Tuesday, 14 November 2023

Family violence

Ryan BATCHELOR (Southern Metropolitan) (13:25): Regrettably, too many women are still being killed in family violence incidents. Fifty-eight women this year across the country – recently five women in 10 days – have been killed by men known to them. There have been high-profile incidents, like the murder of 21-year-old sports coach Lilie James in Sydney, but many, many more do not make headlines. All women deserve to be safe, equal and respected; it is not negotiable. This is why we should all lend our voices to the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a global campaign led annually by UN Women, and support the range of events being held here in Victoria between 25 November and 10 December. I would encourage everyone to join the call to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls.

Before entering the Parliament I had the honour of working in the public service on Victoria’s landmark family violence reform agenda, which set nation-leading reforms, and I most recently served on the board of No to Violence, a men’s behavioural change service provider. While violence against women is everyone’s problem, it begins and ends with men. More men need to lend their voice to this cause. We have a duty to change the way we think about gender and power and to work together to change our culture. There is a long way to go, but we must continue to act to address the underlying drivers of this violence to stop this crisis from escalating. It starts and ends with us, and we must do better.