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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-11-20 Daily Xml
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White Ribbon Day

Ms DIGANCE (Elder) (15:26): Earlier today I signed the pledge in support of the White Ribbon Day campaign, raising awareness—

Mr Picton interjecting:

Ms DIGANCE: That's good, I am glad you did—and challenging the situation that violence against women presents. It is for this reason that I wish to highlight the plight of young children who can find themselves as innocent bystanders experiencing the negative impact at the hands of episodes of violence against women.

The 2012 ABS Personal Safety Survey reported that almost 1.2 million women around Australia had experienced partner violence (and this also included threatened violence) at some time in their life. Of these instances, roughly half had children in their care at the time and the children either saw or heard the violence.

There is a large body of work on the impact of domestic violence on children that reports that exposure to domestic violence or being a victim themselves may affect children differently, depending on their circumstances, and may also affect them differently as they grow older. Several studies have found that toddlers from violent homes expressed emotionally distressed behaviour less often than older children, suggesting perhaps that they were used to it and saw it as the norm. However, common developmental problems of small children include excessive irritability, regressed behaviour around language and toilet training, sleep disturbances, emotional distress and a fear of being alone.

Research finds that children may be significantly affected by the experience of domestic violence in their lives and the impact which may resonate intergenerationally with their own involvement in adult violence. Given the potential negative repercussions of children's exposure to domestic violence, in particular the intergenerational transmission of such violence, there exists a need for a wide range of programs that can intervene to improve the potential for healthy adjustment. Children who are exposed to extreme stress are at greater risk of developing mental and physical disorders.

The World Health Organisation World Mental Health Survey of a few years ago shows that childhood adversity was responsible for 22.9 per cent of all child or adult mood disorders, 31 per cent of anxiety disorders, 41.6 per cent of behavioural disorders, 27.5 per cent of substance abuse disorders, and overall, 29.8 per cent of all psychiatric disorders.

A 2011 report from the Australian Institute of Criminology surveyed the studies which looked at the impact of domestic violence on children. These reports covered surveys of the psychological and behavioural impacts, as well as studies looking at the health and socioeconomic impacts of domestic violence on children in these families. They identified and reported psychological effects including: depression, anxiety, trauma, trauma symptoms, increased aggression, antisocial behaviour, lower social competency, temperament problems, low self-esteem, the presence of pervasive fear, mood problems, loneliness, school difficulties, peer conflict, impaired cognitive functioning, increased likelihood of substance abuse, eating disorders, teenage pregnancy, leaving school early, suicide attempts, delinquency and violence.

While some studies have concluded that children who witness domestic violence are more likely to use violent behaviour themselves in later life, the Australian Institute of Criminology notes that this evidence is mixed. In addition, other findings suggest that children who witness or who are involved in family violence have significantly higher rates of health problems than other children, and their experience may contribute to a range of serious health conditions, including alcohol and drug abuse and depression, and even early death.

They and their mothers are at a higher risk of homelessness than other families and a higher risk of welfare dependency. As a member of parliament, a member of the community, a nurse, a businesswoman, a company director, a daughter, a sister, a mother and a woman, I for one will not stand by and allow the continuation of those children being lost from being their best at the hands of a preventable public health issue: it should be of extreme public concern to each and every one of us.

Campaigns such as White Ribbon Day are important in activating change, and I applaud it. No woman deserves to have violence of any kind committed against her and, in turn, no child deserves to experience the negative effects of this violence. To counteract the devastation that befalls these innocent bystanders of violence against women, education coupled with will is key. It takes the whole of society on all levels, all demographics, to combat and right this situation.

Time expired.

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