Page 4051 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 26 November 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
I think it is extremely important that we continue to work on this, that we do not ignore it, that we do not allow it to be a hidden thing in our community, that we acknowledge it, that we raise our voices. Unless we raise our voices, women and children will continue to suffer. I feel very fortunate to be in this place today and to be able to stand and speak about it, because I have been there, I have done that, and I now can put my energy into supporting other women and children who may be experiencing this.
Thank you, Mrs Jones, for moving this motion today.
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (11.47): I thank Mrs Jones for bringing this motion forward today. It is very important for us to talk about and to acknowledge the terrible toll that violence against women takes in our community. On average in Australia, one woman a week dies at the hands of a current or former partner, most often in her own home. Another shocking statistic for us is that domestic violence is a leading contributor to disability and illness for women and that women with disabilities are at least twice as likely to be abused than women without disabilities.
I acknowledge the work of the White Ribbon campaign, because we will never solve violence against women without changing the attitudes and actions of men. Domestic and family violence is a leading driver of homelessness in Australia, most particularly for women. Too many women are trapped by the choice—which is no real choice—between violence in the home and homelessness.
A form of domestic violence which we have not spoken about much today is financial abuse, a form of abuse that is difficult to measure because many women do not identify with the terminology and also because powerful social beliefs help to keep this issue quite hidden. Persistent gender stereotypes show that men are better money managers, women are spendthrifts and financially incompetent, and these stereotypes combine with the notion that financial matters should be kept private. This works to keep financial abuse out of the public eye.
But it is conservatively estimated that financial abuse occurs in at least 50 per cent of family violence cases. This means that, on the basis that one in three Australian women experience family violence in their lifetime, around two million women are subject to this form of abuse. Financial abuse results in immediate and often long-term financial insecurity for the women who experience it, and for many it leads to poverty and homelessness. It touches women from all walks of life and across age, social and cultural spectra.
As well as having lost control over their finances during a relationship, these women have been told repeatedly that they are hopeless with money, they are stupid, they cannot understand or be capable of managing financial matters. This means that when their relationship ends not only are they left with little or nothing but debts but also they have a profound lack of self-confidence. They may have difficulty finding a job because they may have been out of the workforce for years, and it makes it very hard for them to get back on their feet financially. This can impact on their financial security for the rest of their lives.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video