End Violence against women and girls

This year Didi Bahini Samaj Victoria has changed its modalities to raise the awareness about Gender-based violence through the use of social media. I would like to thanks everyone from the bottom of my heart who have participated in the campaign.

We know Violence against women is serious and pernicious. It ruins lives, breaks up families and has lasting negative impacts. It is very common in across the culture and communities. It is not only the problem of women, it is problem of our family, it is problem of our society, and it is a problem of our nation. All forms of violence against women are unacceptable, in any community and in any culture. It is everyone responsibility to reject and prevent violence.

It’s very sad to know that, 73 % of Australian women experienced more than one incident of violence in their life; it is even more in Aboriginal community and other multicultural ethnic communities such as ours. While violence against women is highly prevalent and serious, it is also preventable.

Nearly all Australians (98%) recognise that violence against women is a crime. The prevalence of violence, however, continues to be unacceptably high.

Violence not only affects the victim themselves but the children who are exposed to it, their extended families, their friend, their work colleague and ultimately the broader community. This occurs across the Australian community.

Research says women experience an average of 35 incidents of domestic violence before reporting an incident to the police. Here we can easily imagine the devastating effect of violence in women’s mental health.

Data: *Gender inequality is cited as key determinates or factor that underpin violence against women

– It has been perceived that it’s hard to stop because it is hard to report –

– Around the world at least one in three women are affected by family violence.

– Many times women’s self-esteem is so low as a result of spouse abuse, they are unable to see themselves as worthy of seeking help.

– The effect of domestic violence on our society are obviously enormous but are impossible to measure. Our entire nation suffers. You can see the effects everywhere. A person’s spirit is priceless and a broken spirit cost more than can be measured in dollars.

– 76% of DV violence repeat

– 1in 5 Australian women have experienced sexual violence

– 1 in 6 women physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner

– 1in 3 Australian women had experienced physical violence

– 1 in 4 Australian women had experienced emotional abuse.

– 73% of Australian women experienced more than one incident of violence.

The national plan to reduce violence against women and children 2010 -2022- which strongly focus on prevention. It is first to look for long-term, building a respectful relationship and working to increase gender equality to prevent violence from occurring in the first place. It is the first to focus on holding perpetrators accountable and encourage behaviour change.

Everyone regardless of their age, gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, culture, disability, religious belief, faith, linguistic background or location, has right to be safe and live in an environment that is free from violence.

Sustainable changes must be built on community participation by men and women taking responsibility for the problem and solutions. A successful anti-violence strategy requires a community-wide vision, with strong and committed local and organisational leadership. Promoting community involvement; focus on primary prevention and advancing gender equality.

Thank you