Australian National Cabinet reaffirms its commitment to National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 & identifies a $4.7 billion funding package

 

Between April 2023 and March 2024 in New South Wales there were 36,513 domestic violence assault incidents recorded and the state rate for domestic-violence related assaults reported to police was 447.1 per 100,000 persons and the NSW regional rate was 596.7 per 100,000 persons.

Across New South Wales during the same time period there were 15,728 incidents where adult women were recorded as victims of intimate partner domestic violence along with 5,926 incidents where adult women were the victims of family violence.

From April 2004 to March 2024 there were 15 domestic violence-related female murder victims in NSW - 11 were murdered by an intimate partner and 4 were murdered by a family member.

Between April 2023 and March 2024 domestic violence-related assault rates per 100,000 population in the Northern Rivers local government areas were:

Richmond Valley - 772.1

Clarence Valley - 709.8

Lismore City - 496.9

Tweed - 324.6

Byron - 312.2

Ballina - 303.1

Kyogle - 37.9.

Three of the seven local government areas exceeded the state rate for domestic violence-related assaults reported to police, two exceeded the NSW regional rate & three also exceeded the Northern Rivers estimated overall rate of 422.3 incidents per 100,000.

Note: All statistics were found in NSW BOCSAR, Trends in Domestic & Family violence – quarterly March report 2024 & Domestic Violence Assault Regional Comparison Tool

Neither New South Wales nor the Northern Rivers region are unique in the level of domestic violence-related assaults and murders within their communities, violence against women and girls is endemic within Australia.

So it was heartening to see the Australian National Cabinet's detailed announcement at the end of last week which included a $4.7 billion funding package.

Meeting of National Cabinet

Media statement

Friday 6 September 2024

National Cabinet met in Canberra today to agree practical next steps to accelerate action to end gender-based violence in a generation and deliver on the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.

First Ministers agreed that ending the national crisis of gender-based violence, including violence against children and young people, will remain an ongoing priority for National Cabinet. First Ministers acknowledged that a coordinated approach across all states and territories is required to address this national crisis.

National Cabinet is committed to maintaining a central focus on missing and murdered First Nations women and children and agreed that all government commitments on gender-based violence must explicitly consider the needs and experiences of First Nations people, and be delivered in genuine partnership with First Nations communities.

Today, National Cabinet agreed a comprehensive $4.7 billion package that harnesses important opportunities to work together to prevent violence and support legal services. It brings together efforts and funding to:

— Deliver much needed support for frontline specialist and legal services responding to gender based violence.

— Innovative approaches to better identify and respond to high-risk perpetrators to stop violence escalating.

— Address the role that systems and harmful industries play in exacerbating violence.

These actions are guided by the valuable contributions of the Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches. The recommendations of the review have guided immediate actions and First Ministers have agreed to use the review’s recommendations to inform strengthened efforts across all governments to deliver the National Plan. Governments will progressively respond to the review with the collective response overseen by Women and Women’s Safety Minister’s Meeting over time.

Today, National Cabinet signed the Heads of Agreement for a new National Access to Justice Partnership, including a critical $800 million increase in funding to the legal assistance sector over five years, with a focus on uplifting legal services responding to gender-based violence.

Under this agreement, the Commonwealth will invest $3.9 billion over five years from 1 July 2025 and for the first time will provide ongoing funding beyond the five year agreement so that the sector has long-term funding certainty.

National Cabinet agreed to negotiate a renewed, five year National Partnership Agreement on Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Responses, to commence on 1 July 2025 and deliver over $700 million in new matched investments from the Commonwealth and states and territories.

The new agreement will support greater flexibility for states and territories to direct funding to meet local need, and will be accompanied by stronger transparency and accountability mechanisms. It will include a focus on nationally coordinated approaches to support prevention activities through frontline services, including funding for:

— Specialist services for women.

— Services to support children exposed to family, domestic and sexual violence to heal and recover.

— Working with men, including men’s behaviour change programs for perpetrators of gendered violence.

Delivering on commitments made at the May National Cabinet on gender based violence, First Ministers today agreed to deliver innovative new approaches to better identify high risk perpetrators, share information about them across systems and state boundaries, and intervene early to stop violence escalating.

First Ministers agreed to:

— Develop new national best practice family and domestic violence risk assessment principles and a model best practice risk assessment framework.

— Support enhancements to the National Criminal Intelligence System, which enables information sharing across jurisdictions, to provide a ‘warning flag’ that will assist police responding to high-risk perpetrators.

— Extend and increase nationally-consistent, two-way information sharing between the family law courts and state and territory courts, child protection, policing and firearms agencies.

— Strengthen system responses to high-risk perpetrators to prevent homicides, by trialling new focussed deterrence models and Domestic Violence Threat Assessment Centres. These centres will be able to use intelligence, monitor individuals and intervene with those at high risk of carrying out homicide.

The new risk assessment principles and trials of focussed deterrence models will be developed in close consultation with First Nations people and communities and will give specific consideration to application and implementation of approaches for First Nations people and communities.

Acknowledging the role that systems and industries can play in exacerbating violence, State and Territory First Ministers agreed to review alcohol laws and its impact on family and domestic violence victims to identify and share best practice and reforms and to report back to National Cabinet on progress.

This builds on commitments by the Commonwealth at the May National Cabinet to deliver a range of measures to tackle factors that exacerbate violence against women, including violent online pornography. The Commonwealth will announce a comprehensive response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Online Gambling in due course.

To help break the cycle of violence, the Commonwealth will start comprehensive work with sector experts to identify gaps in supports for children and young people who have experienced or witnessed FDSV, to inform the design and implementation of new and revised initiatives and interventions. This work will include a specific focus on First Nations children and young people through culturally safe consultation and expertise.

While this comprehensive work is underway, the Commonwealth will provide an over $80 million boost to enhance and expand child-centric trauma-informed supports for children and young people.

The Commonwealth will also provide funding to establish national standards for men’s behaviour change.

The Commonwealth will immediately commence an audit of key Commonwealth government systems to identify areas where they are being weaponised by perpetrators of family and domestic violence.

This media statement has been agreed by First Ministers and serves as a record of meeting outcomes.

Assistant Minister for Social Services, Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence & Labor MP for Richmond Justine Elliot announces 26 Safe Places will be provided in Tweed Shire

 

Assistant Minister for Social Services Assistant, Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence & Labor MP for Richmond Justine Elliot has announced that the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program will provide 26 Tweed Safe Places in Tweed Shire.

This emergency accommodation for women is part of the Albanese Labor Government commitment of $100 million over five years up to 2026-27 to continue the Safe Places program through the Safe Places Inclusion Round begun in 2023.

This initiative is part of the Government’s investment in women’s safety and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.

More emergency accommodation and support for women and childrenexperiencing family and domestic violence

9 July 2024

Joint with:

The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP

Minister for Social Services

Member for Kingston

The Hon Justine Elliot MP

Assistant Minister for Social Services

Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence

Member for Richmond

The Albanese Labor Government is committed to improving accessibility and availability of emergency accommodation for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence.

Under the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Inclusion Round, 19 new projects will be funded to deliver around 720 new safe places across Australia over the next three years, as a result of successful grant applications.

The Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program provides a capital investment to fund the building, renovation or purchase of emergency accommodation to support women and children in circumstances, where staying safely at home is not possible.

Around 4200 women and children are currently supported each year by Safe Places sites with temporary housing, and also case management and additional supports while accessing the services.

The Safe Places Inclusion Round supports the Government’s program of reform to improve women’s safety under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.

Any women and children experiencing violence, regardless of background, will be able to access the new emergency accommodation. However, the projects will have a focus on improving inclusion and access for First Nations women and children, women and children from CALD backgrounds and women and children with disability.

This will be achieved through dwelling design and/or other specialised, accessible and culturally safe supports. The grant round also prioritised projects in locations with high unmet demand to help ensure victim-survivors can access emergency accommodation where and when they need it.

Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth said ensuring women and children have safe, secure emergency accommodation to turn to is vital when experiencing family and domestic violence.

“Family and domestic violence is one of the leading causes of homelessness and housing uncertainty for women and children across Australia, and we know there is an increased demand for emergency accommodation,” Minister Rishworth said.

“We are funding the delivery of around 720 new safe places, which will bring the total number of emergency accommodation places delivered under the Safe Places Program across Australia to around 1500 once projects are completed.

“The new projects will have a focus on improving inclusion and access to support for First Nations women and children, women and children with disability, and women and children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, who we know can face unique challenges and barriers to accessing support when experiencing violence.”

Projects will be funded in each state and territory and were selected for funding through an open competitive grant round. All projects are expected to be complete and delivering services by June 2027.

Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Justine Elliot said it was important anyone experiencing or fleeing domestic violence had a safe place to go.

“Anyone experiencing family or domestic violence should have access to a safe place, where they can connect with specialised services and supports that effectively meet their needs,” Assistant Minister Elliot said.

“Along with states and territories we are committed to ending violence against women and children in one generation through our investments under the National Plan and this investment will help to progress this goal.”

For more information on the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program visit the Department of Social Services website.

If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, chat online via www.1800RESPECT.org.au, or text 0458 737 732.

Feeling worried or no good? No shame, no judgement, safe place to yarn. Speak to a 13YARN Crisis Supporter, call 13 92 76. This service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit www.ntv.org.au.

State of Play for Women and Girls in Australia, 2024

 

The very ordinary street in which the first murder of a woman occurred in 2024. IMAGE: yahoo! news, 3 January 2024 

To date this year 2024, one woman is murdered every four days somewhere in Australia.

Nationally, in the twelve months between July 2022 and June 23 there had been 34 women killed by an intimate partner, according to the National Homicide Monitoring Program.

By 30 April 2024, 28 women had died of gender-based violence, with 10 of these murders occurring in New South Wales - sadly five being killed in the same place on the same day in Bondi Junction and one being a 60 year-old woman found bundled into the boot of a car outside her home at Evans Head in the Northern Rivers region. Her son has been charged with murder and interfere with corpse.

NOTE: Media reports now cite the number of women murdered nationally to date in 2024 as between 33 and 34. If the current rate of women murdered by men this year continues, then the Australian toll of 75 femicides in 2022-2003 may be exceeded by 31 December 2024. Although it is not expected to reach the 1990-1991 terrible high of 148 femicides.

The year before in New South Wales there were 15 adult women who were a victim of a Domestic Violence (DV) murder in the 12 months to December 2023. While DV assaults recorded by NSW Police increased significantly over the two and five years to December 2023, up by 6.7% over two years and up 3.6% per year on average over five years.

The year-on-year increase was higher in Regional NSW than Greater Sydney (7.6% vs 6.0%), and substantially higher over five years (5.5% vs 2.0% average annual change).

In the Clarence Valley, NSW, from January through to December 2023 there 320 domestic violence related assaults recorded, of which 276 involved female victims of which 250 were aged between 18 and 40+ years and 26 were aged between 0 to 17 years of age.

The gender of offenders across all domestic violence murders and assaults is overwhelmingly male.

According to the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR) since 2019 the Clarence Valley rate of domestic violence related assaults has risen in the last five years from 354.3 per 100,000 persons to 686.0 per 100,000 persons in 2023. In the wider NSW Police Coffs Harbour-Clarence District the 2023 domestic violence relate assault rate was 816.1 per 100,000 persons, making the rate more than 50% but less than double the NSW average.

The response of federal and state governments to this increase in gender-based violence has been announced.

*******************

Dept. of Prime Minister and Cabinet, PM Transcripts, 1 May 2024:

Released by The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia

Meeting of National Cabinet on gender-based violence

National Cabinet met virtually today to discuss the national crisis of gender-based violence.

First Ministers are committed to stopping the homicides and achieving our shared goal of ending violence against women and children in a generation.

National Cabinet agreed to a number of priorities for all our governments, building on efforts under way under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, including:

• Strengthening accountability and consequences for perpetrators, including early intervention with high-risk perpetrators and serial offenders, and best practice justice responses that support people who have experienced violence.

• Strengthening and building on prevention work through targeted, evidence-based approaches.

• Maintaining a focus on missing and murdered First Nations women and children, and the impact of domestic and family violence in First Nations communities.

First Ministers heard from Commonwealth Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin. Ms Cronin reflected on her work as Commissioner, including discussions with people with experience of violence, and key priorities for shared effort to address gaps in the current system.

Premier of Victoria, the Hon. Jacinta Allan also shared lessons from the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.

National Cabinet noted the importance of housing reforms in supporting women and children escaping violence.

National Cabinet agreed to strengthen prevention efforts through targeted, evidence-based approaches and to be informed by an expert led rapid review of best practice approaches. This will allow further and effective action on preventing gender-based violence, building on the considerable work under way.

The Commonwealth will deliver the Leaving Violence Payment to help people experiencing intimate partner violence with the costs of leaving that relationship. This acknowledges financial insecurity is closely linked to violence, and can prevent women leaving a violent relationship.

The Leaving Violence Payment builds on existing measures being delivered to improve financial security of women, including expansion of the single Parenting Payment, 10 days paid domestic violence leave, and investment in crisis accommodation and affordable housing for women and children escaping violence.

The Commonwealth will also deliver a range of new measures to tackle factors that exacerbate violence against women, such as violent online pornography, and misogynistic content targeting children and young people.

New measures will include legislation to ban deepfake pornography and additional funding for the eSafety Commission to pilot age assurance technologies.

First Ministers agreed that system responses need to be strengthened, with a focus on high-risk perpetrators and serial offenders to prevent homicides. This will involve work across governments and jurisdictions. First Ministers have agreed to undertake a range of work that will report back to National Cabinet later this year.

• Police Ministers Council and the Standing Council of Attorneys-General will be tasked to develop options for improving police responses to high risk and serial perpetrators, including considering use of focused deterrence and fixated threat strategies.

• First Ministers agreed to improve information sharing about perpetrators across systems and jurisdictions, led by the Commonwealth Minister for Women.

• First Ministers agreed that States and Territories will explore opportunities to strengthen national consistency and drive best practice approaches across jurisdictions, including relating to risk assessment and responses to sexual assault, led by Victoria and South Australia.

We will continue to listen and learn from those with lived experience of violence. We recognise they have intimate first-hand knowledge of services, systems, and structures that are meant to support. They know from experience the weaknesses and strengths of interventions in practice.

First Ministers are listening to the experts, identifying where the gaps are, and acting with urgency. We want violence against women and children to stop.

This media statement has been agreed by First Ministers and serves as a record of meeting outcomes.

*******************

What is yet to be revealed is the degree to which federal and states governments are willing to address the legislative inadequacies demonstrated within the Commonwealth Criminal Code & state laws covering personal and domestic violence.

Here are a number of points currently being discussed in the wider community:

1. The advisability of legislating a) increases in fines and prison sentences for crimes identified as falling within the range of crimes of violence against women and b) making a prison sentence mandatory for repeat offenders;

2. Reviewing legislation covering Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) & Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVOs) to ensure the conditions contained therein reflect the gravity of crimes of violence against women;

3. Reassess with a view to strengthening bail eligibility criteria & specific conditions, so as to avoid a) police failure to refuse bail or failure to set appropriate police bail at time of arrest before first appearance in local court and b) magistrates allowing bail for repeat offenders - particularly when the charges asserted violence or threats;

4. By way of legislation, a mandatory precautionary measure be established requiring all persons charged to wear a monitored ankle bracelet until the matter is progressed through the courts to a final judgment.

5. Where residential occupancy of the shared home's title is in the name of both parties or where the rental lease is in the name of both parties then a legal obligation be established by legislation requiring the offending party to immediately vacate the premises and find alternative accommodation.

6. That serious consideration be given to removing the relationship between the current amount of parenting payments received by the primary caregiver and a partner's income, setting a new across-the-board base rate and making it tax free for unpartnered parents on low to middle incomes. Thereby giving women with children more certainty and flexibility when seeking to leave violent relationships.

Counting Dead Women: the ugly brutal statistic continues in July 2022

 

Counting Dead Women
IMAGE: Destroy The Joint

 

Violence against women and girls in Australia follows a distressingly predictable path in 2022.

By 20 July this year the number of women reported in the media as dying as the result of violent attack by another person stood at 25 dead.

That is roughly one woman being killed every 8 days.

This figure relies on media reports of such deaths, which often can mean a significant under reporting of the real number of women and girls who die at the hands of partners, former partners, family members, acquaintances or strangers over a given period.

Before going to a federal election this year the former Morrison Government drafted the fifth National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.

It's hard to imagine this particular draft plan when implemented making much difference to the violent related gender-based death toll, when the preceding four (beginning in 2010-2013) have failed to bring this century's femicide count down below that 'one-a-week' sticking point in Australia.

BACKGROUND

Violence against women and children in Australia is mostly perpetrated by men. Around four in five, family and domestic violence offenders are male. Men’s violence against women, including intimate, partner violence, is more prevalent, more often used repeatedly and more likely to lead to serious injury, disability or death. More than one in three Australians have experienced violence by a male perpetrator since the age of 15, compared to one in ten by a female perpetrator. While men can also be victim-survivors of family, sexual and domestic violence, men are more likely to experience violence from a stranger…..

Family, domestic and sexual violence also causes a huge economic impact with KPMG estimating this scourge costs Australia around $26 billion each year, 40 with victims and survivors bearing approximately 50 per cent of that cost.

Importantly, while sexual assault and other forms of sexual violence can occur in the context of domestic and family violence, it can also be perpetrated by other people known or unknown to the victim-survivor. In order to be effective, it is critical that our efforts to prevent, address, and respond to sexual violence recognise both the intersections and clear points of difference between domestic and family violence and sexual violence…..

Family, domestic and sexual violence also causes a huge economic impact with KPMG estimating this scourge costs Australia around $26 billion each year, with victims and survivors bearing approximately 50 per cent of that cost.

[Australian Government, (January 2022), “Draft National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032, pp. 11-12, 15]

Counting dead, battered & violated women and girls in 2020 to September 2021

 

“Counting Dead Women Australia 2021. We count every known death due to violence against women in Australia: 32 by September 26.”  [This count relies on publicly available information published by media outlets.]

In June 2021 the Australian Bureau of Statistics released Australian crime statistics for 2020. 

A total of 396 homicides and related offences occurred between between 1 January and 31 December 2020. 

• 131 of those or an est. 33 per cent of all victims were females.

• Most of these homicides & attempted homicides occurred in a residential setting, including the family home.

• A total of 99 of those 396 homicides and related offences occurred in New South Wales.

• 25 of those 99 or an est. 25.25 per cent of all NSW victims were females.

• Most of the women and girls were either related to the perpetrator or otherwise knew them.

The number of police recorded victims of family and domestic violence related sexual assault increased by 13 per cent in 2020, according to an Australian Bureau of Statistics media release.

Close to two in five victims of sexual assault recorded by police throughout 2020 were FDV-related and, almost three quarters of FDV-related sexual assault victim-survivors were aged under 19 years at the time the incident occurred (71 per cent) and the majority were female (86 per cent). 

In NSW 81 per cent or 9,120 victims of sexual assault in 2020 were female and, around two in five (38 per cent) sexual assault incidents were FDV-related (4,288 victims).

NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOSCAR), June 2021 Update:

Additionally, in NSW in 2020 an est. 30,506 females were the victims of assault and, a higher proportion of females (54% or 16,430 victims) were assaulted by a family member compared with males (24% or 8,263 victims).

 

Labor State Member for Lismore calling for zero state & community tolerance: In the 24 months to June 2021, only one of the 17 major crime categories was trending upwards in New South Wales and it was sexual assault. Domestic violence incidents also trended upwards in NE NSW & Central West

 

Domestic Violence statistics demand more action: Saffin

ZERO tolerance and more well-targeted action by New South Wales and Federal governments are needed to prevent the growing scourge of coercive control and domestic violence, according to Lismore MP Janelle Saffin.

Ms Saffin said she kept a close eye on Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research’s (BOCSAR) quarterly updates, the latest of which (June 2021) shows major crimes against women had continued to trend upwards before and during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The June 2021 update – see, www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au -- revealed that in the 24 months to June 2021, only one of the 17 major crime categories was trending upwards in New South Wales and it was sexual assault.

In BOCSAR’s media release, they highlighted increased reporting of incidents of sexual assault. This crime went up by 1367 incidents or 21 per cent in New South Wales over the year to June 2021.

In the Richmond-Tweed statistical area, incidents of domestic violence are up 33 per cent on a two-year trend and up 5.8 per cent on a five-year trend.

Also in Richmond-Tweed, incidents of intimidation, stalking and harassment are up 30.2 per cent on a two-year trend and up 8.6 per cent on a five-year trend.

Ms Saffin said she understood that increased reporting also applied to these two crimes.

“I commend our local police for their zero tolerance of domestic violence and strong proactive approach to compliance checks,” Ms Saffin said.

“I’ve written to NSW Attorney-General and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Mark Speakman, asking him to organise a BOCSAR briefing for me and other MPs here if they wish to join, so we can consider further action that could be taken in terms of community programs.

“We cannot ignore these statistical trends because they represent such a high human cost; if we can better interpret this raw data it will then inform that discussion.”

Ms Saffin said progress was being made with a NSW Parliamentary Joint Select Committee in June this year recommending that coercive control should be a criminal offence in New South Wales, in an effort to prevent domestic abuse-related homicide.

See, www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/committees/listofcommittees/Pages/committee-details.aspx?pk=271

Ms Saffin also noted that the 2021-22 Federal Budget had included a $3.4-billion package of measures to improve outcomes for women’s safety, economic security, and health and wellbeing.

The outcomes of the National Summit on Women’s Safety – Ending Violence Against Women & Children – held online on September 6-7, would help guide the $1.1-billion women’s safety component over three years.

See http://regonsite.eventsair.com/national-summit-on-womens-safety/

Ms Saffin’s Electorate Office in Lismore is now an official stockist for escabags, free escape bags filled with the necessities that a victim of domestic violence and their children may need when fleeing an abusive or dangerous situation.

There are two types of escape bags available -- one for a parent and child, and one for a single adult. 

If people need one of these, get in touch with the office on 0266 213 624 or email lismore@parliament.nsw.gov.au

For more info, go to www.escabags.org

Monday, 20 September 2021.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Coffs Harbour- Grafton Statistical area 

Recorded criminal incidents from June 2020 to June 2021

Domestic Violence Incidents - 867 (previous 12 months 705)

Sexual Assaults - 213 (previous 12 months 166)

Richmond-Tweed Statistical area 

Recorded criminal incidents from June 2020 to June 2021

Domestic Violence Incidents - 1,116  (previous 12 months 838)

Sexual Assaults - 333  (previous 12 months 257)

As at June 2021 three of the local government areas in NE NSW with the highest number of domestic violence incidents for the last 12 months were Tweed Shire at 363, Lismore City at 274, and the Clarence Valley at 231, with Kyogle having the lowest at 32 - numbers for the remaining three local government areas fell in between. [See: https://www.bocsar.nsw.gov.au/Publications/RCS-Quarterly/NSW_Recorded_Crime_June_2021.pdf]

Thus far in 2021 Australia appears to be averaging one woman dying a violent death at the hand of another person every 8.73 days

 

As of 15 June Destroy The Joint's Counting Dead Women project has recorded 19 women violently killed in 2021.

This project relies on media reports for its data and at the moment these 2021 reports show that violent deaths are averaging one every 8.73 days.

On 9 July 2020 the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released Recorded Crime - Victims, Australia covering the calendar year 2019, with data based on police records. This is the latest release available to date. ABS data for 2020 should be released on or about 24 June 2021.

In 2019 there were 416 homicides, manslaughters and attempted murders recorded in Australia. Up 39 victims on 2018 figures.

An est. 125 of these victims were female and the majority of the violent deaths and near deaths appear to have been the result of family and domestic violence.

In that same calendar year Counting Dead Women recorded 61 women who died violently at the hands of another person..

Is Scott Morrison's response to the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces genuine? Or is it just busy work to hold the line until after the next federal election?

 “The Australian Government has agreed to (in full, in-principle, or in-part) or noted all 55 recommendations in the Report.” [Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, media release, 8 April 2021]

“are either agreed wholly in part or in principle, or noted where they are directed to governments or organisations other than the Australian government” [Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, quoted in Sky News online, 8 April 2021]

So after ignoring the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces Final Report for over 12 months, what do Morrison’s weasel words in the quotes above indicate?

Scott Morrison & Co say they are proceeding to:

* order a survey every four years to provide data on sexual harassment;

* provide educational resources for young people of working age on workplace rights and sexual harassment;

* educate and train staff at the Fair Work Ombudsman, Fair Work Commission, Safe Work Australia, WHS regulators and workers’ compensation bodies concerning sexual harassment;

* lead a new collaboration by government, unions, employers and employer associations called Respect@Work aka the Workplace Sexual Harassment Council; and

* the Workplace Sexual Harassment Council is charged with:

a. providing high-level advice on development of guidelines and resources to ensure that all services providing information, advice and support in relation to sexual harassment can provide accurate information, make appropriate cross-referrals, and collect consistent data

b. after three years, considering the need for a centralised, accessible service to provide information and advice in relation to workplace sexual harassment;

* develop a Respect@Work website to provide the general public, employers and workers with free information; and

* Advise all state governments that they should ensure that relevant bodies responsible for developing training, programs and resources for judges, magistrates and tribunal members make available education on sexual harassment. 

Somehow in this 7-item list I don't see any immediate, hands-on, practical actions by the Morrison Government that will see the rates of sexual harassment, sexual assault, physical assault and/or murder by a partner or former partner, of women and girls in any state or territory decrease in the next few years.

I sincerely hope I am wrong.

 

Quotes of the Week

 

“When Scott Morrison says he’s listening, it’s usually to himself.” [Dennis Aitkins writing in The New Daily, 27 March 2021]

“This prime minister speaks almost exclusively to one cohort of voters: men at risk of voting Labor.” [Political editor and journalist Katharine Murphy, writing in The Guardian, 27 March 2021]