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Domestic Violence Peak Body Dismayed at the Howard Government's
Disregard for Women
“How
ironic that on the day the devastating costs of domestic violence to
the Australian economy are released to the public we find out that the
Howard Coalition government has downgraded the Office for the Status
of women to a division within the Department of Family and Community
Services”
said Ms Pauline Woodbridge, National Chairperson of WESNET, the peak
advocacy body working for the rights of women and children to live
free from domestic and family violence.
“Women
are more than 50% of the population and yet still suffer a range of
disadvantage and discrimination due to gender, including shameful and
epidemic proportions of domestic and family violence”
she said. According
to Ms Woodbridge “If we ever
needed the ‘Office for the Status of Women’, it is now!
Report after report are highlighting the inequalities suffered
by women, the extent of the violence suffered by women and on so many
levels the disadvantages suffered by women.
But, in Howard’s new term, he has already moved against women
and demoted the ‘Office for the Status of Women’ from his own
department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, to the portfolio of
‘Families and Community Services’.
“WESNET
are worried”
says Ms. Woodbridge, “Life is already too
much of a struggle for many of the women of Australia, especially if
you are a victim of violence” she said.
Julie
Oberin, Victorian WESNET representative said “It
is already hard for the voices and concerns of women to get onto the
National agenda and downgrading the status of the Office for the
Status of Women will make it even harder.
It seems that Howard’s government is only listening to, and
representing the concerns of men. He clearly sees women only in their role as mothers and
care-givers in the welfare sector not as citizens in their own
right”.
Shirley
Slann, the National Indigenous Representative for WESNET said “In
every way Indigenous women are paying a high price for living in this
so called ‘First World Country’.
The levels of violence experienced by Indigenous women is a
national outrage. Too
many Aboriginal women experience far shorter life-spans and have a
life characterised by abuse and poverty”.
Julie
Oberin, Victorian WESNET representative said “In
this so called ‘strong economy’, women are still over-represented
in part time work, women do not have equal pay for equal work and
women are under-represented in science, I.T. and engineering.
Women still do the bulk of housework and childcare. In these
days of ‘child-friendly’ workplace rhetoric, it is women who have
to adjust their work to enable them to juggle all of their parenting
responsibilities”.
Established
in 1992, WESNET has close to 400 member services across Australia.
WESNET works to ensure that all women and children live free of
domestic and family violence and its consequences.
For
comment please contact:
Pauline
Woodbridge, National
Chairperson, 0419
739
774
Julie Oberin Victorian
WESNET representative, 0419
539
346
Shirley Slann,
WESNET Indigenous representative,
0408
436
061
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