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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-11-19 Daily Xml
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White Ribbon Day

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (15:22): I rise today to bring members' attention to White Ribbon Day, which will be marked this year on 25 November. Since 1991, the white ribbon has represented a global commitment to end the scourge of violence against women and girls. It is a campaign that began here in Australia more than 20 years ago and it goes from strength to strength due to the efforts of those who oppose such violence, support gender equality and promote community action and, with it, attitudinal and behavioural change in working towards a future free of violence and abuse.

Because the grave truth is that, every week, on average one woman is killed by intimate partner violence in our country—one woman every week. If this were the case for any other societal cohort, there would be widespread and widely-expressed abhorrence in the community. This is building, but the 2013 National Community Attitudes Survey, released just last month, demonstrates that more than 40 per cent of people believe that sexual assault is a result of men's inability to control their need for sex and that 20 per cent of people believe that loss of control can excuse domestic violence.

While the survey shows some encouraging signs—not enough—that young people's attitudes towards women are improving, that there is greater understanding of the forms that violence against women can take and that statistically speaking a large majority of our fellow Australians would intervene if they witnessed a woman subjected to assault, the figures I have cited are deeply concerning. It seems that a significant number of Australians remain to be convinced that hurting women and girls is completely unacceptable. They remain to be convinced that men choose to behave, to respond to situations, with violence.

There are many myths and misconceptions surrounding this issue. One is that violence against women is an issue that only concerns women. Violence against women is also a men's issue. In particular, it is a men's issue because it is men's wives, mothers, sisters, daughters and friends whose lives are limited by violence and abuse; it is a men's issue because some men's violence gives all men a bad name; it is a men's issue because, as community leaders and decision-makers, men can play a key role in helping stop violence against women; it is a men's issue because men can speak out and step in when male friends and relatives assault or attack women; and it is a men's issue because the minority of men treat women and girls with contempt and violence, and it is up to the majority of men to help create a culture in which this is unacceptable. By providing a clear message that men will not tolerate violence against women, the White Ribbon campaign starts the ball rolling in removing this form of human rights abuse from our community.

Another myth is that violence against women occurs only in specific groups. Violence against women occurs across all religious beliefs, all levels of education, all sexual orientations, occupations, community positions and cultural or ethnic backgrounds. A further myth is that violence affects only a small number of Australian women. According to VicHealth, violence is the biggest cause of injury or death for women between 18 and 45 years of age. The report also found that among women under 45, intimate partner violence contributes more to their poor health, disability and death than any other risk factor, including obesity and smoking.

White Ribbon Day is a positive thing. It provides men, and in fact the whole community, with an opportunity to play a positive role in preventing violence against women by men, and inspires men to challenge violent behaviours to show that they want to make a difference. It is important for us to get behind the White Ribbon campaign and show our support within our communities and beyond. In concluding, I ask members to consider the remarks of Lieutenant General David Morrison AO, Chief of Army, when, in June 2013, he condemned certain behaviours and attitudes towards women in our military. He said:

There are no bystanders—the standard you walk past is the standard you accept.

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