On International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women the Greens are once again calling for full funding for frontline family and domestic violence services, and will continue to do so every day for the next 16 days, as part of the UN Women’s 16 Days of Activism campaign.
Frontline services that provide emergency housing, wrap-around support, legal advice, education and prevention, counselling and healing, and long term affordable housing are essential to ensuring women and children can escape family and domestic violence.
Senator Larissa Waters, Greens Leader in the Senate and spokesperson on Women said:
“This month in Australia, six women were murdered in just one week.This is an epidemic, and it must increase the urgency of governments and communities to tackle violence against women and their children.
“First Nations women, women from culturally diverse backgrounds, women in regional areas, older women, LGBTIQ+ women, and women with a disability are even more likely to experience violence.
“Every year on this day we recommit to ending sexual and physical violence against women around the world, but frontline services are still underfunded and women and children are being turned away as a result.
“Enough with empty promises. Enough with ignoring the impact of financial insecurity and housing stress on women’s capacity to leave. Enough with underfunding the services women reach out to in a crisis.
“The Government has said it wants to end violence against women within a generation but it’s not stumping up the funds to deliver that. The total federal funding commitment over the next five years is $2.23 billion, less than half the $5 billion the sector needs to ensure no one is turned away.
“Labor has spoken often about difficult choices in the lead up to the budget, but right now they are choosing to spend $313 billion on tax cuts for billionaires while baulking at $1 billion a year for women escaping violence. It’s worse than disappointing, it’s a betrayal.
“The housing crisis is felt even more acutely by women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. Women are forced to choose between abuse or homelessness, because there is nowhere to go.
“Women on low wages or income support are especially vulnerable without the resources to escape violent situations. Yet this government persists with the cruelty of keeping income support payments like JobSeeker below the poverty line, and has the audacity to cry poor while dishing out hundreds of billions in tax cuts and investment property perks for the rich.
“Today, and every day for the next 16 days, the Greens are calling for full funding of frontline DV services.
“The women’s safety sector has repeatedly called for a $1 billion per year investment to meet demand. Labor’s last budget provided less than half that amount for frontline services.
“Women deserve better than that, and $1 billion each year is a very small price to pay to end this ongoing epidemic of violence against women and children.”