EDITORIAL –
On Sunday, May 5, hundreds of people are expected to take part in a Walk for Women on the Gosford waterfront calling for government action to tackle violence against women.
While the Coast is a week behind rallies held nationwide last weekend, the Gosford march is timely, with May being Domestic Violence Prevention Month.
The Central Coast continues to remain in the top three local government areas in NSW for incidences of domestic violence, according to NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics.
During the 12 months to December 2023, recorded domestic violence-related assault in the region was 10 per cent higher than the state average.
Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch says enough is enough – and she is absolutely right.
Yes, we need societal change.
Parents need to bring their boys up knowing how to respect women, men need to call out other men on inappropriate behaviour.
But beyond that, there is a need for deep government reform.
We don’t need more studies and investigations – we need action.
Women at risk on the Central Coast are being turned away by help organisations because there is not enough housing to accommodate them when they leave a dangerous home situation.
Many can’t leave because they simply don’t have the money to do it.
We need more crisis housing, we need more financial and emotional support for women at risk, we need stricter legal controls on repeat offenders, we need tougher consequences for AVO breaches.
The Prime Minister himself has labelled the situation a “national crisis” and National Cabinet decided on a raft of measures on Wednesday, May 1.
The PM and First Ministers committed to strengthening accountability and consequences for perpetrators – including early intervention with high-risk perpetrators and serial offenders.
They also committed to best practice justice responses to support people who have experienced violence.
The National Cabinet pledged to build on prevention work and maintain a focus on missing and murdered First Nations women and children.
They “noted the importance of housing reforms in supporting women and children escaping violence” and it will be interesting to see what action (if any) that prompts.
The Commonwealth will deliver a Leaving Violence Payment to help people experiencing intimate partner violence with the costs of leaving that relationship.
It will also deliver a range of new measures to tackle factors that exacerbate violence against women, including violent online pornography and misogynistic content targeting children and young people.
First Ministers have agreed to work on improving police responses to high risk and serial perpetrators and again, it will be interesting to see what has been achieved when they report back to National Cabinet later in the year.
It all sounds good in theory – let’s see how it plays out in practice.
Meanwhile, we can’t let up on applying pressure.
I will be marching on Sunday to join the call for a safer environment for women – on the Central Coast, in NSW, and throughout Australia.
Will you join me?
Terry Collins, Editor