Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a $925 million (US$604 million) boost over the next five years to help women affected by domestic violence seeking to leave an abusive partner.
They will be eligible for financial support and referrals to support networks through the funding announced by the Federal government under their Leaving Violence Program.
The package will also be used to combat online toxic male extremist views and deepfake pornography, which experts say are major drivers of gender-based violence.
“My government is absolutely committed to making progress to end family, domestic, and sexual violence in one generation through our National Plan. Today’s announcement builds on our efforts to ensure fewer women feel trapped in a violent relationship because they don’t know if they can afford to leave,” Mr. Albanese said on May 1.
Affected women are expected to be eligible for up to $5,000 in financial support should they wish to get out of a violent domestic arrangement. The comprises individualised financial packages of up to $1,500 in cash and up to $3,500 in goods and services for up to 12 weeks, indexed to combat rising living costs. Additionally, referral services, risk assessments, and safety planning will also be made available.
Victims of spousal abuse often have to employ clandestine tactics to remove themselves from a partner, often during the middle of the night with children in tow, and many do not have access to money, which the abuser controls in many instances.
“The heartbreaking reality is that there is no overnight solution to violence against women and children,” Mr. Albanase said.
“This is indeed a national crisis and it’s a national challenge, and we’re facing this with a spirit of national unity,” he told reporters.
“We want to change this in a way in which we all have to take responsibility because violence against women is not a women’s problem to solve, it’s a whole of society problem ... men in particular have to take responsibility.”
The new measures come after the Escaping Violence Program trial, which started in 2021 and saw over 45,000 people accessing payments, primarily through self-referrals.
The program will commence in mid-2025, transitioning from established pilot programs, while existing trials like the Escaping Violence Payment and the Temporary Visa Holders Experiencing Violence Pilot will be in place until mid-next year.
Other new initiatives include a focus on high-risk and serial offenders, along with enhanced inter-agency information-sharing on violent and repeat offenders.
Online Material is Also Under the Spotlight
New laws will review the Online Safety Act to clamp down on the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography. In addition, a new online ad campaign will challenge misogynistic stereotypes starting mid-June.Mr. Albanese said current laws need to catch up with technology, noting that age assurance applications will make it harder for children to access pornography online.
Speaking about the measures on RN Breakfast, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin said educating young men about toxic masculinity was paramount to redress attitudes towards women in particular.
“One of the things I’m deeply concerned about is we are seeing a generation of young people who are growing up with pornography and violent hate speech against women being thrust at them on the internet,” Commissioner Cronin said.
Protests Expedite New Measures
Countrywide demonstrations have been launched in response to reports of 27 women killed by abusive partners in the first three months of 2024, raising awareness of what the PM termed a national crisis.A report from the Australian Institute of Criminology on homicide from 2022-23 says the female intimate partner homicide rate for 2022-23 was 0.32 per 100,000—an increase from 0.25 from the previous year, but both figures were the second lowest recorded since 1989-90.
“We want the government to acknowledge this is an emergency action and take immediate action,” the organiser of a recent rally in Canberra, Martina Ferrara, told the BBC.
Speaking at the protest, Mr. Albanese said the government needed to “Change culture, the attitudes, the legal system and the approach by all governments. We need to make sure that this isn’t up to women, it’s up to men to change men’s behaviour as well.”
Key Ministers React
Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said the government was in for the long haul when it came to protecting the vulnerable.“Violence against women is a national shame. Every time a woman loses her life at the hands of a man, it is a death that is one too many and we know this is an issue that warrants our focused and serious attention,” Ms. Rishworth said.
Katy Gallagher echoed her colleagues saying she was “distressed and frustrated at the crisis of men’s violence against women in this country,”
She said the government recognised that “issues women face can be improved if they have economic security, and improving women’s economic empowerment will continue to be a core focus of our government.”
