On the weekend, I attended the 'No More' rally in Orange. Hundreds of residents came together to say 'enough is enough' in response to the devastating rates and impacts of gender-based violence in Australia. Similar rallies were held around the nation.
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This year in Australia, more than 30 women have been murdered through gender-based violence. Half of these women have been in regional parts of the country. Devastatingly, that's an average of two women killed every week. These are truly shocking statistics.
To effect real change, governments of all levels need to lift, as do our communities and our country.
There are a number of things that governments can be doing right now to stop gender-based violence.
Education has a huge role to play. It's important that primary and secondary schools are actively involved in teaching the principles of respect and equality.
If young people are able to gain an early understanding about how wrong domestic violence is, it may help prevent it in the future - saving lives, and preventing trauma.
The influence of social media in developing dangerous attitudes towards women is of great concern to me. The amount of violence (some of it sexualised), and hatred that is directed towards women on these platforms is horrendous, and I worry about the influence this disturbing content is having on young men.
Our criminal justice system also has a big role to play, with the tightening of bail laws urgently needed.
While there has been welcome funding made available for domestic violence refuges in our region, not all regional areas have them, and ongoing funding of domestic violence services is required on the double.
It's been reported that despite having a population 1.5 million people greater than Victoria, the NSW government spends less than half of what Victoria does on domestic and family violence services.
Everyone in our community can and must do their part to make a difference and end violence against women. Achieving this should not be beyond our modern and prosperous Australia of 2024. Let's all commit to making our region and country a safer and better place. Together, we can do it.
