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Tuesday, December 24, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

‘Take responsibility’: PM’s $1b domestic violence fund

A national cabinet meeting discussed ways to address violence against women. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

By Andrew Brown in Canberra

Financial support for women escaping violent relationships and measures countering misogynistic views online have been unveiled as part of national measures tackling gendered violence.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met state and territory leaders on ways to prevent violence against women at a snap national cabinet meeting following a spike in deaths.

Mr Albanese called on society – especially men – to take responsibility and help end violence against women.

As part of the changes, the government will introduce a $925 million package that will provide $5000 for women escaping violent or abusive situations.

The funding for the Leaving Violence Program will run over the next five years and is a permanent extension of a previous two-year trial that was set to expire at the end of January.

Those eligible will receive $1500 in cash and a further $3500 made up of goods and services, which will be indexed in coming years.

As part of the move, laws will be introduced to ban the creation and distribution of deepfake pornography.

A pilot program will be set up for age assurance technology to block access for children to online content such as pornography.

A review of the online safety act will also be done a year ahead of schedule.

National cabinet will hold another meeting on domestic and family violence in the next financial quarter.

Mr Albanese said tangible action was needed.

“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.”

Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commissioner Micaela Cronin, who addressed the national cabinet meeting, said there was a unified position to prevent violence against women.

“No plan in such a complex area can be a set and forget plan,” she said.

“We need to be constantly looking at what is emerging and changing and, absolutely, technology changes are part of that and we need to be looking at what do we need to prioritise.”

Federal, state and territory police ministers, as well as attorneys-general, will work to improve police responses to high-risk or serial perpetrators of violence against women.

National cabinet agreed to greater information sharing between jurisdictions about perpetrators.

A new online ad campaign challenging misogynistic stereotypes perpetuated on the internet will be rolled out from mid-June until May 2025.

Mr Albanese said while the measures agreed to at national cabinet were a good step forward, there was still a long way to go.

“Can we be satisfied when a woman is losing her life on average every four days? Of course not,” he said.

“I’ll be satisfied when we eliminate this as an issue, when we’re not talking about this as an issue where women are not feeling as though they have to mobilise in rallies.”

But Greens women spokeswoman Larissa Waters said the payments for those escaping violence did not go far enough, calling the national cabinet meeting a missed opportunity.

“The government announced $925 million over five years, but it’s not for frontline services,” she said.

“It’s to help women reach out to support services, but with those services already drastically underfunded this announcement will simply increase demand on an already stretched sector.”

But the UnitingCare Consortium, which had helped to run the pilot program for the escaping violence payment, said the permanent expansion of the scheme was a significant move.

The consortium’s Victorian and Tasmanian chief executive Bronwyn Pike said the extension would save lives.

“We know financial insecurity is one of the main barriers that prevent people, predominantly women and children, from leaving a violent partner and in some cases why some return to an abusive partner,” she said.

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5 Responses to ‘Take responsibility’: PM’s $1b domestic violence fund

G Hollands says: 1 May 2024 at 2:44 pm

Two comments – Firstly as a man I am not going to take responsibility for other dingbat males who ( of whatever reason) assault or kill women ( or men) that is their responsibility not mine; and secondly, are we allowed to have a “domestic violence emergency” at the same time as we have a “climate emergency” at the same time when we have a “closing the gap” emergency? I thought we were only allowed to have one emergency at a time?

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RC says: 1 May 2024 at 8:27 pm

As a male that has experienced domestic violence and abuse from a female partner over an extended period of time, why is this “emergency” action appearing to be solely aimed at helping women?

Why not do so as a whole, irrespective of gender?

I have experienced extensive bias from various services including the Police, not taking my experiences and reports of abuse and violence seriously (even when extensive proof has been provided) and in fact has even resulted in them (Police) taking out an ADVO and associated attempted action against me on the drop of a hat based on lies (with no proof) from the female perpetrator to try avoid being held accountable for her actions.

Therefore these pending changes are likely to worsen the situation for men whom are on the receiving end, especially when there is money being handed out etc.

There is no doubt that females are the higher percentage of cases, however don’t forget about everyone else….

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Uncle Red says: 2 May 2024 at 12:55 am

More money may provide more services and accommodation to house victims of DV but no amount of money will stop DV until a preventative action can be miraculously devised/invented. And stop sending DV offenders out on bail until they kill.

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David says: 2 May 2024 at 9:49 am

So the solution is to provide a mechanism where someone who is a bit short on money can claim DV to get $5000. I can see that helping muddy the waters. Get real people, do you really believe focusing on trying to put out the fires rather than understanding what is causing the fires is going to work. You may just be throwing water onto an oil based fire. Randomly throwing money at it may help in some cases but you’re also attracting the scammers.

If you’re actually interested in making a difference to a complex problem, then you need to break it down into pieces and tackle each piece. The harder pieces may be easier to address once you’ve addressed some of the others. Alternatively, if you don’t want anything to change keep approaching it with your current understanding.

Why not have a debate on how many people believe the system is stacked against them when it comes to relationship breakdowns, especially involving children.

Remember, it’s not about what you believe, its about what the perpetrators believe. No matter how uncomfortable, politically incorrect or against your narrative a discussion is, if that discussion resonates with perpetrators and may change their way of thinking it is worth having.

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Uncle Red says: 2 May 2024 at 10:53 am

David, you have made a very good point. The taxpayer is already being scammed, as we read and hear frequently by just those people who will see a new opening here!

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