Violence against women in all its forms

Media activity this week highlights yet again the deeply entrenched and insidious issues of disrespect and misogynism that is embedded across our Australian community. The underlying causes of this disrespect are also those that perpetuate violence against women. It is disturbing to see that there is  no woman in Australia that is potentially exempt - this has been evidenced by what we have witnessed this week in respect of our Prime Minister, the hearing of the Jill Meagher case and the incidents that have been identified in the Australian Army.

Flicking through our news this week we see - the Daily Telegraph reporting the suburbs in south-west Sydney that make up the majority of the top 10 suburbs for domestic violence per capita in metropolitan Sydney; in the SMH reference to the Australian Army dealing with issues of the denigration of women, on Sunrise we hear that a Perth radio host has been taken off air for asking Prime Minister Julia Gillard disrespectful, inappropriate and personally invasive, insulting questions that have nothing to do with politics … The list goes on.

These incidents are covered as separate news stories but they are not isolated. They are part of the bigger picture that flags the insidiousness of violence against women, of the constructs of male power and control that perpetuate that violence. They also highlight that violence against women is not always physical and it doesn’t always occur in a domestic situation.

The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defines violence against women as: Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivations of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life. This definition also appears within The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

Australian women, no matter their position in society, continue to be treated as second class citizens and yet we know that is not how the majority of men view their position. This week good men, White Ribbon Ambassadors, have spoken out and taken action as they continue to do so in every aspect of their lives. They are part of the White Ribbon Campaign, working hard to change the attitudes and behaviours that lead to and perpetuate men’s violence against women, by engaging boys and men to lead social change.

“While living free from violence is everyone’s right, reducing violence is everyone’s responsibility”. (National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.