PRIME MINISTER
ADDRESS BY THE PRIME MINISTER THE MON. P J KEATING H4P
FORUM ON THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
PARLIAMENT HOUSE
Thank you for your invitation to attend today's Forum and to
accept, on behalf of the Federal Government, the National
Strategy on Violence Against Women.
I am aware that Commonwealth, State and community
representatives have worked together on this document and I
am pleased to know that you have been able to reach
agreement on an approach towards dealing with this extremely
serious issue.
It is a matter of great concern to me that violence against
women seems to be increasing.
Freedom from fear is a basic, inalienable right. It is
enshrined in the Atlantic Charter. It is a responsibility
of democratic governments to fight it in the same way that
we fight poverty, repression or discrimination of any kind.-
It is also the responsibility of communities to fight it.
It is the responsibility of all Australians particularly,
it has to be said, of men who cause most of the fear and do
most of the violence.
Violence against women is Intolerable.
All Australian women are entitled to be safe, and to feel
safe on the streets and in their homes.
I know-that personal safety is of major concern to
Australian women. For many women, fear of attack by men is
a constant source of anxiety and stress.
It is a matter of shame that in our major cities women are
afraid to use public transport, particularly trains, outside
of peak periods because they do not feel safe.
That nurses and other shift workers are afraid to walk to
their cars except in groups.
That students in our tertiary institutions cannot freely
walk about the campus at night.
I know that this evening women around Australia are taking
to the streets to march to " reclaim the night", to assert
their right to be safe, and to feel safe, at night wherever
they live.
I fully support the aims of the march.
I often make the point that Australia is a pretty good place
to live in, that our values of democracy and equality, and
our concern for those who need help, make us a society to be
envied. But it Is also pretty obvious that these values are
undermined, and even contradicted, by violence and
especially by violence within the home.
We do not know the true extent of domestic violence but I
think we can say that it is a muchi larger problen ihan many
people are prepared to recognise or admit.
I find this both tragic and totally unacceptable.
In recent days we have had to confront a truly awful example
of such violence.
All Australia was shocked and appalled by what happened on
the Central Coast of New South Wales earlier this week, and
our hearts go out to the surviving families and friends of
the victims. And to their commnunities.
I find it appalling when individuals resort to violence to
deal with feeling frustrated or aggrieved.
We as a society have an obligation to do something about it.
We have to reaffirm the integrity of women and their
equality as-fundamental values which violence undermines. We
have to instil in our children, especially in our boys, the
notion that disputes should be resolved in non-violent ways.
Our schools have a role to play here but most particularly
parents. And so does our media. There is far too much violence on
television in my view, and this is encouraging violence to
be seen as normal and acceptable. it is sending totally the
wrong signals to our children, and to those individuals who
are wont to resort too readily to violence.
As a federal government, our powers are limited in this area
but there are some practical actions we can and do take.
For instance, we provide funds for 263 women'sreus
Australia-wide which offer safe shelter to women and
children escaping domestic violence.
We provide funds under the Commonwealth -State Housing
Agreement to ensure women escaping domestic violence can
have proiyof access to public housinj This means they
and their children have a real alternative and are not
forced to return to a violent situation simply because they
have nowhere alse to live.
Similarly, we ensure that women escaping domestic violence
have immediate access to the Sole Parents Pension so they
can support themselves and their children and not be
dependent on the man who has been violent towards them.
But perhaps most important of all, the Federal Government
can, and should, provide leadership on this issue.
We can help set the tone of public discussion and public
debate. We can speak out loudly in saying it is simply not on. We
do not want a society where it Is regarded as acceptable or
excusable for a man to attack a woman. It ig not and it
never can be.
We are prepared to put money into reaffirming this strong
view. Early next year the Government will be launching a
million community education program.
We will be using television and other media to proclaim the
message that-violence against women is not to be tolerated
in Australia today and should stop.
I welcome the comprehensive strategy on violence against
women which I have just received as a source of further
ideas and thinking on how we tackle this sore o u
society. o u
I look forward to reading its proposals and to discussing
with my Cabinet colleagues how we can act to do our bit
towards ending the toll of violence against women.
I urge my fellow political leaders at the State level to
take this document to heart, to study it and to take the
appropriate actions. I
This issue is not a partisan one.
It is one on which we can all agree.
We can agree that we want the world to be safe.
I want a world where none of us is pray, where all
Australians can feel safe, a world where women can get on
with their lives without fear or anxiety.
This is a goal we as a nation can work towards and I pledge
that I will do all I can to see that we do.
Today's national strategy document is a first step. I look
forward to there being many more.
Canberra A.
October, 1992 : A
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