HopgoodGanim Lawyers welcomes the release of the Federal Government’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2023 (the Plan), endorsed by all state and territory governments. We are pleased that the Plan picks up several of the recommendations we raised in our own submission to the Federal Government, including acknowledging that:
- Women and children are not a homogenous group and committing to take an intersectional approach to address violence against women, children and the LGBTIQ community.
- Violence can be exacerbated in certain settings and where gender inequality intersections with other forms of disadvantage.
- Violence affects women at every stage of life including older women and that their experiences of violence and needs are different at different points in their life.
- More action needs to be done to support people impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters, with better emergency response strategies and interventions in situations of domestic and family violence (DFV) for future crises.
Committing to:
- The development of a standalone First Nations National Plan and acknowledging that this plan should be First Nations led.
- Work with Australian schools and other key stakeholders to develop and implement mandatory education for the Australian school curriculum to aid in preventing DFV, including respectful relationships and consent education.
We are also pleased to see the Queensland Government take another step forward in addressing DFV with the release last week of the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 on 14 October 2022.
HopgoodGanim Lawyers are committed to reducing domestic and family violence through our Pro Bono impact strategy.
Find out more about our Pro Bono practice.