violence against women and children over the next 10 years. It includes a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan to address the disproportionately high rates of violence First Nations women and children experience.
Listening to voices of victim-survivors in Australia is critical as violence against women prevails.
This year alone, there’s been 39 women killed by violence, according to Destroy the Joint. The total women killed in 2022 sits at a horrifying 57 when, of course, the number should be zero.
While ANROWS data has shown that almost half of Australians mistakenly don’t believe violence against women is a problem that affects their local area, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In Australia, on average, one woman is murdered every 10 days by an intimate partner.
The numbers are even more grim for Indigenous women, who are 32 times more likely to be hospitalised due to family violence as non-Indigenous women, and are 11 times more likely to die from assault.
An estimated 1 in 5 women have experience sexual violence since the age of 15, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. And 1 in 4 women have experienced emotional abuse by a cohabiting partner.
“If we are to achieve the goal of ending violence against women and children, then we must ensure that the voices of those who have experienced domestic, family and sexual violence are deeply listened to and meaningfully engaged,” said the Domestic Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin on the the importance of the Advisory Council’s role.
“Through the Advisory Council, people with lived experience will have an equal role in the creation and delivery of new initiatives.”
The seven lived experience advocates chosen have been appointed until March 2023 and will supervise the Advisory Council to ensure that appropriate processes and support are established.
Between August and September 2023, the Commission held an open national Expression of Interest process to recruit up to 12 members to the Advisory Council. They received 419 applications and are currently conducting a selection process.
Cronin says that with the Advisory Council, the government is committed to amplifying the voices of individuals with lived experience of domestic, family and sexual violence in national conversations.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family, domestic or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT 24 hours, 7 days a week on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.