Page 4048 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 26 November 2014
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Turning specifically to Mrs Jones’s motion today, as I said earlier, I really appreciate that she has brought this on, because it is an important issue to discuss, and it is very appropriate that we reflect on the meaning and the significance of White Ribbon Day, and that we do so in this place as part of private members’ day.
The focus of the discussion today has been on the issue of statistics and how they are collected. Mrs Jones made a very important point in identifying the need for specific statistics to be drawn out, away from general assault statistics, and putting a real focus on those. I completely support her in seeking to draw that out.
I also note the comments that the attorney made and the amendment that has been circulated. I note the spirit in which the attorney has put that amendment and the very clear commitments he has given regarding the production of that data. I am pleased to hear that some of that work is already underway and the clear commitments from the attorney, echoed by Minister Burch, that that data will be made available. I think it is critically important that it is in the public domain. Just as we need to talk about difficult issues like suicide and the number of people who commit suicide each year, it is critically important that this data becomes available and that we can use it both to monitor levels of domestic violence and, with it being explicit, to focus on an issue that can sometimes be dismissed as a private issue. I think Phil Cleary is right when he says we have come a long way from that, but I fear that in some places it is still the case.
That brings me to the final remarks I want to make. This is an incredibly important issue and the White Ribbon campaign has done a lot to bring this issue into the public domain. Family violence, domestic violence, is simply not acceptable. I appreciate the sentiment of all members of the Assembly who have spoken today in making that point. Men have to take responsibility. For me, the most powerful part of the White Ribbon campaign has always been the acknowledgement that men, largely, are the perpetrators of this violence; therefore it is men who have to take responsibility to ensure that it ends.
I have always strongly supported the idea that men must challenge fellow men, to say that this is not okay, to not be silent. I have always thought that is an important part of this messaging and the strategy of White Ribbon. If blokes make reference to this in the sporting change room or in the pub, other men should not simply sit back and condone it or, perhaps even more powerfully, not silently jerk away from it but in fact actively stand up and say, “This is not okay,” because we know that peer pressure is a really powerful force for change.
Peer pressure is often talked about as a bad thing but I think it can be a very good thing. Men speaking out and saying that this is not acceptable is a most important way or a very effective way of changing the culture and ensuring that we live in a society where every single person knows, understands and accepts that violence in the home, domestic violence and violence against women, is not acceptable in any form. There is no excuse for it. That is the country that I want to live in and I hope that we can continue to strive to be in that place.
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