TRANSCRIPT
Unregulated social media platforms have become the newest harvesting grounds for violent and misogynistic content.
Domestic, family and sexual violence commissioner Micaela Cronin says men must be held to account for their actions.
"We need to be engaging with men in different ways than we are now. We need to have eyes on men in different ways than we do now. We need to be listening to what communities, women and children mean when they say: 'we need greater accountability.' We need men to be held accountable in ways that they are not being at the moment."
The Commissioner says some progress is being made in tackling the issue of domestic violence in Australia, but says it has come to a critical standstill.
After consultations with more than 300 organisations and people during the year, Ms Cronin has put together a report tracking the progress of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.
In releasing the findings, she made the following appeal.
"Our service systems are overwhelmed, stretched beyond capacity. They are struggling to hold on to staff. And they are really at wit's end about how are they going to meet the needs, because as we know, the better we get, the more reforms we see, ... The hope is we will see more women reporting. We will see more people coming forward seeking help. We've already got a service system that is buckling."
The report shows government-funded services and systems are being stretched thin by community demand.
It has been tabled in parliament, a year on from two action plans that have outlined steps to ending violence within a generation.
Talie Starr, who has herself experienced domestic violence and now works to help others, says there's not enough being done to support the victims of domestic violence.
"There is a huge amount of pressure on frontline services at the moment. They are so massively underfunded. And I know that we keep saying that the government's giving funding, and it is, and it's doing some good things but it's on the edges of things. If you want woman women and victims to be safe, and to be enabled to be helped, they actually have to provide the funding for them."
The government points to $3.4 billion already committed and laws changed to support those trying to escape from danger.
But the Commission's report has called on the government to support efforts that help redefine masculinity.
The report says men must be a part of every aspect of ending violence, and more intervention options for men are needed.
Assistant Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence Justine Elliot has told parliament women should not have to solve the issue alone.
"If we're going to get anywhere, we need our whole community, including men, to step up. And of course, I especially want to acknowledge all those men who have already stepped up and are working with us to lead the change that's needed. Protecting our daughters is not enough, generational change depends on educating our sons. Our young boys are being targeted by a wide variety of misogynistic online content. As it stands, one in four teenage boys in Australia look up to social media personalities who perpetrate harmful gender stereotypes and condone violence against women."
Ms Elliot adds that despite the large number of women killed by men in 2024, progress has been made on addressing domestic violence.
"In a year when too many women have been killed by violent men, it's difficult to reconcile that there has been progress towards ending this national crisis. And Commissioner Cronin notes in her report that there are no quick fixes to turn this around. But when we look at the long-term picture, we can see significant improvements in community attitudes that reject and challenge this violence. More men and women stand with us today than ever before."
Deputy Opposition leader Sussan Ley argues the rate of violence against women has increased, and says people need to look beyond the raw statistics.
"These women had dreams. They had hopes and aspirations for their lives. They had friends. They were sisters and mothers. They were loved by so many in our communities, and we have lost them. These are devastating statistics and each one was a life lost, leaving a hole in the lives of their families, their friends, their communities and our nation. And these statistics are the most extreme of cases. Many more hide in the shadows of survival, just hoping the violence will end. Today is about telling those women that we have not forgotten them and we commit ourselves to helping them escape the violence they are facing."
This year there has been an ongoing debate, fuelled by incidents such as the Bondi Junction murders, about whether domestic and family violence should be reframed.
Some are saying they should now be considered as a form of terrorism - but that's not a position the Commissioner is backing.
"I think we need to use the tools. I think we need to take it as seriously as we take terrorism. It is not terrorism in the same way. And I think that what we need is for the community to take as seriously threats of family and domestic violence, as they take terrorist threats."
Evidence shows there's still a long way to go in order to reach the government's goal of ending domestic violence in one generation.
