Wednesday, 4 March 2026

 Sonja TERPSTRA (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (17:26): I rise to speak on Respect Victoria’s Maintain the Momentum three-yearly report to Parliament covering the progress made between 2022 and 2024 in preventing family violence and violence against women across our state. This is the second report of its kind, and it paints a very clear picture that prevention works and investment in prevention works. Victorians are demanding that we continue to lead the nation in this critical area. What comes through strongly in this report is the scale of the Victorian government’s commitment. Across the reporting period Victoria invested an estimated $130 million in primary prevention, which is more than any other state or territory in Australia, and this includes major investments in Respectful Relationships, multicultural and faith-based prevention programs, workforce development and the landmark $9.8 million Respect Ballarat saturation model, which is the first of its kind in this country.

This investment is not symbolic. The data shows real impact. Sixty-nine per cent of surveyed practitioners reported that community awareness of gendered violence is higher than it was three years ago. The 2023 national community attitudes survey shows 68 per cent of Victorians now reject violence-supportive attitudes, and participation in prevention activities is also rising, with 8500 Victorians taking part in the Walk Against Family Violence in 2024, which was up from 5000 people only a year earlier. Respect Victoria’s campaign alone engaged an average of 1.65 million Victorians, and 90 per cent of grassroots funding recipients reported that their local projects increased community understanding of gendered violence. These are meaningful and measurable behaviour change indicators, early signs that the cultural drivers of violence are shifting.

There are also encouraging signs in practice and systems strengthening. All 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence have now been acquitted, and we have seen major reforms such as affirmative consent laws, the criminalisation of non-fatal strangulation and the continued implementation of the Gender Equality Act 2020. The Gender Equality Act alone has driven improvements across almost 300 public sector organisations, with 88 per cent achieving progress in leadership and gender equality and major gains across recruitment, pay equity and workplace sexual harassment reform. This report also highlights the growth of the prevention workforce, with more than 4000 practitioners now engaged through the Partners in Prevention network, an 800-person increase in the reporting period, and more than 570 practitioners participating in specialised professional development. This is a prevention workforce that is maturing, connecting and expanding its reach across local government, education, sport, faith communities, multicultural organisations and women’s health services as well.

The report also makes it clear that prevention delivers an economic return. The Victorian government’s own modelling shows that an $82.8 million investment in family and sexual violence systems will save between $120 million and $130 million over 10 years, with up to $140 million in economic benefits across the same period. Prevention does not just save lives, it strengthens our economy and reduces long-term pressure on the police, health, housing and justice systems. But perhaps the strongest demonstration of impact is Victoria’s progress compared with the rest of the country. The Women’s Health Services Network reports that the proportion of Victorian women experiencing violence has fallen from 8.1 per cent in 2016 to 5.3 per cent in 2022 and it is now below the national average of 6.6 per cent. While the only acceptable ratio is zero, this is a promising shift that aligns with the report’s finding that sustained primary prevention can change behaviours, attitudes and structures when it is properly resourced.

Of course the report is clear that more must be done. However, rising online misogyny, harmful content, AI-generated abuse and economic inequality all pose new risks, and prevention is still not funded at the scale the problem demands. But community-led organisations, especially Aboriginal community controlled organisations, multicultural organisations, disability groups and LGBTIQ+ organisations, all need long-term secure funding to continue their essential work. But what the report does show is that Victoria has laid the strongest prevention foundations in the country. We have the workforce, we have the evidence and we now have community momentum. I commend the report to the house.