The ripple effects of violence against women and children
Violence against women and children is a problem of epidemic proportions in Australia. The ripple effects of violence against women and children have been outlined in the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022 – 2032 as:
Victim survivors
• Intimate partner homicide is the most prevalent homicide type in Australia
• In 2019-20, there were 4,706 hospitalisations of young people aged 15-24 due to assault.
• Violence represents 10.9% of the burden of disease for Indigenous women
• Among women 18 to 44 years, violence against women is the single biggest risk factor contributing to the disease burden; more than drinking, smoking or obesity
Children families
- Women who experience partner violence during pregnancy are 3 times as likely to experience depression
- Children exposed to domestic and family violence may experience trauma symptoms, including PTSD. There may also be long-lasting effects on children’s development, behaviour and well-being. There may also be long-lasting effects on children’s development, behaviour and well-being
Community
- Domestic and family violence is a leading driver of homelessness for women
Economy
- The cost of violence against women and their children* is estimated at $26 billion a year
*This cost applies to women and their children only. If all forms of violence were included, the cost would be significantly higher.
The Government’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 aims to end gender-based violence in a generation.
With 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men in Australia reporting having experienced sexual violence since the age of 15, the Government launched a new campaign to help reduce the incidence of sexual violence in Australia by improving community understanding and attitudes on consent and respectful relationships.
Evidence shows the importance of providing positive examples of consent to young people in an age-appropriate way during their early years and adolescence to help them gain the skills for respectful relationships and reduce harm.
While three in four Australians agree consent is a very important topic, one in two adults are conflicted in their understanding of consent.
Around 25 per cent of teenage boys in Australia look up to social media personalities who perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes and condone violence against women.
The National Plan will be implemented through 2 five-year Action Plans. These will detail specific Commonwealth, state and territory government actions and investment to implement the objectives across each of the 4 domains: prevention, early intervention, response, and recovery and healing.
In the longer-term, a standalone First Nations National Plan will be developed to address the unacceptably high rates of violence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children experience
Summary of the National Plan in Infographics
The infographics above summarise the cross-cutting principles, domains for action, implementation plan and evaluation strategy for the National Plan.
Implementation through Action Plans
The Action Plans outline specific actions to contribute to achieving the National Plan outcomes.
- 1st 5-year Action Plan → 2nd 5-year Action Plan
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan* → First Nations National Plan
*developed for and by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to lead culturally appropriate and trauma-informed efforts to achieve the Closing the Gap target
Advance gender equality
Everyone, regardless of gender, identity, ability, race and sexuality, has the right to live and work free from violence and harassment. To achieve this, we must address gender inequality and other forms of discrimination, because these create the social context in which violence against women and children occurs. Evidence shows that higher levels of violence against women are consistently associated with lower levels of gender equality in both public life and personal relationships.[i]
Gender inequality is present when unequal value is afforded to women and men and there is an unequal distribution of power, resources and opportunity between them. While progress has been made through policies and laws to support women’s rights and opportunities, there is more work to be done to advance gender equality in Australia.
Gender inequality is maintained through:
- social norms such as rigid gender norms and stereotypes
- systems and institutions such as policies that limit women’s economic participation
- differences in child-rearing practices for boys and girls
- structures and practices that limit women’s participation in the workforce and perpetuate the gender pay gap and the superannuation gap.
Gender inequality does not exist in isolation. It intersects with other forms of structural and systemic discrimination. This means that some women face higher rates of violence, are at a heightened risk of experiencing or being exposed to certain forms of harassment, and can experience greater barriers to accessing support and recovery.
The National Plan will intersect with and be complemented by a National Gender Equality Strategy as well as with existing state and territory strategies on gender equality.
The First Action Plan (2023-2027)
The First Action Plan (2023-2027) provides a roadmap for the first 5 year effort towards achieving the vision of the National Plan. It sets out the initial scope of activities, areas for action and responsibility with respect to outcomes, and outlining how we will make the commitments set out in the National Plan a reality.
The Action Plan has 10 actions. All governments have its own list of activities to work towards for each action.
The First Action Plan
[i] Our Watch, Change the story.