The Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP
Minister for Housing
Minister for the Status of Women
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
In May 2008 you charged the National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children (the Council) with the role of drafting a national plan to reduce violence against women and their children.
The Council’s members have worked tirelessly to achieve this objective. We travelled extensively and consulted many different stakeholders. We listened to, and heard from, more than 2,000 people across the country. We received hundreds of submissions from all parts of Australia, and we held six expert round-table forums.
During our investigations, we found a widespread belief that this issue was pressing and serious, and manifested itself in great suffering that directly affected individuals, communities, and impinged on the wellbeing of our society.
In response to your request, and on behalf of the Council, I am delighted to present you with Time for Action: The National Council’s Plan for Australia to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2009-2021 (the Plan of Action). We believe it offers a new view, and a strong direction for reducing violence against women and their children across Australia.
The Plan of Action discusses the current situation in Australia and recommends sweeping changes between now and 2021. The Plan of Action identifies six core areas for improvement and identifies strategies and actions to achieve this. The breadth of these outcomes concentrates on preventative measures that challenge the values and attitudes that support violence in the community. The Plan of Action emphasises the need to help individuals, most particularly young people, to develop respectful relationships, relationships that are non-violent and based on equality and mutual respect.
The Council believes these areas must be addressed if the nation is to affect change in the areas of preventing violence against women and their children. Of these actions, 20 have been identified as critical and have been earmarked for immediate implementation. We believe it is essential that the others are introduced over the next 12 years.
Without appropriate action to address violence against women and their children, an estimated 750,000 Australian women will experience and report violence in 2021-22, costing the Australian economy an estimated $15.6 billion.
We are fully aware that many fine reports have been written, and that many plans have been prepared on this issue. However, at this point in our country’s history, the Council strongly recommends that, as our title suggests, it is now Time for Action.
I commend this Plan of Action to you for your support and urgent attention.
Yours sincerely
Libby Lloyd AM
Chair
National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
8 March 2009