Page 4039 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 26 November 2014
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A White Ribbon ambassador said to me recently, “A key component of preventing violence against women is raising the awareness of this menace in our society, and accurate, current and meaningful statistics are fundamental in measuring the effectiveness of our awareness campaign.” It is very important to have accurate statistics on domestic violence against women here in the ACT. That way, the government and the community can see real change and measure improvements. Words and ribbons are only words and ribbons if we cannot actually track whether or not there has been any improvement.
We also should understand better the response times for women who call the police for help. I understand that the New South Wales government has released an app for smart phones, called Aurora, which provides resources and an emergency call icon that women can use in an emergency. There is also an app that has been developed in the US which deletes previous phone calls or texts so that a woman who is in an abusive relationship can call for help without her partner being able to track what she is doing on her phone.
Violence against women is an intolerable and completely unacceptable phenomenon. We must look towards providing practical help to support and assist women escaping violence. Women need very practical options, a safe place to go, a safe and supportive person to speak to.
I applaud White Ribbon on their public campaign raising awareness of this very real problem. Now is the time to make sure that our actions are genuinely producing results for women. It has been said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. In the light of White Ribbon Day, let us stand up and take a pledge to speak out against violence against women and also to measure action. Let us here today pass this motion to collect data on the incidence of domestic violence against women so that we can clearly see where the work needs to be targeted in the future.
I commend this motion to the Assembly.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Minister for the Environment and Minister for Capital Metro) (11.05): I rise to support this motion from Mrs Jones today. The issue of domestic violence or violence against women and children in our community is a significant one. It is a hidden problem, and days like White Ribbon Day give us the opportunity to reflect on and remember why it is that this issue needs to be kept in the public spotlight and, further, why it is critically important that men stand up and say why violence against women and children in our society is unacceptable.
I have been very pleased as Attorney-General to have been engaged in numerous White Ribbon Day events over the years. I have been pleased also, on behalf of the government, to provide significant financial support to those groups in our community who are working to address, respond to and eliminate violence against women and children.
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