Report Shows That Ending Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Requires Greater Government Investment and Action

Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence Commissioner, Micaela Cronin, released her inaugural report on the progress of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children yesterday. The Commissioner’s address at the National Press Club and the Report have highlighted the need to better understand the demand on systems, as well as to build both the capacity and the capability of systems and workforces to respond to, and prevent, violence.

Tania Farha, CEO of Safe and Equal, says, “We welcome this first report into the progress being made by the Commission in supporting the National Plan. There has been some good progress on amplifying, engaging, and centering the voices of lived experience of family, domestic and sexual violence. However, we share the Commissioner’s concerns that frontline specialist services are overwhelmed and under-resourced. Services need long-term and sustainable funding commitments that will allow them to meet escalating and unmet demand. There needs to be a clear and long-term strategy and national partnership across the country to fund and support these services.

At least 46 women are reported to have been murdered in Australia this year*. But these figures are not the full story. The deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are less likely to be reported, and the broader impacts on many communities and children are lifechanging and under-recognised. We have seen this from the recent report of the Senate Inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children.  The magnitude of this violence demands significant, sustained, and coordinated action. This report highlights how much more there is to be done. The focus on supporting the workforce engaged in family, domestic and sexual violence services is how we will get there. These are committed and passionate people, who need support, capability building and recognition for what they do.

Micaela Cronin says we need to do better, and she’s absolutely right. If all levels of government are truly committed to ending family violence in this country, then they need to be bold and brave and fund the solutions, including the specialist frontline services and workers who make real change happen.”

The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission Yearly Report to Parliament 2024 can be accessed here.

*There are no current and complete figures for how many women have been killed this year. Many deaths go unacknowledged as family or gender-based violence, including missing people or deaths that are still being investigated – so the number of people killed this year is likely much higher than 46, which is the figure currently published by Destroy the Joint.