Page 4053 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 26 November 2014
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brought forward, because it is essentially an explanation of how they are going to fulfil my demands. I commend the minister for having started on this work.
Yes, I had noted to mention in closing, Ms Berry, that violence is not only a physical matter. As Yvette says, psychological abuse is very real, and the results of it can last for a lifetime. Women have to suffer the silent treatment, being isolated physically or relationally, being spoken to with stupid or degrading comments, being blamed for things in the household or in life in general. Spiritual abuse, not being allowed to be who they are, because faith and religion is not something a person can be expected to separate from themselves for the convenience of others, financial control, mind games and psychological control and manipulation—all are equally as damaging as physical assault.
In fact, the psychological aspect of physical assault in and of itself often lasts for a lot longer than the damage done to women. I mean any action which undermines the value and dignity inherent in all women, at their birth, at their conception, such as trafficking in women. Chains are not always physical. It is not just domestic violence that women suffer. As I mentioned in my speech, it is a standard part of the prostitution trade that women are expected to cope with rape and physical assault on a regular basis.
So I applaud that part of the amendment which goes to the family violence intervention program that the ACT government have as their coordinated response to family violence incidents. I applaud the fact that that work that is being undertaken will be reported in the quarterly criminal data collection by mid next year. I am glad to see that the subcommittee of the Domestic Violence Prevention Council has started to deal with the need for these statistics. Minister Corbell has stated that by mid-2015 we should have such data available. I will watch eagerly to see what is in that data, if there is anything missing. I am glad to hear that the Victims of Crime Commissioner is involved.
Ms Burch has also committed to me that by next year she will have clear and better data to report on. So I am very happy to accept the amendment. I thank all those here for their statements.
I still go on worrying about how we actually make sure this motion impacts on some women in Canberra, in their daily lives, because many of them will not know what has been said in here. Many of them will not have even known about White Ribbon Day yesterday and many of them are probably too scared to turn on the TV in case they get into trouble for turning on the TV. We are talking not about the majority of women here but about those who are affected, whose lives are controlled and who, in many cases, fear how they will escape such a situation.
I commend all those who participated in the debate today. I will support the amendment. Let us hope that our actions have some practical impact on the lives of women suffering in this city.
Amendment agreed to.
Motion, as amended, agreed to.
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