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Location: Home  »  Womens Safety Agenda - Elimination of Violence  » National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children

National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children

Call for Public Responses to Inform the Development of the National Plan

Extension of time for public responses to inform the development of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children – 31 July 2008.

On 26 May 2008, the Australian Government announced the establishment of a National Council who were given the responsibility of drafting a National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children.

From 30 June – 2 July 2008, members of the National Council, special advisers, and Government representatives convened a meeting in Melbourne to progress the development of the National Plan. Among the issues discussed was the Government’s recent invitation to members of the community to provide written input on policy and services related to domestic and family violence and sexual assault.

In order to receive input from as many community members and key stakeholders as possible, the National Council has extended the deadline for submissions to 31 July 2008.

Submissions should address the following questions where possible:

1. Why is domestic violence and sexual assault happening in Australia?
2. What resources, programs or services are you aware of that are successful in preventing or reducing the effects of domestic and family violence or sexual assault?
3. What are the barriers to family safety for women and children in Australia?
4. What suggestions do you have to reduce domestic and family violence and sexual assault against women and children?

All submissions will be reviewed by the National Council but individual feedback is not able to be provided. Where submissions focus on delivery issues of relevance to States and Territories, this information will be forwarded to the relevant jurisdiction.

Submissions should be returned to Taskforce – National Plan, Office for Women, PO Box 7576 Canberra Mail Centre ACT 2610. Alternatively responses can be emailed to women@fahcsia.gov.au, for attention Taskforce – National Plan.

The extended deadline for submissions is 5pm Eastern Standard Time on 31 July 2008.

Media release: PM launches Inaugural Meeting of National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and Children

Terms of Reference

The aim of the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children (the Council) is to oversee the Government's commitment to establish the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children (the Plan).

Immediate key deliverables under the Plan include:

• White Ribbon Day education activities in rural and regional communities to promote culture-change around violence against women
• Respectful relationship resources for all Australian high schools. The Government will sponsor high school visits by community role models (such as White Ribbon Day Ambassadors) and experts to promote respectful relationships and the importance of not using violence
• Tougher and nationally consistent laws and best practice. The Government will work with the States and Territories to toughen and harmonise domestic violence and sexual assault laws to better protect and prevent women and children
• Funding to boost the Australian Institute of Criminology's National Homicide Monitoring Program to investigate domestic violence-related homicides to inform future interventions to protect women and children from violence
• Research into international best practice models for working with perpetrators of violence - to make them confront their violence and its impact on their partners and children.

The primary role of the Council is to assist the Government achieve the Plan through the provision of expert advice and direction, and specifically to:

• provide leadership for sustaining change and consolidation of good practice and policy development to prevent violence against women and their children
• based on data analysis, research and consultation as appropriate, recommend priorities for national initiatives under the Plan
• identify opportunities for strategic collaboration between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories and the non-government sector
• establish goals, timelines and responsibilities to ensure all levels of government and agencies are making progress against the key deliverables
• promote sharing of knowledge and the dissemination of information on preventing and responding to domestic violence and sexual assault
• contribute to the Plan's initial content and its subsequent updates and determine a framework for its ongoing monitoring and evaluation
• report on the Council's progress to the Minister for the Status of Women twice a year.

Membership

Council members will be selected on the merits of their subject matter expertise in domestic and family violence and sexual assault. Prospective members will also be selected on the basis of their ability to represent various population groups.

Expert Advice

Expert research advice will be provided by the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse (ADFVC) and the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault (ACSSA) and directors will attend Council meetings as requested.  Advice will also be sought from representatives in the community who have researched or worked on outstanding and innovative initiatives preventing and responding to domestic violence and sexual assault. Advisors will be invited to make presentations to the Council during one of its quarterly face-to-face meetings.

Operational Matters

The Council will meet face-to-face quarterly with any additional meetings conducted via teleconference. The Australian Government will fund members to attend meetings of the Council. Where appropriate, the Council will utilise teleconferencing facilities. The Office for Women will provide administrative support to the Council.

Appointment to the Council will be for 12 months.

Membership List

Name	Position	State
Libby Lloyd	Chair	ACT
Heather Nancarrow	Deputy chair	QLD
Associate Professor Moira Carmody	Council Member	NSW
Dorinda Cox	Council Member	WA
Maria Dimopoulos	Council Member	VIC
Dr Melanie Heenan	Council Member	VIC
Rachel Kayrooz	Council Member	QLD
Andrew O'Keefe	Council Member	NSW
Vanessa Swan	Council Member	SA
Lisa Wilkinson	Council Member	NSW
Pauline Woodbridge	Council Member	QLD