Co-Convenors of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of Ending Violence Against Women and Children, Senator Larissa Waters, Bridget Archer MP, Alicia Payne MP, share this statement that demands an urgent and unified response to end violence against women and children in Australia. The statement is published in full below.
Through the Parliamentary Friendship Group of Ending Violence Against Women and Children, we are united across the political spectrum to end the national crisis of violence against women. Today we write to you with heavy hearts but firm resolve.
This year, Australia has witnessed a devastating surge in violence against women and children. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, convened two National Cabinets focussed on ending gender-based violence, and committed a further $4.4 billion towards community legal centres and women’s safety measures. The number of alleged murders and the reported increase in sexual violence are stark reminders of the pervasive danger that women and children face daily. Behind these statistics are damaged families and communities—lives lost, and futures irreparably altered.
Violence against women and children knows no boundaries—it does not discriminate by age, culture, socio-economic status, or geography. Equally, our response must transcend partisanship, because there is nothing political about the right to live free from fear.
The UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is not just a symbolic campaign—it is a global call to action. This year’s Australian theme, “Safe Everywhere, Always,” speaks directly to our national crisis. The devastating reality is that most women in Australia are not safe—not in their homes, workplaces, or communities. This must change, and it requires a commitment from every one of us.
The rising tide of violence against women and children in 2024 demands an urgent and unified response. Safety is a fundamental human right. Yet, for too many women in this country, safety is a daily uncertainty.
We must confront the uncomfortable truths:
- Every week, Australian women lose their lives at the hands of their current or former partners.
- Sexual violence is increasing at an alarming rate, and workplace harassment remains pervasive, with too few systems in place to hold perpetrators accountable.
- Many women face violence in the very spaces they should feel safest—in their homes and workplaces.
- First Nations women, migrant women, and women with disabilities experience disproportionately higher rates of violence and often face systemic barriers to support.
These realities demand that we all—governments, communities, workplaces, and individuals—act with courage, urgency, and unwavering commitment.
We must ask ourselves, as a nation: What kind of Australia do we want to leave for our children?
- We urge continued investment, building on what has been invested so far, in the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32, including frontline services, perpetrator accountability programs, and long and short-term strategies that address the root causes of violence through working with men and boys.
- We support the thorough implementation of the Respect@Work recommendations and call for zero tolerance of harassment, strengthened protections, and safe environments for all employees. Women must be safe not just in their homes, but also where they work.
- We call for solidarity with victim-survivors and active efforts to challenge harmful norms.
As a community we all must listen, learn, and act. Every small step—from calling out sexist behaviour to supporting victim-survivors—contributes to cultural change.
The pain and loss of this year must be a turning point. The theme “Safe Everywhere, always” is both a demand and a promise—a vision of a country where no woman fears for her safety, wherever she may be.
We believe in the power of Australians to come together, to demand a society where every woman and child can live with dignity and security. But this requires a collective commitment: to believe victim-survivors, to hold perpetrators accountable, and to never look away.
Violence is not inevitable. It is preventable. But prevention requires all of us.
Let these 16 days ignite a national movement, one that ensures safety is no longer a privilege for some but a reality for all.
With resolve and solidarity,
Co-Convenors of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of Ending Violence Against Women and Children
Senator Larissa Waters, Bridget Archer MP, Alicia Payne MP