Page 1373 - Week 05 - Thursday, 26 April 1990
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social problem that cuts across all governments at all levels and affects all Australians. Governments can help survivors but only the community can help break the cycle. Collectively, individually, as members of government and in our social circles, we must state that domestic violence will not be accepted in the ACT.
MR WOOD (5.18): Mr Speaker, as the Labor leader, Rosemary Follett, said, domestic violence is very much related to attitudes of the community at large, women and men. In some cases those attitudes are of tolerance or of avoidance of not taking action or non-interference. Let me talk about the male attitudes that are clearly identified. I do not know when it started - before anybody could record, perhaps, although it differs from society to society - but the attitude of men, of dominance, is unquestionably one of the main factors in causing domestic violence. How hard it is to change that emphasis. In some cases, research tells us that there is an attitude amongst some women that domestic violence can be tolerated. What is perhaps more common is the fact that too often there are too few options for women to explore to find an alternative.
How do we change those attitudes? I cannot stand up here today and tell you. Like others in this Assembly, about a week ago I went to a conference on domestic violence and I was very impressed to hear a range of people in Canberra who are working in that area expressing what was happening. What was clear was that those people who are handling the situation and taking steps to change what happens are unable to respond, as we all are, to how to change deep-rooted attitudes.
How do you convince men that they should not beat their wives? How do you tell them not to go out and get drunk, which is the predominant cause, lose control of themselves and attack women? I do not have the answers. I can say that it involves education of children in schools, but I think that happens. As a teacher, I can see ingrained in children attitudes not just on this but also in relation to a range of areas - to people of a different race, different cultures and different ideas - that make it very difficult to change. Try as we might, perhaps with some success, it is very difficult to take out those deeply ingrained attitudes that come from their homes.
There are measures under way in this community, as there are elsewhere in Australia. Most important, I think, is the training of police. Simple little things are needed, like providing child-care at courts. Women in this situation are further agonised by wondering where their children are. What do they do with them?
Recently the Standing Committee on Social Policy considered the question of public behaviours. Over and over again it was brought to our attention that really we should be looking at private behaviours; that is where the problem is, we were told by so many people. We were told that
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