DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN NSW: AT WHAT COST?

WE ARE AT A POINT OF CRISIS

Australia’s culture of violence against women is a crisis. It is rooted in a widespread cultural acceptance that the values, roles and rights of women are lesser than those of men. It is time to change this culture so that the next generation of women can live their lives to their fullest potential; free from intimidation, harassment and violence. Women have the right to be safe, claim their space, be respected and have their voices heard.

In New South Wales we are losing too many lives and seeing far too many other lives destroyed by this insidious problem, and our Government is not taking strong enough action to make real change possible.

THE STATISTICS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN AUSTRALIA

 According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 Personal Safety Survey, 2.2 million Australians have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner and 3.6 million Australians have experience emotional abuse from a partner. About 2.2 million Australians have experience sexual violence since the age of 15.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) states “Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major national health and welfare issue that can have lifelong impacts for victims and perpetrators. It affects people of all ages and from all backgrounds, but predominantly affects women and children.”

1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men with disability experienced emotional abuse from a partner

Indigenous people were 32 times as likely to be hospitalised for family violence as non-Indigenous people in 2016–17

JOIN US IN ASKING #ATWHATCOST?

WHAT IS #ATWHATCOST?

Recent reporting by KPMG estimates that the total cost of violence against women and their children in Australia at $22 billion. KPMG estimated these costs through categories relating to the economic and non-economic impact of pain and suffering, and the impacts of violence on the health system, production and consumption, children, the justice and service system, and transfer payments.

Of all the states and territories in Australia New South Wales contributed the highest Domestic Violence cost, at an estimated $6 billion per year.

And yet we hear from our representatives that our state can’t afford to allocate the proper funding to address the issue.

It’s time to ask: At What Cost do we continue to ignore the need for more Domestic Violence resources?

WHAT YOU CAN DO?

We’re asking all people who are concerned about the ongoing issue of Domestic Violence to join our campaign to remind our representatives that we need action NOW to stop the crisis. We’ll be emailing, phoning, mailing, rallying and putting the pressure on all MPs, but especially the NSW Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Mark Speakman.

We have partnered with the Safe State Campaign to recommend their extensive platform of policy and cultural changes to address the issue. We urge you to mention the Safe State campaign in your correspondence with the Minster and ask for a commitment to fully endorse their platform and 49 recommendations for law and policy change.

EMAILING YOUR REPRESENTATIVES

We have provided the template below to give you suggestions for writing your email or postcard. You can copy the text of the template as is or add additional personal details, such as why this campaign and issue means so much to you and any additional concerns you may have. You should always include your name and that you are a resident of NSW, and if emailing your local MP you should also mention that you live in their electorate.

“As someone who believes every person has the right to be safe and live free from violence I am concerned by the growing crisis of Domestic Violence across Australia, and particularly in New South Wales. I am also concerned that the issue of Domestic Violence is estimated to cost NSW around $6 billion per year, a figure too high to be allowed to continue unaddressed.

I urge you to consider this: can we afford to continue to underfund Domestic Violence services and not introduce law and policy change to address the growing crisis in NSW?

I support the Safe NSW platform produced by NSW Women’s Alliance of peak organisations and state-wide service providers responding to and working to prevent sexual, domestic and family violence. Will you commit to:

1. Create cultural change to prevent violence and promote gender equality.
2. Provide immediate and ongoing support for people experiencing violence.
3. Ensure people experiencing violence have a safe home.
4. Ensure people experiencing violence can access justice safely.
5. Enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to lead change to end violence.
6. Be accountable to specialist workers and the wider community.

I urge you make NSW A Safe State by acting on their 49 recommendations for change.

At What Cost do we ignore the issue of Domestic Violence in New South Wales?”

Once you’re ready to send an email you can use our link below to open a form addressed to the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Mark Speakman from your email account.

EMAIL THE MINISTER

To contact your local member or another Minister use the link below to find your local representative and their contact details

FIND YOUR MP

SEND A POSTCARD

As part of our At What Cost? campaign we’ve also created postcards to mail to the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence. If you would like to join the postcard campaign you can contact us using the button below to request a printed postcard be sent to you. Get a group of friends together and hold a postcard party!

REQUEST A POSTCARD