International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (10:52): I move:

That this house—

(a) notes 25 November 2025 is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and that globally, one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life;

(b) notes internationally every 10 minutes a woman is murdered by their partner or family members and at least 78 women were killed in Australia in 2024;

(c) acknowledges the work of royal commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja who led South Australia’s Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence;

(d) notes the legislative reforms the Malinauskas Labor government has introduced to make South Australia safer for women; and

(e) thanks our domestic violence services and other support services for their work to assist survivors of domestic violence.

I move this motion to note the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, held on 25 November, and to recognise the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism, a global UN-led campaign running from 25 November to 10 December uniting countries worldwide to end violence against women and girls. This day, and these 16 days, are a solemn reminder of the human toll of gendered violence.

Globally, one in three women will experience physical or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence or both at least once in their life. Internationally, every 10 minutes a woman is murdered by her partner or family members. Here in Australia, at least 78 women were killed in 2024. Behind every statistic is a woman who should still be with us and families and communities forever marked by grief. In South Australia, our government is determined to play its part in preventing domestic, family and sexual violence, not only during these 16 days but every day.

This year's theme, Unite to End Digital Violence against Women and Girls, calls much-needed attention to the growing harms of image-based abuse, cyberstalking and AI-generated deepfakes. These are forms of violence that can terrorise victims, damage reputations and invade every corner of a person's life. They are not virtual problems; their impacts are real and they are happening here in our state.

Yesterday Parliament House and the Adelaide Town Hall were illuminated in orange, a bright, powerful symbol of our commitment to creating a future free from violence. Throughout this period the government is also proud to support the Elephant in the Room exhibition featuring Elly the Elephant. Developed by the Women's Safety Services South Australia and created by women with lived experience of violence, Elly represents what is too often hidden, minimised or silenced. I encourage all South Australians to visit, reflect and sign the pledge board in support of ending domestic, family and sexual violence.

This house also acknowledges and thanks royal commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja for her leadership of South Australia's Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. We are facing a horrific epidemic of gendered violence. On average in Australia one woman is killed every four days. These numbers are unacceptable; the gender inequality and disrespect that fuel them are unacceptable. The establishment of the royal commission was a clear demonstration of this government's resolve to prevent violence before it starts, to provide the best possible support for women, to help them build new and safer futures, to better understand children's experiences of violence, and to address the drivers of inequality.

The commission's final report, handed down in August this year, makes it clear that this is a shared responsibility. The causes of domestic, family and sexual violence are multiple, complex and deeply embedded across society. No single action or agency can solve it alone. The report calls for a cohesive and effective system; increased awareness and visibility of domestic, family and sexual violence; safe help-seeking pathways and strong crisis responses; a strengthened focus on people who use violence; holistic long-term support for survivors; and a solid foundation for prevention that shifts harmful gender norms and structural conditions.

Our government has initially accepted seven recommendations that build the framework to drive long-term systemic change. This royal commission provides us with an opportunity to empower our whole community—government agencies, service providers, schools, workplaces and individuals—to act together. It is an opportunity we embrace wholeheartedly.

Shifting culture is essential if we are to succeed. A recent survey into community attitudes found that while 91 per cent of Australians agree that violence against women is a problem, only 47 per cent think it is a problem in their own suburb or region. In South Australia that number drops to just 38 per cent. This is alarming and it does tell us that too many still view this as someone else's problem affecting someone else's neighbourhood. We must change this.

Violence does not discriminate; it occurs across all ages, all communities and all socio-economic groups. Even if someone may not have personally witnessed domestic, family or sexual violence, they almost certainly know someone who has survived it and they may also know someone who has perpetrated it. Every conversation we have must deepen understanding. Every action we take must reflect our shared responsibility. Preventing domestic, family and sexual violence is not solely the job of government or frontline responders; it is everyone's responsibility.

Finally, I offer my deepest thanks to the domestic violence services and support organisations across South Australia and their union representatives at the Australian Services Union. Their tireless work, often undertaken in emotionally challenging circumstances, saves lives and supports survivors in their darkest moments. We recognise their dedication, compassion and professionalism.

The path toward a South Australia free from violence is complex, but with collective action, community understanding and unwavering resolve we can and we must create a safer future for women and girls. I commend the motion to the house.

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, Minister for Women) (10:59): Firstly, I thank so very much the member for Gibson for bringing this really, really important motion to this place. I also thank the member for Gibson for her enduring resolve to tackle the scourge of domestic, family and sexual violence and its drivers. Her resolve constantly strengthens mine, and I am honoured to deeply engage in all that we can do in this space, alongside excellent leaders like the member for Gibson.

I am also constantly strengthened, as the member for Gibson mentioned, by those extraordinary workers who, day after day, year after year, often for a really long time—decade after decade—work to walk alongside those women experiencing domestic, family and sexual violence. These workers are incredibly resilient, they are compassionate, they are highly skilled and they are the difference between women feeling as if they are walking alone and feeling that they are supported and can envision a safer future for themselves. I thank those incredible workers and I thank, also, the union—the ASU—that represents them so well. It is only together with focused, collective attention and action that we can, indeed, drive change, and drive change together we must.

I am really proud to stand here again and speak to the importance of the 16 Days of Activism—the UN-led campaign that unites countries worldwide to end violence against women and girls. We know the heartbreaking reasons why we mark the 16 Days of Activism year after year, and why doing all we can to drive change together is so very important. We share, across our communities, the understanding of the importance of this period. We also share the utter frustration, devastation and profound grief about the women we have lost and the need to shift harmful attitudes about women and all that creates misogyny and its debilitating impacts.

This year's 16 Days of Activism is a significant time to spread awareness about violence against women and to bring attention to this issue as a fundamental violation of human rights. While, horrifically, anyone can experience domestic, family and sexual violence, overwhelmingly it is women who are more likely subject to violence and control. As the member for Gibson articulated, one in three women experience violence at some point in their lives at the hands of a partner or former partner—the equivalent of almost a third of the female population in South Australia.

The health, wellbeing and economic consequences for those surviving violence are often lifelong. As many of us know, the impact on children of the violence, the shame, the fear and the embarrassment is something that can be carried on into their adult relationships and across generations. We know that new, terrible forms of violence are growing, including online, with the likes of Andrew Tate spreading harmful attitudes about women, sometimes faster than we can convene respectful relationship education sessions.

Absolutely tragically, the reality—the persistent reality—is that in this country more than one woman is killed every single week. Our government is deeply committed to tackling gendered violence. Our actions have been strong and relentless. We have passed legislation to electronically monitor, as a condition of bail, those who seriously breach domestic violence intervention orders, to include the experience of domestic violence as a ground of discrimination in our Equal Opportunity Act and to enshrine 15 days' paid domestic violence leave for those workers employed pursuant to the state industrial relations system. We have invested in and built our southern and northern domestic violence prevention and recovery hubs. We have introduced our Raiise program and taken a number of other actions.

One element of domestic, family and sexual violence that we as a government and parliament have made great progress on is the recently passed legislation to finally criminalise coercive control, a topic I and many others are deeply passionate about. Coercive control is that insidious form of abuse that, whilst not always visible, is deeply damaging. It involves a pattern of behaviours designed to dominate, manipulate, control and wear down a person's sense of self-worth over time. This form of abuse creates an environment of fear and dependency and wears down a person's capacity to resist, making it really hard to move forward from.

In 2020 I first introduced a bill to criminalise coercive control and over the past five years I have worked relentlessly to see it criminalised. This work was spurred on by an incredible group of advocates, including survivors, who generously came forward to share their stories and contribute to the call to criminalise coercive control. This group included, of course, Sue and Lloyd Clarke, founders of Small Steps 4 Hannah. The tragic, utterly abhorrent murder of Hannah and her children in a horrific act of violence is a story, a reality, that stays in my mind and heart, as I am sure it does for each person here.

Following this absolutely devastating tragedy, Hannah's parents, Sue and Lloyd, have become fierce advocates for the criminalisation of coercive control which Hannah had experienced in her relationship prior to the terrible incident that took her life. Their tireless advocacy continues to inspire us all. For decades, legislation and associated penalties have contemplated single incidents of physical violence. This legislation ensures that we understand and respond to behaviour which forms parts of ongoing patterns of abuse that may not be physical but are so utterly damaging.

I have met people who have been deeply emotional about this legislation passing. I do not share this, of course, in some vain attempt to self-congratulate or congratulate our parliament as a whole but to emphasise how insidious coercive control is and what it means in people's lives to have this law as survivors. We will continue to undertake our work to raise awareness and understanding of coercive control in our community.

We have taken these steps that I have just outlined but we know we need to do more. In August this year we were handed the findings of the royal commission, a royal commission which was precipitated by a horrific week in November 2023, when four women in the space of that one week were allegedly killed by men known to them, a week that sat in a year when we saw the highest number of breaches of domestic violence intervention orders since records began. This was a week that absolutely demanded further action.

I am so grateful that former diplomat and Senator Natasha Stott Despoja accepted the invitation to be our royal commissioner. Her work and the work of her team is extraordinary. The royal commission's report and the accompanying Voices report is harrowing and it is again a call to action—action that is set out very clearly in the royal commission's recommendations.

We are deeply considering the remaining 129 recommendations of the royal commission and we will provide our response before the end of the year. Those recommendations cover a broad range of interconnected themes—rightly so—and again set out that road map for change. What is absolutely clear is that underpinning every single one of those recommendations is a call to action for everyone in our community, in every sector and in every arm of government to be part of driving change. Indeed, ensuring that everyone steps up and plays their part is the only way that we will. I commend the motion to the house.

Ms PRATT (Frome) (11:09): I also join voices today to speak in support of the motion that has been brought by the member for Gibson. I thank her for bringing attention to the fact that 25 November this year is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and that, globally, one in three women have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their life. The motion also notes that, internationally, every 10 minutes a woman is murdered by their partner or family members, and at least 78 women were killed in Australia in 2024.

We acknowledge the work of the royal commission and the royal commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja, who led South Australia's Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence. The motion notes the legislative reforms that the current Labor government has introduced to make South Australia safer for women. We certainly acknowledge and thank our domestic violence services and other support services for their work to assist survivors of domestic violence. While significant reforms have passed through both houses in this current term, it is work in progress.

I make note of endeavours by the former Liberal government to also sincerely address the scourge that is gendered violence, with recognition of two female warriors in that Liberal government, namely the Hon. Vickie Chapman and, in the other place, the Hon. Michelle Lensink, who have never strayed from their determination on behalf of all South Australian women and men to address the failures that we continue to see that allow such shocking ratios as one in three, one in four, women experiencing sexual violence at the hand of an intimate partner, boyfriend, or even on a date. I thank them sincerely for their advocacy. It is a legacy that lingers through the legislation that we now know as laws in this state. I also want to recognise the work by our current minister for the endeavours and the concerted effort to reform and deliver legislation that addresses coercive control.

In my own electorate of Frome, the coercive control bill was of great interest because it remains of great concern, mostly to women, that we continue to experience that because it is so difficult to identify, and so the passing of that bill was very important. In fact, I note the contributions made by the member for Unley specifically on that bill. He and I felt that there is in fact more work to be done in that space. My own reflections, through this term, on coercive control and the specific bill are that it does not capture it all. I think there is room to consider in the context of gendered violence, beyond the intimate partner and the family and domestic setting, the non-domestic setting because we see and know of occasions of great harm or fatality where women have lost their lives in a non-domestic capacity but it is still gendered violence.

I had the privilege last night to return to my electorate, which is uncommon in a sitting week for country MPs to get that opportunity. I was honoured to be able to join my own community to sit vigil in recognition of the 16 Days of Activism. Members of the government were able to attend and we were honoured by the minister accepting an invitation to support the call put out by the deacon, Reverend Louise Lang, who established this—I do not want to say routine or habit—very important community event last year that I suspect will continue to be something that we attend with growing numbers over the years to come, and growing numbers they are.

The numbers that were in attendance last night demonstrate the community interest and concern in equal measure that comes with recognising gendered violence. It was clear from the conversations I had with a number of people that it was not localised to Clare and in fact people, whether through their faith in connection to the Uniting Church, the Anglican Church or other denominations, travelled from Balaklava, Riverton and towns further away from Clare because they knew they needed to be there to demonstrate their and our commitment to battling gendered violence.

While it was a lovely, poignant, sombre service where we remembered those who have been impacted or lost to gendered violence, it was also uplifting in many ways. I am sure the minister will agree that we did not leave empty-handed. We were reminded of a number of things, certainly that it takes courage to name the harm and to call it out, but that when we do not we are bystanders. To coin another phrase, or mishandle it for this purpose, the standard we walk past is the standard we accept.

A service or a vigil as we experienced last night is a practical way and a safe way that community members can come together, share experiences, perhaps in silent reflection, but be another number in the army that fights gendered violence. They were the words I have taken away from the deacon's sermon. It did not feel like a sermon, but she challenged us to do these three things: to name the harm, to pursue justice and to reimagine what it is like to love and love our neighbour well. I think it is a worthy pursuit for any of us here in this chamber that we should always be looking for opportunities on behalf of our communities to name the harm and pursue justice.

In reflecting on last night's vigil in the Barbara J Long room in Clare, walking distance from my house, I knew without hesitation that I could walk out my front door, down the main street and attend something like this with no question or reflection of any harm that might come my way. That has not been the case for many women who have found themselves in very serious, dangerous straits in our country's history.

This motion is extremely important to challenge the chamber to address International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and it is particularly important that we take every opportunity not just to pass laws in this chamber but to take those laws back into our communities and embody them, live them and honour them. With those remarks, I thank the member for Gibson for the motion and I support the motion.

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (11:19): I would like to make a contribution in support of this motion. There are a couple of things that I would like to acknowledge: the contribution made by the government, particularly our current minister, when dealing with gendered violence in our community. I do not think I have seen a minister work so hard in this area, not only in terms of new legislation and new laws to protect women but also in the area of getting resources for various services to support women who are affected by family and domestic violence. So I would like to acknowledge that. I also acknowledge the whole-of-government approach that we are taking to do this. There are still gaps in the system—we have to acknowledge that—but it is not for the want to do better, and we certainly need to do better.

One of the reflections I would like to make is that despite the enormous amount of attention and the enormous amount of resources from not only the state Labor government but also federally, it is still on the increase. I just do not understand why it is still on the increase given the resources we have put into this area of public policy.

We need to keep thinking about how we can do it better. We need to not only think about providing important services to support people affected by family and domestic violence but also work out ways to reduce it in the long run. We cannot always be the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. We need to keep people safe and we need to work out new ways to prevent domestic and family violence.

We invested in a royal commission and I know the government is working through those recommendations. We need to change community attitudes towards how people in relationships, particularly intimate relationships, see each other and treat each other. I went to an event last night, which I will talk about a bit further, and it was clear that—and this is from a Christian point of view—we are all born in God's image and therefore we have the inherent dignity given by that. It is important, irrespective of our gender, race, etc., and it is quite clear that we all have the right to live safe, meaningful and prosperous lives—and violence stops that.

We now have the 16 Days of Activism, which is addressed in this motion, and I would like to acknowledge the various women's organisations in my current community of Gawler who work very hard at this every year. I think the minister has been to some of the events in the Light electorate to support women to raise awareness about how domestic and family violence has a very strong negative impact not only on those directly affected but also the wider community. Any violence in our community diminishes us all, and that is quite clear.

Last night I had the privilege of joining the minister in Clare at a vigil event called Holding the Light run by the deacon, Reverend Louise Lang, but also supported by the Christian churches, eternal ministries and also the Christian church outreach service in Clare. It was a very eye-opening and very thoughtful event. On a regular basis you hear about issues and sometimes you learn to switch off, but you hear new perspectives and the way the new perspectives are delivered make you sit up and think, 'I've learnt something new here tonight. I actually did things I haven't thought about and they are really, really important.'

One thing that caught my attention last night was the Acknowledgement of Country. It was an incredibly beautiful Acknowledgement of Country. I will quote from the words that were spoken last night. They are not my words and I cannot improve upon them so I will quote them:

The Ngadjuri First Nations people chose what we now know is the Clare Valley and in particular, the valleys and creeks around Watervale, as the place to give birth to their children, every year for tens of thousands of years.

Every Ngadjuri mother needed to return to where they were born. They chose to give birth when the rest of their biome—birds and animals—gave birth. By giving birth in the same place, they ensured that the young were born in a consistent energy and environment. Their bodies became attuned to the unique frequency of Watervale.

So, for tens of thousands of years Watervale was the women's camp of freshwater springs, the birthing place, the sacred place of Women's business. Each year men would go first to this place to prepare it by lighting fires and then leave the women to their business, retiring to nearby ridges. There was no threat to the women, so they stood back at respectful distance.

Then it goes on to say:

Sadly, when the pioneers arrived the Women were exposed and unprotected during the birthing time.

That was a perspective I had not thought about previously. It was very beautifully put last night. It was not put in a way to lecture us, but just to help us understand what has happened and what we can do and what we can learn from First Nations people.

We also heard the story of the purple benches, and the history of the purple benches. I had seen them, but I must confess I did not fully understand them. The deacon gave us a bit of background on the purple benches. They talk about a person called Barb Baillie, a Canadian. Long Lake Park was a special place for Barbara. She enjoyed being in nature and walking her dog, often pausing to sit and enjoy the calm of the water.

To some, park benches are simply a place to stop while on a walk, but to Barb they were a refuge from the abuse she endured from her husband, the father of her five children. A comfortable bench in a peaceful public place offered physical rest but also assurance that she would be safe in the line of sight of unknown passers-by.

On 19 October 1990, Barbara's husband of 25 years strangled her to death in their home. This tragedy shook the lives of her children, family and friends, who continue to mourn the loss of their giving and caring daughter, mother, sister and friend. In 2015, with the 25^th anniversary of Barb's death approaching, her eldest daughter set out to start a memorial project to honour Barb. With the help of a local parliamentarian, she was able to start Barb's Bench Project, starting with the first purple bench placed in Long Lake Park.

This bench is now across the world and spreads the message from this sad but simple story, which actually makes a difference and reminds us. Importantly, these benches are not only purple but they have engraved on them numbers people can ring for support and help and to reach out. One was blessed last night and put out by the council near the Barbara Long Room.

The other thing which I also learned last night was from Deacon Lang. She is an Anglican priest and she gave us her interpretation of various passages of the Bible, which to her credit she did in an extremely educative way, to say people can interpret the Bible to support patriarchy or to talk about equality. Then she went back to say God made it clear that we are born equal in his eyes and therefore we must actually, then, from a feminist theology point of view, talk about equality between men and women.

I found it very helpful the way she did that. I have been a Catholic boy. I found the reinterpretation or alternative view logically made sense to me, how as Christians we are called to be equal and we are called to stop this violence. That was her strong message last night as well, that we all have a duty to do that.

A number of hymns were sung. I would like to acknowledge the impromptu choir, who sang beautifully and who added to the event. As mentioned, it was obviously an event which reflects on the great sorrow, but it was also one of great hope. The hope was that we will come to a place soon where we acknowledge our equality and treat each other with dignity. On this occasion, I would like to acknowledge the day and thank the member for her motion.

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (11:29): I would like to acknowledge everyone who rose to speak in support of this important motion today, firstly the Minister for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence as our leader in this space. Her commitment and her resolve to create positive change is incredibly impressive. I would like to also acknowledge the supportive comments made by the member for Frome and her reflections on the experience of those in her community, and also the member for Light, particularly his comments about his experiences last night and the Welcome to Country that he had the honour of witnessing. I commend this motion.

Motion carried.

The Hon. J.A.W. GARDNER: Mr Speaker, I draw your attention to the state of the house.

A quorum having been formed: