Our Watch Chair Natasha Stott Despoja pledged to highlight the severity of the crisis of violence against women when meeting with Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum tomorrow.
“Violence against women is a national emergency. It was a global epidemic before the pandemic, but has been exacerbated by COVID,” Ms Stott Despoja said.
“These violent deaths are shocking and heart-breaking.
“This violence is preventable. We all have a role to play: in our workplaces, homes, sporting clubs and at all levels of government. We must challenge disrespect towards women and embed gender equality.”
It is currently the UN’s 16 days of activism against gender-based violence.
This year’s national toll of women who have been killed by violence is now 48, according to Destroy the Joint.
Meanwhile, Our Watch CEO Patty Kinnersly urged journalists reporting on these tragedies and similar stories to do it in a way that informed, educated, and contributed usefully to a public dialogue about the issue of violence against women.
“We ask the Australian media to utilise the Our Watch media reporting guidelines when covering stories that involve violence against women,” Ms Kinnersly said.
- Statistics on violence against women in Australia
- How to appropriately frame a story and guidance of use of language
- Important resources including a list of community services and experts on violence to go to for comment
In addition to the contacts for local support services, journalists are reminded to always list the following tagline at the end of the story:
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
If you are worried about your behaviour, call Mensline on 1300 78 99 78 or visit mensline.org.au.
