This submission welcomes the important inclusion of recovery from violence in the draft National Plan 2022-2032, and notes progress in relation to prevention over the previous decade. However, overall changes during this time in relation to the gendered drivers of violence against women and children have been minimal, and persistent or increasing prevalence rates are of significant concern.
Given the enormous social, economic, community and individual costs of violence against women and children in Australia, a robust, comprehensive, evidence-based and well-resourced National Plan is urgently required. Our submission sets out 11 key recommendations to strengthen critical areas of weakness across the draft Plan, as follows:
Recommendations 1-3 focus on the National Plan as a whole and call for:
- A stronger focus on structural contributors to gender inequality
- An intersectional approach to be embedded throughout the draft National Plan
Recommendations 4-8 relate to the Pillars and argue that:
- The prevention pillar needs a stronger systemic lens and more detail
- The recovery pillar needs a stronger focus on mental health and trauma
Recommendations 9-11 concern measuring success, targets and the outcomes framework:
- To measure success, data collection must go beyond prevalence and service demand and support the principle of intersectionality
- In the targets and outcomes framework, system-level outcomes need strengthening.
in addition, the revised National Plan requires endorsement by all key stakeholder groups, a governance structure enabling oversight and direct input to government for all parts of the sector, and detailed action plans with the necessary investment to effect and embed real and sustainable change.
More information about the consultation for the draft National Plan can be found here.
Women's Health Victoria (2022) Submission on the draft National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032. Women's Health Victoria. Melbourne.
