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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-11-02 Daily Xml
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Domestic and Family Violence Prevention

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (15:00): My question is to the Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence. How is the government exploring options to assist women impacted by family and domestic violence?

The Hon. K.A. HILDYARD (Reynell—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:00): Thank you very much to the member for this question and for her extraordinary commitment to help prevent and eradicate family, domestic and sexual violence, a commitment that many of us in this place and beyond share, a commitment that we must continue to hold because the facts about the horrific prevalence of domestic, family and sexual violence relentlessly persists.

At the forefront of our collective effort to drive change are those remarkable community sector workers who support and empower women experiencing violence, often facing financial hardship through bearing the brunt of mortgages, unpaid rent and other debts due to that experience. Our Women: Safety, Wellbeing, Equality policy is comprehensive and multifaceted. Amongst its many initiatives lies our commitment to work with the domestic violence sector and the finance and real estate industry to explore and determine how the state government can collaboratively work with these sectors to drive initiatives that support victim survivors as they recover and heal.

We know that a combination of factors affect a woman's economic security over her lifetime, and we know that victim survivors are likely to experience economic insecurity as they juggle health and legal appointments, additional caring responsibilities or time away from work whilst also sometimes having to maintain contact with the perpetrator about mortgage repayments, joint accounts or other shared financial responsibilities.

Victim survivors often experience significant financial and legal repercussions due to unpaid rents, mortgages and loans. As well as impacting their financial security and stability, these repercussions can severely limit their ability to obtain secure new housing. Perpetrators often use these unpaid rents and loans to inflict further financial abuse on victim survivors, particularly following separation.

Our government does not ever want women to have to choose between their safety and a place to call home and financial security. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. To help bring this commitment to life, our government is hosting round tables to support engagement between the DV sector and the finance and real estate industries. The first round table focused on addressing the burden of unpaid rent occurred earlier last month. It was great to be joined by representatives from the Real Estate Institute SA, Ray White, the Centre for Women's Economic Safety, the National Council for Women, Embolden, Zahra Foundation, Neami, Shelter SA, Uniting Country SA and OARS Community Transitions. It was also excellent to be together with Minister Michaels, Commissioner Dini Soulio and the Office for Women.

It was incredibly powerful to directly hear from a courageous victim survivor about experiencing homelessness as a result of domestic violence and her former partner's control of her and their finances. The thoughtful conversation and engagement by attendees identified suggestions on how to better assist renters experiencing violence who may not be eligible for financial assistance, ensure people experiencing violence are not held liable for damages caused by the perpetrator and how to best provide support for the real estate industry to recognise violence and help deal with its impact.

The second round table in November will bring together stakeholders from banking, the DV sector, financial assistance organisations and people experiencing violence to discuss the burden of unpaid mortgages. Through our collaboration, we are reaching a shared commitment to better support victim survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence and create and drive meaningful change.

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