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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-11-25 Daily Xml
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WHITE RIBBON DAY

Ms PORTOLESI (Hartley) (15:11): My question is to the Premier.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms PORTOLESI: Will the Premier, as a White Ribbon ambassador—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

Ms PORTOLESI: —tell the chamber about—

Mr Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens!

Ms PORTOLESI: —the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the White Ribbon Campaign?

The Hon. M.D. RANN (Ramsay—Premier, Minister for Economic Development, Minister for Social Inclusion, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Sustainability and Climate Change) (15:11): White Ribbon Day is held on the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and falls on this day, 25 November, every year. White Ribbon Day was started by a small group of Canadian men in 1991 on the second anniversary of the massacre of 14 women in Montréal. They began the White Ribbon Campaign to encourage men to call for violence against women to stop.

The White Ribbon Day Foundation tells us that wearing a white ribbon is not a badge of purity or a badge of perfection. It does not mean that the wearer has perfect relationships; it means that the man believes that violence towards women is unacceptable. It is a visible sign that the wearer does not support or condone the use of violence against women.

The White Ribbon Campaign is led by men who are willing to stand and be positive role models to other men in the community. A number of highly respected men from all walks of life are leading the way, uniting to become White Ribbon ambassadors and to stand up and say no to violence against women. It is terrific that so many members of this house on both sides are wearing the white ribbons.

The campaign is getting stronger every year, as more men advocate for the elimination of violence against women in our country. Current South Australian ambassadors include former Adelaide Crows captain Mark Bickley; the Hon. Dr Basil Hetzel, former lieutenant-governor of South Australia; Sir Eric Neal, former governor of South Australia; the Moderator of the Uniting Church, Reverend Rod Dyson; Deputy Chief Magistrate Dr Andrew Cannon; Julian 'Jules' Schiller from Nova 919; and Ambassador for Youth Opportunity, Gavin Wanganeen. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is also demonstrating his strong commitment to preventing violence against women as a White Ribbon ambassador, as is our own Governor, Kevin Scarce.

Violence against women costs Australia $8.1 billion a year. Violence against women has been identified as the biggest single health risk for women aged 15 to 44 years. This is larger than many well-known preventable risk factors, such as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity. During the 2005-06 financial year alone, 11 South Australian women were killed as a result of domestic violence.

The South Australian government continues to demonstrate strong and clear leadership for the safety of women in South Australia. We are committed to ensuring that all women, children and, indeed, the whole community are able to live safely, free from all forms of violence.

To this end, in 2008, we made the most significant changes to rape and sexual assault legislation in over 30 years by passing the Criminal Law Consolidation (Rape and Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill and the Statutes Amendment (Evidence and Procedure) Bill. This law came into force this week on 23 November.

The new laws make it clear that consent to sex must be given and not simply assumed. Sexual activity is not consensual if the victim is asleep or unconscious or too intoxicated to agree. Equally, if the victim is unable to understand the nature of the sexual activity or was mistaken about the identity of the person they were having sex with, the activity is not consensual.

Judges will have to explain to juries that consent to sexual activity should not be assumed because the victim did not say anything, did not protest or resist or had previously given consent. Victims of sexual offences and vulnerable witnesses generally will benefit from greater protection when giving evidence in court as a result of this government's reforms.

The laws also give greater consideration to the alleged victims of sex crimes aiming to reduce the trauma that victims often further experience as a result of the court process and giving evidence. In addition, the South Australian government has pledged more than $860,000 over the next four years to educate people about the changes to these laws, but just as importantly to change public attitudes about violence.

Early next year we intend to introduce legislation addressing domestic violence into the parliament. We will ask members to prioritise this legislation to ensure that both South Australian victims and perpetrators of domestic violence understand that this government does not accept domestic violence in our homes. We will be considering measures to maintain victims and children in their home, the operation and issuing of restraining orders, and providing clarity of what behaviours are domestic violence.

I was pleased to hear today that Australia has formally moved to become a party to the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Minister Tanya Plibersek has said today that acceding to the optional protocol will send a strong message that Australia is serious about promoting gender equality and that we, as a nation, are prepared to be judged by international human rights standards.

My hope is that some day this campaign will not be necessary, that violence, not just towards women but all its forms, will be eradicated. Until that day, I encourage all men in South Australia to join us in taking a stand against violence towards women and wear a white ribbon.

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