Where does women’s security fit into the election? 

The issue

After a momentous year for the Me Too movement, women’s security was set to be front and centre in the election. But after floods, soaring inflation and uncooked chicken, it has fallen off the agenda. 

Today the National Women’s Safety Alliance — an organisation supported by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women — released its federal election policy statement outlining what has to happen during the next Parliament to end gender-based violence. 

Many of the priorities have been debated and dissected before.

What the parties say

The statement was released the day after Deakin University lecturer Adam Brown was charged with allegedly murdering his wife and mother-of-two Chen Cheng — the 18th woman allegedly killed by a current or former partner in Australia this year.

Intimate partner violence soared during the pandemic; nine in 10 domestic, family and sexual violence frontline services reported an increase in demand. As a result, one in five had reduced their services and 44% had extended their waitlists. 

Much of the election debate has focused on climate change and inflation, but these too are drivers of domestic violence — natural disasters lead to an increase in domestic and family violence, and the high cost of living hinders the ability of those in violent relationships to leave. The average cost of leaving an abusive relationship is $18,000.

The alliance has 20 key priorities to be implemented across three years, ranging from workplace equity, support for victim-survivors and more cohesive data and legislation.

The priorities: workplace equity 

One in three women has experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, and women are paid on average 13.4% less than men.

To address this, the alliance has recommended data on gender pay gaps in organisations be publicly released by the government and a “positive duty” be implemented on employers to prevent workplace sexual harassment.

To increase women’s participation in the workforce, it also called for an increase in paid parental leave to 26 weeks while promoting equal uptake between parents, and expanding affordable access to early learning education and care. 

The Coalition: the Morrison government made some moves to increase women’s participation in the workforce in the latest budget with cash for mentoring and support, assisting women to transition into tech (though it also spent a lot of time patting itself on the back for reducing the gender pay gap to an all-time low — a claim that’s been debunked).

The government has rejected calls for a positive duty of care for employers, as first suggested in sex discrimination commissioner Kate Jenkins’ report, Respect@Work, saying protections exist in the current laws. 

It’s also broadening the paid parental leave income test to $350,000 a year while increasing the childcare subsidy by 30%, covering up to 95% of costs.

Labor: rather than pushing women into male-dominated industries, Labor has pledged to increase the Fair Work Commission’s powers to order pay increases for workers in low-paid, female-dominated industries. It will also implement expert panels on pay equity and increase transparency on gender pay data.

Childcare subsidies will cover up to 90% of costs, but they’ll be expanded for single-child families earning up to $530,000. Labor, several independent candidates and the Greens have also pledged to pay superannuation on parental leave.

The priorities: support for victim-survivors

The alliance wants domestic and family violence leave to be increased to 10 days (although some states have implemented this, it’s not a national policy) and for the government to double the escaping violence payment from $5000 to $10,000. It’s also calling for an extra 17,000 social housing units for women escaping domestic and family violence.

The Coalition: after years of inaction the Morrison government has taken steps to address gender inequality, with $1.3 billion in the latest budget dedicated to women’s safety. It’s implemented 43 of the 55 recommendations made in the Respect@Work report but hasn’t supported extra days for those fleeing violence. The government also pledged a $2 billion boost for affordable housing, but with no focus on women fleeing violence.

Labor: it supports 10 days’ paid family and domestic violence leave and has pledged to fund 500 community workers in the sector. It will also build 4000 affordable homes for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence and for older women at risk of homelessness — a good step but a fraction of what’s needed — as part of its $10 billion social housing policy. 

The priorities: consistency and transparency

There’s limited data not only on the gender pay gap but on how Australians are affected by violence based on their gender identity and sexuality. The alliance wants mandates for all national data collections to collect information on sex, gender and sexual orientation, and to establish consistent national legal definitions of domestic, family and sexual violence and affirmative consent. The Law Council of Australia has released a model on how this could be done. 

The Coalition: it has previously discussed strengthening and creating a national approach to sexual violence legislation, but so far there’s been limited tangible outcome. 

Labor: it has promised to appoint a domestic violence commissioner but there are no talks yet of nationalising laws. It has also pledged to make several data sources, including gender pay and National Disability Insurance Scheme decisions, more transparent.

If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault or violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. For anyone seeking help, Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and Beyond Blue is 1300 22 4636.