Women’s safety advocates from around the Country are shocked and appalled this International Women’s Day as governments stall in committing to any serious action in addressing domestic violence across the nation.
In the wake of the horrendous quadruple murder in Brisbane last month, Women’s Safety Ministers met last Friday to discuss how the system had failed Hannah Clarke and her three children when she had done everything within her power to use the systems available to keep herself and her children safe.
They were supposed to come together to look at urgent actions to prevent such further deaths. Stronger civil protections, safer courts, and increased access to women and children’s support and men’s behaviour change services were all touted as measures which would be up for discussion. Nothing was to be “off the table” to deal with this scourge.
The Australian Violence Against Women Alliance (AWAVA) set up to advise the Federal Government on reducing violence against women and their children under the National Plan wrote to these Ministers going into this meeting with five (5) urgent measures which would increase women and children’s safety within a matter of weeks.
Yet, to the utter dismay of those charged with supporting and advocating for women and children’s safety, the Country’s political leaders walked out of that meeting committing to nothing – that’s right – nothing that would increase the safety of Australian women and children currently being subjected to domestic and family violence.
