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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
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Motions

White Ribbon Day

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN (Stuart) (11:30): I move:

That this house recognises White Ribbon Day and encourages all men to swear an oath to never commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women.

White Ribbon Day, as I am sure members will know, is 25 November every year, and it is a very important day on the world calendar. It is certainly celebrated in Adelaide every year, with a very well attended and genuinely well-supported breakfast. I will not be able to attend that breakfast this year but I will be at a White Ribbon Day breakfast in Jamestown which is run by the Jamestown community, and I wholeheartedly look forward to supporting them in their local endeavours on this very important topic.

The White Ribbon foundation is a worldwide organisation committed to, ideally, ending violence against women. That is not because the people who started this cause are opposed to violence against men—I am sure, of course, that they are—but, overwhelmingly, violence is committed by men against women, so that is the first and most important place to start. The White Ribbon foundation does this very important work in many different ways, but one of the most important is by asking all men to swear an oath. It is important because it is simple, because it is effective, because it makes people think about the issue, and because (certainly in my mind) there is absolutely no reason why any man should avoid doing that. That is one of the reasons I brought this motion to the house, to ask all men here to swear that oath, and I have no doubt that all men in the South Australian parliament would be of the appropriate character to do that very comfortably and without hesitation.

It is an important question to ask: why men? As I mentioned before, overwhelmingly violence to women is perpetrated by men—not exclusively, but certainly overwhelmingly. There are a lot of statistics that support that, Deputy Speaker, a lot of places I could suggest that you and fellow colleagues go to have a look. Australia's National Research Organisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS) is one that provides a lot of that information. I will not dwell too heavily on statistics, but I will share with the house some that come from the ANROWS website. This is based on 2012 ABS figures, so they are very much Australian information but were published only in May this year so, while they are 2012 figures, they are the most recent available—to me, at least:

alarmingly, one in five Australian women have experienced sexual violence;

one in six Australian women have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner;

one in four Australian women have experienced emotional abuse by a current or former partner; and

one in three Australian women have experienced physical violence. One in three women, on average across our nation, have experienced some form of physical violence.

To any clear-thinking reasonable person, that is completely unacceptable. Nobody could ever support doing nothing to try to correct that. From a personal perspective, this is not about trying to turn every man in the world into a SNAG, a sensitive new-age guy. It is not that sort of thing. You can be any sort of responsible man you want to be: you can like the footy or the ballet, whatever you like. It really does not matter to me.

Mr Gardner: Both.

Mr VAN HOLST PELLEKAAN: Or, as the member for Morialta says, you can like both. You can enjoy sports, or you can enjoy being a computer nerd, it makes absolutely no difference to me. But however you like to describe yourself, however you like to live your life, however you like to pursue your own life in a responsible way, violence against women just cannot be part of it.

It is not about trying to turn burly footy-playing blokes into ballerina-loving computer geeks, or whatever inappropriate stereotypes I could dream up. It does not matter who you are, just take violence to women out of your life, out of your mind, out of anything you could ever contemplate or actually participate in. People are different, they deserve to be different, but not on this issue.

One of the foundations of the White Ribbon organisation is the oath, and it asks that men never commit, never excuse and never remain silent about violence towards women. There are some myths that I will share with the house, which I got from the White Ribbon website, and I will work through them quickly. They set a tone, and they are worth talking about and considering, as they set some misconceptions right.

There are 10 commonly-held myths. The first is that violence against women is an issue that only concerns women. Clearly, we know that is not the case and, in addition to the points I made before, it is men's wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends who are affected by violence towards women. It is a men's issue because a minority of men treat women and girls with contempt and violence. So, it is very much a men's issue. Another myth is that there is nothing we can do to stop violence against women. That is absolutely ridiculous. Research shows that violence against women is the product of learned attitudes and norms, and it is crazy to think that there is nothing we can do.

The third myth: women should just remove themselves from abusive relationships. That is probably one of the things that is harder for men to understand than for women, and it is probably harder for women who have never confronted this issue to understand than women who have confronted this issue. Really central issue to all of this—and I do not pretend to be an expert—is that the reality is that we could all understand that a women who is fearful, who has less power in a relationship, who worries for children, or who has lack of knowledge, low self-belief, or self-esteem, could find themselves trapped. The fourth myth is that some people deserve to be beaten for provoking the violence. What a ridiculous, crazy, disgusting concept. Responsibility for violence must rest solely with the abuser.

Another myth is that violence against women only occurs in specific groups. This is another really important issue. Violence against women occurs across all religious beliefs, all levels of education, all sexual orientation, all occupations, all community positions and all cultural or ethnic backgrounds. That is just a fact. We cannot pigeonhole people and say, 'It's people like that who do this', because it is just not true.

Myth 6: violent people are mentally ill or have psychopathic personalities. It might be true, but it is certainly true that violence against women is committed by people who do not have those problems as well. The vast majority of violent men are not suffering from mental illness and could not be described as psychopaths. Most abusers would appear to be respectable men who are very much in control.

Another myth is that some people need the violence, enjoy it or are addicted to it. That is an absolutely disgraceful concept once again. Myth 8 is that violence against women is caused by drugs and/or alcohol. Almost even numbers of sober and drunken people are violent—a fact that is important. It is a little bit like having a mental illness. It may be the case or it may not be the case, but it is certainly not the case that violence against women is limited to people who have difficulties with drugs or alcohol.

Violence only happens to a certain sort of woman. Again, research has repeatedly shown that violence crosses all boundaries and can happen to women from all social, economic and cultural backgrounds and family situations. The last myth is that violence only affects a small number of Australian women. I have provided some statistics already which show that one in three will be affected by violence. Violence is the biggest cause of injury or death for women between the ages of 18 and 45. One in three women will experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

I thank the White Ribbon foundation for making that information so readily available on their website because I think it is very important to try to explode some of those myths and, by doing so, take away the excuses. That is what it is about. If you can expose the myths for what they are, you can take away the excuses for people who commit this sort of behaviour.

Back to the oath asking men to swear that they will never commit, excuse or remain silent to violence against women. I have a personal preference. I do not suggest for a minute that I know any more about this topic than the White Ribbon foundation or any other organisation that works in this space, but I have a personal belief that the pledge should actually be to not commit, excuse or remain silent about violence towards 'a' woman, not towards women, and the difference for me is it makes every individual victim a person in their own right.

It is not about all Christians or all Muslims or all Aboriginal people or all non-Aboriginal people or all women or all men. It is about violence against a person. It is about violence against a woman, and I think if people think about it in those terms maybe the point hits home just a little bit harder. Maybe people will actually understand that it is not against a section of the community or it is not against a class or a big group or whatever: it is actually physically hurting a person. That is just a personal view.

There are three sections. Never commit violence towards a woman. This is pretty straightforward. It is hard to imagine that any reasonable person could have any concerns about that whatsoever—a man, a young boy, a teenager, a middle-aged man or an older man. It is pretty straightforward: just do not hurt women. Do not physically hurt a woman or any women.

The next phase, I have to say though, gets a little bit harder. Not for me personally, but for people it can get harder. The next is never excuse violence towards women. That is where people can say, 'I never do it and I never would do it' and any man could say that, but they might just turn a blind eye to it if they are aware of it and it does, if you ramp it up, become a little bit easier to avoid your responsibility to contributing positively to addressing this issue. It is, quite understandably for a lot of men, a harder thing to do.

Then I come to what I think is actually the hardest part of this for men in general: never remain silent about violence towards women, because that is actually about asking men to take some positive decisive action about an issue that they are not actually directly involved in themselves. The man who is not the perpetrator of the violence is asked to say something about it if they are aware of it happening and that is a really important step.

I am often reminded of a situation that I was in as a 21 year old, working in the hospitality industry, going upstairs late at night to return the tills, the cash, the paperwork and everything for the night to the manager's home within the establishment. There was a system whereby you did not go into the home but you could drop the gear off in a secure place without entering their premises, and, from outside the door, I did not hear any violence but I did hear this man's wife yelling and crying, saying, 'Don't hit me again, don't hit me again, you bastard.' I did not do anything. I waited to see that essentially it was over. I stayed there for about five minutes to make sure there was no more violence going on at that point in time and then I left.

That was nearly 30 years ago, and I still feel a bit ashamed about that. I am not sure that I need to put too much pressure on myself about what I should have done differently, but since then I have tried to take some positive responsibility for making a difference and fulfilling all three parts of the White Ribbon oath—not to commit, not to excuse and not to remain silent about violence towards any woman.

The Hon. P. CAICA (Colton) (11:45): I rise to support this motion. I thank the member for putting it on the agenda and also for his thoughtful words in speaking to the motion. Women experience violence in public places, at work and at home. I think it is also safe to say—and I am proud of this—as a government, we have been consistently looking at ways by which the government can set the prevention of violence against women as a key priority.

A lot of these things are reactions to violence that has already occurred. I agree fundamentally with what the member previously said, that it is an individual and a collective responsibility to ensure that violence against women—violence in all forms, particularly we are talking about violence against women—is stamped out. All the best measures that we will have in place to how we manage situations after it has occurred are still learnings that we can put in place as part of the strategic approach to stamping it out.

In recent years the government has made changes to legislation that has given additional rights and protections to victims of rape, sexual assault, and family and domestic violence. We have also included, as you will be aware, Deputy Speaker, the introduction of a target in South Australia's Strategic Plan to have a sustained reduction in violence against women and also you would be aware that the government introduced A Right to Safety, the next phase of South Australia's Women's Safety Strategy.

From early intervention work focused on preventing violence through to community education and awareness, and improving service responses to women experiencing violence, A Right to Safety reaffirms our commitment to reducing violence against women. It is not a commitment that just the government needs to make; it is a commitment that everyone in our community needs to make. A fundamental part of A Right to Safety is the recognition that men can and must take a role to respond to and prevent violence against women. Men can prevent violence from occurring when they see it or hear it, call out casual sexism or misogynistic comments that create attitudes where violence against women is tolerated and show boys and young men—in fact, we all have that responsibility to show the rest of society—how to live without resorting to violence.

A Right to Safety also includes a focus on improving systems through the Family Safety Framework. This is a framework that is an initiative that seeks to ensure that services to families most at risk of violence are dealt within a structured and systemic way through agencies sharing information about high-risk families and taking responsibility for supporting these families to navigate the service system. We have recently seen examples of matters within circles that were not addressed in such a way, that that could have been a preventative mechanism for some of the things we have seen in recent times. However, it is a model that has been successful and it has gone beyond state borders. It is operating in Alice Springs with family safety meetings occurring there and being established there, and a similar model is proposed for New South Wales.

With the completion of the rollout of the Family Safety Framework and the continued focus of a right to safety, we can keep on working towards ensuring that all women in this state are able to live free from violence. However, it will not matter what the government does—and I make this point without being derogatory in any way—because it needs to be a commitment by everyone in the community to ensure that we, individually and collectively, play our role in ensuring that all women in this state are able to live free from violence.

The government will also continue to improve our systems by reviewing domestic and family violence-related deaths. A position was established in the Coroner's office in 2011 which, as at 1 January 2014, had conducted file reviews and investigations on over 70 deaths reported to the Coroner. In turn, these reviews have contributed to three finalised coronial inquests with a domestic violence context. All three of these inquests have had findings and recommendations released which relate to systemic improvements regarding responses to domestic violence. These include responding appropriately to disclosures of domestic violence, and interagency information sharing, including, but not limited to, the Family Safety Framework. As a direct result of these coronial inquests, 20 recommendations specific to improving domestic violence responses have been made by state and deputy state coroners.

One of the new initiatives announced during the election, the domestic violence serial offender database, is a direct result of one of these recommendations. This, together with other new initiatives, such as the perpetrator pays intervention program model, provides an opportunity for South Australia to continue to lead innovation in the area of women's safety.

The government has also taken a strong stance on primary prevention. For example, the establishment of violence against women collaborations is one of the four key strategies in this work. The primary purpose of violence against women collaborations is to build community capacity to prevent and reduce the incidents of violence against women in local regions, creating cultural and attitudinal change within the community, thus addressing one of the underlying causes of violence against women. Each of these collaborations identifies the key issues and priorities in their own region.

For example, in western Adelaide, the Western Adelaide Violence Against Women Collaboration held successful White Ribbon events in 2012 and 2013 and has now developed a relationship with Adelaide United Football Club and will work in partnership to deliver White Ribbon activities throughout 2014. I think that is a very good initiative. We heard the previous speaker talk about organised sport. I also link that initiative to what can be done at schools to make sure that all children growing up know the respectful way of treating not only all people but, in this circumstance, women.

This government is also committed to the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022, which was released in February 2011 following endorsement from the Council of Australian Governments. This is a national plan that brings together government efforts across the nation to make a real and, importantly, a sustained reduction in the levels of violence against women. The national plan was developed in response to the Time For Action report of the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children. The report made recommendations designed to tackle the unacceptable levels of sexual assault and domestic and family violence in Australia and provided clear directions about helping Australian women live free of violence within respectful relationships and in safe communities.

Violence against women affects all of us: men, women and children. Men can take a stand and should take a stand and refuse to accept violence against women by taking the White Ribbon oath. As half of our community, the support of men and their influence as role models to young men and boys in ending violence against women is absolutely essential. I encourage—as do all members of the government and, I expect, all members of this parliament—all men to take the White Ribbon oath to never commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women. I commend the motion to the house.

Mr BELL (Mount Gambier) (11:54): I rise to support this motion and I commend the member for Stuart for introducing it. Much of my information has come from the White Ribbon website and I encourage all members to view that website at some stage. When I was thinking about what I was going to talk about today I thought about where did White Ribbon begin and where did it start? It began on 6 December 1989 when a man walked into the École Polytechnique University in Montreal and massacred 14 of his female classmates.

His actions so traumatised the nation that it brought the issue of domestic violence and violence against women to the forefront of their collective consciousness. So that was 1989. Two years' later a handful of men in Toronto decided that they had a responsibility to speak out and to work to stop men's violence against women. As a result, the White Ribbon campaign in Canada has become an annual awareness-raising event held between 25 November and 6 December.

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with a white ribbon as its iconic symbol. White Ribbon began in Australia in 2003 as part of UNIFEM now UN Women. Its vison: all women to live in safety free from all forms of men's violence; with its mission: making women's safety a man's issue too.

The campaign works through a primary prevention initiative involving awareness raising and education, programs with youth, schools, workplaces and across the broader community. Globally, White Ribbon is the world's largest male-led movement to end men's violence against women. Originating in Canada in 1991, White Ribbon is now active in more than 60 countries.

White Ribbon Australia observes the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, also known as White Ribbon Day, annually on 25 November. White Ribbon Day signals the start of the 16 days of activism to stop violence against women, which ends on Humans Rights Day, 10 December. However, the campaign runs all year and is evident across the community through examples like advertising, marketing campaigns such as 'Uncover Secrets', social media, community events and White Ribbon Night in July.

Intimate partner violence is the most common type of violence against women affecting 30 per cent of women worldwide. In Australia we are not immune. Violence against women is a serious problem where, over a 12-month period, on average, one woman is killed every week as a result of intimate partner violence. A woman is most likely to be killed by her male partner in her home. Domestic and family violence is a principal cause of homelessness for women and their children.

Intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and ill health in Australia for women aged 15 to 44. One in three women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by somebody known to them. One in four children are exposed to domestic violence which is recognised as a form of child abuse. The estimated cost to the Australian economy is $15.6 billion per year. One in five women over 18 has been stalked during her lifetime.

Research indicates that there is an increased risk of mental health, behavioural and learning difficulties from children exposed to intimate partner violence. Children exposed to domestic violence are more likely to perpetrate this violence. Domestic violence impacts an employee's ability to perform tasks in the workplace. Violence against women in the workplace impacts on the organisational climate and employees' sense of wellbeing.

But there is hope. Research also shows that building greater equality and respect between men and women can reduce attitudes that support violence. Social policy initiatives addressing gender inequity are central to reducing violence against women. The violence perpetrated by men against women must stop and it is up to men to stop it. The victims are not merely statistics: they are wives, sisters, mothers, daughters and friends. Good men cannot and will not sit on the sidelines while those they love are at risk of harm.

The White Ribbon campaign is about recognising the positive role that men play in preventing violence against women. It fosters and encourages male leadership in the prevention of violence against women, based on the understanding that most men are not violent. The campaign is a means for men to speak out against violence against women and to safely and effectively challenge the attitudes and behaviours of a minority of men who use or condone violence against women.

White Ribbon Australia believes in the capacity of an individual to change and to encourage others to change as well. Our generation can and must work towards stopping violence against women so that all women can live in safety, free from violence and abuse. The prevention of violence against women will change society for the better. White Ribbon exists in Australia due to the generous support of individuals, community partners and governments, as well as the community at large.

In doing a bit of research about how White Ribbon is funded, I must admit I was a little bit shocked to find that only 4 per cent comes from state government, 34 per cent from the commonwealth, 23 per cent from merchandise sales, 15 per cent from fundraising community events and 24 per cent from donations. In the region I represent, the seat of Mount Gambier, we hold numerous White Ribbon events and have a group of men who are extremely dedicated to the cause, and I will mention their names individually.

White Ribbon events kick off tonight at the town hall with a White Ribbon cocktail event, and I have been paired out this afternoon with the Hon. John Dawkins from the other place to make sure we can make that event down in Mount Gambier. It is followed tomorrow, Friday, by a White Ribbon breakfast sponsored by the Limestone Coast Family Violence Action Group.

On Sunday, there is Walk the Talk, which is a community event walking around the Blue Lake. If last year's numbers are anything to go by, it will be very well attended and something to be proud of. On Monday, we have the Mulga Street White Ribbon presentations, where we will be talking to years 6 and 7 boys at Mulga Street Primary School about White Ribbon and its importance.

On Tuesday, which is of course White Ribbon Day, we have Mount Gambier's Loudest Shout, where groups of five are encouraged to come together with a decibel reader to record the highest decibels in saying no to family violence. As you can see, tonight kicks off the start of a very proactive community response to the White Ribbon campaign.

I want to point out some of the main contributors in our region and people whom I hold in high esteem and classify as friends in many instances. Superintendent Trevor Twilley has tirelessly campaigned for White Ribbon for many years in our region, and Scott Dickson, Robert Foggo, David Mezinec, Steve Perryman, Norm Elliott, Brenton Lewis, Tony Byfieldt, Mark Thompson, Andy Thomas and Paul Scicluna are just a few of the many active members of my community saying no to violence against women.

Mr PEDERICK (Hammond) (12:04): I too rise to support the motion by the member for Stuart:

That this house recognises White Ribbon Day and encourages all men to swear an oath to never commit, excuse or remain silent about violence against women.

This motion is very apt in this week leading into White Ribbon Day next week on 25 November. On that day, I will be leading the pledge at Murray Bridge. Everyone will be meeting at Diamond Park and then walking down one side of the main street (Bridge Street), crossing the street and coming up the other side to Edwards Square and having some lunch. I will then lead the pledge. For some reason, they reckon I am good enough to lead the shout-out to a record. I think that we will crack it.

We have many male supporters of White Ribbon Day in our community in Hammond. The pledge is where men participate by placing their right hand over their heart and raising their left hand to swear 'not to condone, excuse or remain silent to violence committed towards women and children'. White Ribbon is a male-led campaign to end men's violence against women. Men can play a positive role in preventing violence by challenging the attitudes and behaviours of the minority of men who condone this type of behaviour.

The vision of the White Ribbon campaign is that all women live in safety, free from all forms of men's violence. We must always remember that the victims may be someone we know—a sister, a neighbour or a friend. The campaign works through primary prevention initiatives involving awareness-raising and education, and programs with youth, through the schools, workplaces, and across the broader community.

The White Ribbon campaign started due to an horrific event in 1989 in Montreal: a man walked into the École Polytechnique and massacred 14 female students. Two years later, a group of men decided that they had a responsibility to speak out and to work towards stopping men's violence against women. In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, with a white ribbon as its iconic symbol. White Ribbon began in Australia in 2003, and there are six ways of being formally involved:

as an ambassador, which I am: men representing White Ribbon in the community;

as an advocate: men and women supporting the White Ribbon campaign;

in the workplace: the workplace accreditation program and workplace giving;

schools and young people, a very good place to reach the youth of today: Breaking the Silence schools program and the White Ribbon Australia Youth Forum;

as a supporter: progressing the White Ribbon campaign through grassroots activities, which I think is extremely important, as is the schools and youth program, in making sure that we get education through to everyone. Starting at a young age gets that message through at an early stage in a person's life; and

as a partner: getting involved in strategic activities to expand the reach and impact of the White Ribbon campaign.

The mission of the White Ribbon campaign is to make women's safety a man's issue too. White Ribbon Australia believes that most men are good, and good men abhor such violence. We cannot sit on the sidelines while women are at risk of harm. Everyone in this house can become a White Ribbon Ambassador by registering on the White Ribbon website.

The prevention of violence against women will change our society for the better. I am always dismayed and horrified when I hear news of a woman who has suffered a horrible assault or has been killed because of a man's violence against them. It is far more manly and far better for men to control themselves and to walk away; in fact, it is gutless to be involved in such activity.

White Ribbon has many interesting articles on its website, and it talks about what action can be taken, apart from other steps in offering support and taking action. Experience has shown that when people start to talk about violence they can often feel compelled to disclose their own experience.

Alternatively, you may recognise the signs of violence in a family member, a friend, a neighbour or work colleague and wonder what to do. Many women who have experienced or are experiencing domestic violence cope with it alone and stay silent. While they may develop a range of active strategies to protect themselves and limit the impact of the violence, many do not seek any outside help. They tell nobody at all. Sadly (and I will not identify the people involved) there was a murder in the Mallee many years ago now, and from what I understood the woman involved always had another exit out of a room in most rooms in the house, but sadly the day she was murdered she got caught in the laundry, I believe, and there was only one way in and one way out; a very sad story of someone trying to deal with an abusive husband.

When women do disclose the situation to a family member or friend, the first response is often critical in determining how and whether they will proceed any further. Typically, violence against women is under reported and statistics show that a victim of violence is more likely to discuss and disclose their experience to a friend or family member than to the police or another public authority. It is important to know where to refer people and how to deal with people telling you about their experience. If someone wants to talk to you about their experience, there is some simple advice from the White Ribbon website, which includes:

Find a safe/quiet space to talk;

Listen—this may be the first time [the woman] has spoken about the experience;

Have a non-judgmental attitude;

Believe the woman's story;

Reassure her that it is not her fault;

Hold the perpetrator responsible for the violence and abuse;

Provide emotional and practical support;

Support the woman's choices;

Don't be overly directive.

The theme in this advice in dealing with a victim of domestic violence is to listen, take everything on board and take appropriate action.

There is also some advice on the website about people using violence and how you treat them. If you talk to someone you suspect is violent to their partner or another person, it is highly likely they will tell you to mind your own business, make excuses or totally deny it. None of these responses mean that abuse is not occurring. It is common for a person who is being abusive to deny or minimise the abuse, and probably the only way you may be able to verify that a person is abusive is if their partner tells you they are or if you witness the abuse.

People who often appear to be 'respectable and normal' can be abusive in the privacy of their own home. If you do observe abuse, and you feel safe or able, talk about the behaviour you have observed. For example, 'You are my friend, but I think the way you criticise and intimidate her is wrong.' I can understand that many people would find that action intimidating in itself, but it needs to be taken, especially if it is a close friend involved in such behaviour, because it must not happen at all, and it must be stopped.

Also if you only know about the abuse because the victim has talked to you about it, be careful to check with her first before saying anything to her partner. Her partner could become more abusive to her if he or she thinks she has told someone. Research also shows that men who use violence generally seek relationship counselling rather than domestic violence counselling, often in response to ultimatums delivered by their partners. White Ribbon Day is something we can all easily be involved in and should be involved in, and we must totally stamp out any form of violence against women and children.

Ms CHAPMAN (Bragg—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:14): I rise to support the member for Stuart's motion in recognising the White Ribbon Day and his invitation for men to sign up to this worthy cause and be examples to others of the importance of the demonstration of rejection of any form of domestic violence, principally towards women and children. I have said before in this house that I only ever acted for one man who was a victim of domestic violence—he was brutally beaten, actually, by his partner—but overwhelmingly the statistics confirm to us that women and children in a domestic situation are the most vulnerable. They are frequently the most victimised and our statistics in relation to death and serious injury speak for themselves.

I just want to place on the record that recently I learned at a domestic violence forum that, far from the one person a week being murdered in Australia as a victim of domestic violence, in fact for the 10 months of this year we are already up to 80 in Australia and, if we go along at the same rate, we will be up to at least four per fortnight for this year, which is frightening. We welcome initiatives of any governments or parliaments, whether that be programs or legislation respectively, that will assist in this regard. The importance of White Ribbon Day is to reinforce the significance of the general population also saying, 'We reject this. It is alright to say no, we should say no, and we should report and protect and support those who are victims or are suspected to be victims.'

I can say that certainly before coming into this place, there have been circumstances where I was frequently asked questions like, 'Why do women stay in these environments?' and there is a multitude of reasons, but we do not need to traverse them today. I have had questions like, 'What should we advise women to do in this situation?' and there are some programs (not many, but some) which are working very hard to provide support in that regard, and also, 'What laws are there to protect us?' and, again, there are several, some more effective than others.

I suppose the concern I have, having been in here now for over 12 years, is that much is talked about in expanding the definition of violence, in making it easier for intervention orders to be made or the old restraining orders to be made in recognising that this is a serious problem and protection is not only warranted but necessary to be elevated and, included in that, the power for police officers in certain circumstances to be able to grant intervention orders. So, more people more often for more things can grant a legislative framework to give protection to women.

Yet, sadly, just in the last few years, we have had the Coroner's report for the Robyn Hayward case—the murder of a woman by her partner who was subsequently shot by police. She was murdered in a circumstance where there was already a restraint order in place. More recently, sadly, there was the stabbing of Zahra Abrahimzadeh at the Persian celebration a few years ago. The coronial report there confirmed that, even in the absence of an injunctive procedure, multiple reports had been made to the law enforcement agencies, particularly the police, and they had comprehensively failed this lady. The tragedy for me is that we keep reading these reports and we continue to have this problem.

I picked up The Advertiser the other day to read a report prepared by Lauren Novak in which the government were exclusively giving a story about how they are doing great things, in particular minister Gail Gago, with respect to intervention orders. Having been introduced four years ago, taken two years to actually get operational, and now been operating for two years with the knowledge of what deficiencies surround those intervention orders, her great initiative is that she is going to talk to her department about cranking up penalties. Well, hello: you need to enforce these. The attention and energy needs to be in ensuring they are enforced.

It is a feeble excuse, and I put it as high as that, to say that sometimes there is an inconsistency between Family Court orders and state-based court intervention orders when there is a clear provision in our law that enables a state magistrate or judge to make an order where there is an existing Family Court order and even vary the terms of that order in circumstances including that new evidence has to be brought before the state court. It is clearly set out in the legislation. So it is a pathetic excuse to hide behind what to me is an area which ought to be crystal clear to the minister.

To simply say, 'I'm going to go back in to my department and talk to them about how we might enforce this better by cranking up penalties,' none of that will mean anything unless the minister is prepared to go to the cabinet and say that this has to be a priority for all of the government, and to ensure that the agencies, the Minister for Police and the Attorney-General understand the significance of the enforcement in relation to that.

I am always concerned when these issues are raised. Recently, there was a statement made by the government which included that police had established a Family and Domestic Violence Branch within its structure. I am old enough to remember when we had debates in the 1970s and 1980s on rape within marriage, and the importance of having specialised units within the police department and the then prosecution arm (which was pre the DPP) to ensure that we had sensitive collection of information from the victims and a provision of enforcement within these agencies. We have had taskforces and units; I do not care how much they rebadge them, but in reality they need to be acted upon.

Have some alarm bracelets, have some opportunities for women to have real protection in circumstances where they are obviously under threat, rather than continually just saying, 'Well, we will talk amongst ourselves and come up with some higher penalties.' That will never resolve this problem. It concerns me greatly, for example, that we have a Victims of Crime Fund which is overflowing with money.

I am not here to talk about the problems the Attorney-General is having in actually making sure money gets out to victims, but what I do want to say is this: we have got an advertising campaign for just about everything in this state. No matter what it is, we have an advertising campaign or a pamphlet from the government, firstly about how good they are, and secondly how brilliantly their idea is in respect of the material that is being distributed or advertised.

Advertising campaigns are now so prolific that they come under the watch of the Auditor-General, and yet where do I see an advertising campaign to the general public in respect of domestic violence which says, 'It is not okay,' or whatever the logo is that the marketing and advertising people come up with? I am not the expert on that, but I make this point: we have got driving advertisements, we have advertisements in relation to no smoking, no punching, no—everything, but where is the domestic violence advertising campaign?

We have a fund for victims of crime which is exploding with money—I think it is up over $180 million now—which props up the balance sheet for the government in respect of the money in their control, rather than applying it to what it really needs to do, and that is to be active in the space. Do not come into the parliament and just crank out laws, add on penalties, say that you are going to undertake enforcement and not do that, and not address the most important issue, which is educating the public that it is not acceptable to beat or hit women.

I will finally conclude by saying that it was very disappointing when the government dealt with this issue of mandatory imprisonment in respect of manslaughter charges, in respect of which we on our side of the house pointed out that it would mean, in some cases, only a day, but then they amended that to actually make it more effective. But do they not realise how significant this is to women, the many women who are sitting in the women's prison as we speak, who are in there for murder or manslaughter charges in respect of those spouses who have inflicted domestic violence? That is what is missing.

The government do not click on the brain to understand the importance of the legislation they are making in relation to their mantra of, 'We demand a harder, tougher, better, stronger, rack, pack and stack 'em approach,' without understanding that the victims here are women and children. That is what they need to refocus their brain on so that we actually have some improvement in this state.

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