Page 750 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 21 March 2017
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strategy which will look at issues of affordability, supply and social and community housing models. In 2017 the government will hold a housing and homelessness summit to bring together all of the stakeholders to explore innovative ways to address housing challenges faced by Canberrans, including women.
We know that the impact of an ageing population has a gendered component, with women making up an increasing proportion of lone person households in older demographics.
The ACT government continues to work directly with women by providing information and referrals on a wide range of issues. This includes personal and professional development, relationships, violence support services, wellbeing and parenting. The women’s information referral service has provided 1,636 occasions of support to women to access relevant and timely information to make choices that impact on the quality of their life.
The ACT government also supports women returning to the paid workforce following caring responsibilities. 126 women were the beneficiaries of the return to work grant in 2016, receiving $1,000 each to assist them to achieve their employment or educational goals. The program provided assistance to all eligible women, with a particular focus on women from diverse backgrounds. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women made up nine per cent of the total recipients; 44 per cent were women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; six per cent had disability; and 15 per cent were caring for a family member with additional needs.
Through working one on one with women, the ACT government is helping to build women’s capacity and confidence and assisting them to overcome barriers to their full participation in the community. This includes, of course, participation in sport and recreation.
We know with certainty that physical activity is essential for physical health, but so is connecting with others. Many studies are now showing that being socially disconnected has the equivalent impact of smoking 15 cigarettes or drinking six units of alcohol a day, so you can see, Madam Speaker, that participating in sport and active recreation has the dual benefit of getting us moving and connecting us with others. It is simply great for our health and our wellbeing.
Unfortunately, we know that many women and girls are making the choice not to participate in active recreation. By the time girls reach adolescence, their participation in physical activity decreases significantly. We can observe this trend in our high schools, our local parks and sporting fields. Girls tend to become the watchers and not the participants.
Research in the area identifies a number of barriers, such as concerns about body image, fear of being criticised and, of course, social and cultural expectations of how women should behave. We also know, as I mentioned earlier, that the pathways to a high level of participation are often non-existent for women in some sports.
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