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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2002 Week 13 Hansard (21 November) . . Page.. 3877 ..

MS GALLAGHER (continuing):

marginalised and isolated, and that the service gaps are largely due to inadequate resourcing.

There was certainly a view put that gender-sensitive services may deliver better outcomes for women, and that increased outreach work in the community in this area is a priority. The committee made several recommendations in relation to women and mental health, particularly in terms of increased outreach gender-specific services and provision of support to women with mental health issues who may have dependent children to care for. A woman in this position-that is, with dependent children-needs not only to have treatment for her own health, but also to be certain that her children will be well cared for, and in some situations that her housing will be safe.

This is a similar situation for women seeking treatment for substance abuse issues. The committee received evidence that, if a woman is to enter detox for up to three months, her decision to seek treatment would be made easier if she knew that her children would be supported and her housing secure. The committee made several recommendations in this area. Again, for most women our health is good, and to a large extent most women are adequately catered for in the ACT health system. But, again, the committee learnt that for isolated women-whether the isolation be through such reasons as mental illness or substance abuse-life and health are not so good. Unless we address the isolation caused as a result of their circumstance, these women can remain in need and untouched by government services.

The most disappointing issue for me personally was to realise that, in 2002, violence against women is still the most serious issue facing women, not only in the ACT but across all jurisdictions in Australia and across the world. Any research of government websites for women, be it in the UK, the US or Australia, shows that they all have lists of government frameworks and strategies to combat violence against women. Perhaps it is timely that this report is being tabled today, shortly before the universal day for the elimination of violence against women on 25 November. In evidence to the committee from the Australian Federal Police, the committee heard that, in 2001 in the ACT, women and girls accounted for 45 per cent of victims of crime against the person. They comprised 43 per cent of the victims of assault and, sadly, 86 per cent of the victims of sexual assault.

A large portion of crimes committed against women and girls are perpetrated by someone known to them. Close to half of all assaults against females were perpetrated by offenders known to the victim, and, of the 119 sexual assaults against females recorded during 2001, 75, or 63 per cent, were committed by an offender known to the victim.

The committee deliberated on the issue of violence against women extensively and received valuable contributions from the Domestic Violence Crisis Service, the Rape Crisis Centre, Toora Women's Shelter and other organisations about the problem of violence against women in the ACT.

The committee made 17 recommendations in relation to this topic, such as providing more crisis accommodation and increasing support to address violence against women in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. We also made a recommendation that the Protection Orders Act needs to be reworked to regain stand-alone domestic violence laws.

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