How you can help stop gender-based violence

Family, domestic and sexual violence is a major health and welfare issue in Australia. It occurs across all socio-economic, demographic and age groups, but predominantly affects women and children.

Recently, QSuper supported the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence, which is an annual international campaign that ran this year from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day.

The 16 Days of Activism was started by the Women’s Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and continues to be coordinated each year by the Centre for Women’s Global Leadership. This year's event marked the 30th anniversary of the global campaign to tackle gender-based violence and focusses on domestic violence in the world of work.

Gender-based violence in Australia

The most recent statistics¹ show one in four Australian women has experienced domestic violence by a current or former intimate partner since age 15.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, gender-based violence has increased.² During the three months leading up to May 2020, 4.6% of women experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former live-in partner, with almost two-thirds (65%) of the women saying the violence had started or escalated since the COVID-19 pandemic.

When it comes to the figures on sexual assault alone during the pandemic, the number of sexual assaults that police recorded as cases of family and domestic violence increased by 13% in 2020.³ The figures mean almost two in five victims of more than 10,150 sexual assaults recorded by police throughout 2020 were family and domestic violence related.

What QSuper is doing to help prevent gender-based violence

Since 2016, we have worked hard to support organisations that aim to make a positive difference in preventing domestic violence and improving the lives and futures of people affected by it.

Many QSuper members support domestic violence victims in their roles as police officers, nurses, emergency service workers, teachers, child safety officers, and legal officers. We are proud to stand alongside them to help make a meaningful difference.

Our partnerships to help address gender-based violence include:

Ways you could help

Ending domestic and family violence is the responsibility of all of us. There are many ways you could do your part. According to DVConnect, you could actively play a role in preventing gender-based violence by:

• Helping a friend or family member who may be experiencing domestic, family or sexual violence by learning the signs that they may be experiencing or using violence
• Challenging stereotypes and calling out sexist attitudes and ‘jokes’ that are derogatory towards females
• Speaking out if you hear excuses for violence or victim blaming
• Spreading the word that violence is never an option or a solution and that there is no excuse

What you can do

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence,
please call DVConnect on 1800 811 811 (open 24/7).

If you’d like to arrange some Workplace Domestic Violence Training for your workplace,
reach out to DVConnect at training@dvconnect.org.

 

1. Media Release, 8 November 2017, Personal Safety, Australia, 2016. “Intimate partner” includes a current or former cohabiting partner and non-cohabiting partners and dates. Australian Bureau of Statistics, at abs.gov.au
2. Boxall, Morgan and Brown, 2020, Australian Institute of Criminology, The prevalence of domestic violence among women during the COVID-19 pandemic, at aic.gov.au
3. Media Release, 24 June 2021, Family and domestic violence sexual assault up 13%, Australian Bureau of Statistics, at abs.gov.au