Reflections from the State of Emergency panel at the All about Women Festival
This International Women’s Day, Natalie Martino and Stephanie Quail took some time out of their weekend to listen to Zahara Al Hilaly, Rosie Batty, Kylie Cripps, Jess Hill and July Inman Grant (and moderator Jamila Rizvi) discuss Australia’s domestic and family violence crisis at the State of Emergency panel at the All About Women Festival.
This impressive group of women shared their experiences, expertise and perspectives about the factors driving the ‘national crisis’ of violence against women, and what can be done to make change. It was a wide-ranging discussion – covering individual experiences of domestic and family violence, to the systems-level factors impacting governmental responses, and everything in between. It was complex and nuanced, but – as Rosie Batty noted – “there is not a simple solution – if there was, we would have fixed it by now”.
A few of our key takeaways from the panel were:
- Indigenous victim survivors of violence face significant barriers to reporting and accessing support services. Indigenous victim survivors are often hesitant to report violence due to concerns about the safety of their children, distrust of law enforcement stemming from historical injustices, and fears about engaging with police and other systems that have previously harmed Indigenous people and families. Additionally, the accessibility of support services is a critical issue, particularly for those in rural and remote areas, where the availability of such services can mean the difference between life and death in cases of violence.
- We need innovative solutions in our new digital age to combat the rise of technology-based abuse. Technology is increasingly used as a weapon to extend and embed coercive control and surveillance into domestic and family violence. Activities like cyber stalking, deep fakes, location-tracking, and image-based abuse are complex problems requiring new responses. The Safety by Design program, initiated in 2018, encourages companies to incorporate safety into the initial design phase of new programs and systems. Additionally, technology-based grants aim to encourage innovation at the community level to combat technology-based abuse.
- Mainstream tools and policies do not always translate effectively to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, meaning tailored responses are required to address domestic, family and sexual violence in diverse communities. Victim survivors in CALD communities may be more likely to seek initial advice from other survivors or community, faith and cultural leaders rather than law enforcement. It is crucial to train local leaders to help them recognise domestic, family, and sexual violence and refer people to appropriate supports. There is value in encouraging leaders to have difficult conversations about these issues in their communities and address cultural taboos. A whole-of-community approach is needed, involving elders and leaders, as well as the next generation to effectively address these issues.
- Effectively addressing domestic, family and sexual violence (DFSV) requires systems-level change. DFSV is a complex issue. Factors such as the cost-of-living crisis, housing shortages, and the availability and access to support services can impact the incidence of, and responses to DSFV. This means that systems-level change is needed to effectively respond to and reduce the rates of DFSV. The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 and the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2023, which have been informed by extensive consultation, have helped to drive action across all levels of government, it is important that the Commonwealth and States/ Territories continue to collaborate and maintain accountability in their progress in order to effectively address DFSV.
Changing attitudes, behaviours and systems takes time. The Gender Compass survey[1], conducted in 2023, found that although there is broad agreement in the community that gender equality is important there are differences in perspectives about how much further we need to go to reach change, what actually needs to change, or how rapidly change needs to occur. Change is happening, but more is needed to meet the vision of the National Plan and end violence against women and children in one generation.
One thing all panelists agreed on was they had hope in the new generations of trailblazers. While change is difficult and can sometimes feel slow, they can see the generational impact of their efforts. It was encouraging to see people like Zahara (who mentioned that she did a Year 10 report on Rosie!) being up on the stage advocating on these same issues and being change makers in their own communities.
As evaluators working in this sector, we are often focused on understanding individual pieces of the puzzle – the specific pilots, programs or initiatives that we have been engaged to evaluate. This panel reinforced our understanding of the complexities of domestic, family and sexual violence, and how critical it is for evaluations to consider these intersections and systems-level factors in understanding what works to address DFSV and keep women safe.
We found the panel interesting, informative and inspiring – and will take this discussion and the perspectives of the panellists into our work in the domestic, family and sexual violence sectors.
[1] Gender compass segmentation report (2023). Plan International Australia.
