In response to a report by the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children in Australia entitled "Time For Action," the Australian government has committed 9.5 million US dollars for a 24-hour national telephone and online crisis service and 20 million US dollars for prevention activities such as public information campaigns and to fund research to make laws on domestic violence consistent.
The report found that a fragmented system of dealing with domestic violence, the lack of prevention measures, inadequate funding for services, and gaps between policy and practice are responsible for the prevalence of domestic violence in Australia.
According to the report, almost 20 percent of Australian women will suffer sexual violence at some point in their lives, while intimate partner physical violence will affect one in three. The report found that intimate partner violence is often repeated.
It also found that indigenous women are 35 times more likely to suffer from family violence requiring hospitalization, and are ten times more likely to be killed. Immigrant and refugee women are more likely to be murdered as a result of domestic violence, and women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable.
For the full report click here.
Compiled from: Australia: Plan to Tackle Domestic Violence Wins Support, by Stephen de Tarczynski, IPS News 13 May 2009.