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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-10-16 Daily Xml
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Domestic Violence

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (14:46): My question is to the Acting Minister for the Status of Women. Can the minister update the house on any initiatives the government is supporting that will address the issue of domestic violence?

The Hon. S.E. CLOSE (Port Adelaide—Minister for Manufacturing and Innovation, Minister for Automotive Transformation, Minister for the Public Sector) (14:46): I thank the member for her question; I know it's extremely heartfelt. I am extremely pleased to update the house about an important initiative that will serve to address the scourge of domestic violence. Our Watch, which was previously known as the Foundation to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children, began in July 2013. Our Watch, with its aim to drive cultural and attitudinal change to prevent violence against women and their children, will enhance South Australia's ability to address the scourge of domestic violence. This government pledged South Australia's membership to Our Watch in August of this year, committing $79,000 a year, indexed for the next four years.

Addressing domestic violence is a priority for this government. I am pleased to be a member of a government that is committed to actions and initiatives that target domestic violence at all levels. Our Watch will promote best practice intervention strategies based on research; undertake prevention and early intervention projects through communities, schools and media; deliver information sessions, forums and conferences; and run targeted social marketing and online campaigns.

The official launch of Our Watch was attended by the Premier. This media campaign is aimed at making Australians aware of the effect of our attitudes to violence against women and promoting equal respect and positive treatment. The video can be viewed on Our Watch's website, and I would encourage all members to do so and to also encourage people who they know to watch this important video. Using community engagement and advocacy to drive this change, Our Watch will build community leadership and drive change across our institutions. A specific example of this is the national media engagement project.

The media can both reflect and challenge the society in which they are based, and they can either reinforce or undermine the attitudes and norms that contribute to violence against women. The representation of women and girls in popular culture, for instance in billboards and television advertising, can powerfully influence the way the role of women is viewed, particularly in relation to men. However, the media can also raise awareness of violence against women, its consequences, and underlying causes. Our Watch will work to develop training curriculum materials for both university journalism students and practising journalists. This two-pronged approach will embed and support a shift in newsroom cultures and practices around reporting on violence against women.

Becoming a member of Our Watch is one of a variety of ways this government has demonstrated its commitment to eradicating domestic violence. Across the state, we have rolled out the Family Safety Framework to ensure that services to high-risk families are dealt with in a more structured and systematic way. We have committed to the Multi-Agency Protection Service, which the Premier mentioned earlier (MAPS), which will streamline the work of key agencies for timely and coordinated responses to child protection and domestic violence issues. We have strengthened police powers in relation to intervention orders to enable police to issue them on the spot in certain circumstances.

During the election we committed to policies which addressed domestic violence at all levels. For example:

the body image campaign, a digital media campaign which will aim to inspire young women to build their self-esteem and love their bodies, as we know that there is a link between a woman's self-esteem and her likelihood of becoming involved in an abusive relationship;

flexible workplace futures, valuing women's contributions and allowing them greater access to workplace participation;

perpetrator pays, making perpetrators of domestic violence contribute to the cost of their own rehabilitation programs; and

domestic violence serial offender database, a database to identify domestic violence serial offenders across women's domestic and Aboriginal family violence services, thus improving risk management.

The announcement by the Premier today of 'Taking a stand: responding to domestic violence' further demonstrates this government's willingness to drive changes to community attitudes and behaviours. Domestic violence should not be someone else's issue, it is our issue—every man, every woman.

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