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Seeking Security
Launch of Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearing House Research Report

Speech by Elizabeth Broderick
Sex Discrimination Commissioner and
Commissioner responsible for Age Discrimination
Australian Human Rights Commission

Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearing house, University of NSW

7 March 2011

Let me begin by acknowledging the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and paying my respects to their elders past, present and future. They hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hope of all Australians. I honour them for their custodianship of the land on which we gather today.

Over the last 6 months I have had the privilege of visiting many domestic violence and sexual assault centres all across our country - to speak with a range of service providers who assist women affected by violence. I am in awe and inspired every day by what I see - the essential services provided by an army of largely women, working day in day out - their dedication, their compassion and their ability to create change.

It’s the individual stories and the loving support delivered in these places that will create systemic social change, that will create a more caring and compassionate Australia – that will create a more equal Australia. Thank you.

Tomorrow marks the centenary of International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is an occasion when women and men gather together across the country and around the globe to bring attention to women’s ongoing quest for equality and justice. We celebrate our achievements, look honestly at our challenges and plot our course for the future.

One of the significant aspects of International Women’s Day is that it gives us time to reflect on the significant achievements of the women’s movement, particularly over the last 100 years. One of the main achievements of the women’s movement has over the last 100 years, has been ensuring violence against women is seen as a public issue – rather than a medical condition. You may remember it was believed that women who lived with violence ‘had a masochistic predisposition to violent partners due to mistreatment in childhood ’[1]. In other words – the violence was their own fault...It took the work of two feminist researchers, Carol O’Donnell and Heather Saville – to debunk this myth and kickstart research into this area.

Violence against women is the starkest example of gender inequality in Australia. It can impact on every part of a woman’s life – in the home, in schools, the workplace, in the community and in civic society. It also has significant ramifications for men and families. Today and throughout this week, I will be making a call to action to reduce and ultimately eliminate violence against women.

I am so very pleased to be here today to launch your new research report, Seeking Security: Promoting the economic wellbeing of women affected by domestic violence. This report draws on the experience and expertise of 107 women in Qld, Victoria and South Australia, and includes women who have been affected by violence and also service providers. I commend the authors on undertaking this project and producing such an essential research publication.

Seeking Security contains important findings about the impact of domestic violence on women’s economic well-being and identifies key areas in which women’s economic well-being is negatively affected by violence. But it doesn’t just identify these areas it proposes solutions.

I welcome this report and urge governments to consider the recommendations.

I want to reflect on two main issues that emerge from this report. Firstly, to talk about the impact of domestic violence on paid work and secondly, to talk about what we can do to reduce its prevalence in Australia.

As Rochelle Braaf and Isobelle Barrett Meyering have documented in Seeking Security, women in, escaping from or recovering from being in an abusive relationship face numerous barriers finding, and then staying in employment. Women can experience difficulties due to a lack of skills, education or employment history. While in employment, women can be traumatised and have mental health issues which can prevent them from maintaining employment. The authors also highlight that the cost of child care is impeding women’s ability to participate in paid work.

We know that almost two thirds of women who experience domestic and family violence are in the workforce[2], so there is no question that the issue of violence affects many in our workplaces. Some local research has found that between 50 and 75% of employed women experiencing domestic violence are harassed by their partners while they are at work[3].

This is also supported by a study conducted by Professor Ruth Brandwein at the State University of New York which found that men use a range of tactics to try to sabotage women’s work efforts.

As part of the study, a woman named Judy recounted how she lost her job as manager of a fast food outlet because of her husband’s jealousy and violence.

“I used to manage Burger King for 5 years,” she explained. “If a guy talked to me, [my husband] would rip doors off hinges – he would go nuts. I left because I didn’t think it was fair to [my employers]”[4].

Another woman named Joan described her husband hiding her clothes to prevent her from going to work. Joan’s husband would promise to baby-sit, but would not show up or show up early in the morning after a night of drinking.

“I wouldn’t leave the children with him when he was drunk,” she recalled. “So I went through many jobs. I got fired often. I was very embarrassed. It ate away at my self esteem.”

Other women reported being stalked at work. These women either had to leave their jobs to protect their safety or were fired because the stalking was endangering other employees.

Other research has shown that women who have experienced violence may also lose their jobs because of the trauma related to violence, which might manifest itself in frequent or prolonged absenteeism or the need to preserve and prioritise their safety.[5]

Women with a history of domestic violence are more likely to have a disrupted work history, to have to change jobs and work in casual and part time work, than women with no experience of violence.[6]

These research findings serve to reinforce something we already know. And that is that these penalties and disruptions, which have profound financial consequences, will accumulate and compound over time. The researchers of Seeking Security have found that the experience of domestic violence significantly contributes to poverty, financial risk and financial insecurity for women. The economic price that women pay for being subjected to domestic violence is life long.

In Seeking Security, the authors detail the strategies women used to stay in their jobs. Some gained support from their employers to access leave to attend to matters associated with the abuse.

Employers I have spoken with do want to assist employees who may be experiencing violence at home. They know that what happens at home impacts on the workplace.

Workplace clauses enabling women to take leave, such as that contained in the policy at the University of NSW and for the NSW public service are starting to be more widely discussed in organisations. These measures not only assist women, but also assist employers who wish to be at the very forefront of providing female-friendly working conditions.

Such measures also assist in reducing staff turnover and ensuring that employers keep their valued employees. For example, a Queensland based organisation called Australia’s CEO Challenge which is engaging with Chief Executive Officers of organisations to position domestic violence as an issue for the workplace. The program tells men and women where they can access help if they are in the cycle of domestic violence as well as providing time for relationship counselling and financial counselling. One CEO who participated in the program said he didn’t think any of his staff experienced domestic violence in his workplace but when he introduced the program he reduced staff turnover by 20%.

We know that many women are unable to leave violent partners - they just do not have the financial resources to do so.

This is a key message in Seeking Security – that the decision to stay or leave an abusive relationship can be significantly influenced by financial factors.

Another key message of Seeking Security – and one that I’ve heard repeatedly from service providers – is that women’s access to services is hindered by a lack of knowledge and a complex service system. Women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, migrant and refugee women and women with disability may face an even more difficult time than other women.

For example, women from non English speaking backgrounds may have less family support and often a limited understanding of community or government support that might be available. The stories of a number of migrant women have been documented in an excellent publication called “Black and Blue: Never Again” released by Macleod Accommodation Support Service and the Qld Government.

“Black and Blue” includes the story of Zena, an immigrant woman. She remembered that beginning life in Australia was a very difficult experience for her after migrating with her husband. She spoke limited English and had no friends to help her. Her husband was the one communicating with the outside world. He took care of housing, applying for Centrelink payments and Medicare. He chose their friends. She is quoted as saying, “My husband always told me that if I went to anyone, they would take my children away”.

And for Indigenous women - a much broader kinship network operates among traditional Indigenous societies and also operates in modified forms in urban Indigenous communities too.

For this reason perpetrators and victims are often related in complex ways.

Kin provide people with enormous strength and a profound sense of identity but as a consequence, ones connection to kin makes it difficult for Indigenous victims to leave violent partners.

In order to leave an abusive partner an Indigenous woman may have to leave her community. To do so separates her from extended family, from her traditional lands and her entire social, cultural and spiritual world. It also severely affects her economic wellbeing.

Every day in Australia, we hear about the need to make our borders safer – to plan a national response to any terrorist attack. But the stark reality is that, for a great many women, the risk of death or injury from terrorist attack is relatively low, whilst the risk of death or injury from intimate partner violence is high. These women do not fear explosions in the mall or on the train, but they do face the prospect of entering their own home with cold, bone-shaking fear.

As I continue through my 5 year term as Sex Discrimination Commissioner, addressing the incidence of violence against women has become an urgent priority for me. The experiences of the women I have spoken of today and the many others around Australia dictate that the issue of domestic violence can no longer be put in the “too hard” basket. We need action and we need it now.

After conducting their research, the authors of Seeking Security, Rochelle Braaf and Isobelle Barrett Meyering developed a range of recommendations to develop positive economic outcomes for women escaping or recovering from a violent relationship.

I outlined a couple of these earlier – the need for services to be integrated and responsive to women affected by violence, and for employers to understand issues around domestic and family violence and provide the necessary workplace entitlements.

But the researchers also identified a range of other ‘critical interventions’ and accompanying recommendations, some of which I would very briefly like to mention.

These are just a few of the many well-considered recommendations in the report. I urge you all to read the report and to use it as a base for your advocacy to implement the recommendations.

There have been domestic and international calls for Australia to implement a National Plan. Finally last month the Australian Government announced the first of 4 three year plans to address violence against women. The plan has been endorsed by all states and territories. This is a significant step forward for Australia. VAW is a national problem which requires a national and local response. Of course, there is no single solution to violence against women but without an adequately funded national plan to co-ordinate our resources, research and service delivery initiatives we have no hope of changing this situation.

The plan commits governments to working together, as well as with community organisations, business and researchers. Additionally, the Plan addresses both domestic violence and sexual assault. The Plan focuses on prevention, resourcing and integration of services, improving access to justice and holding perpetrators to account for their actions. However, a plan is only as good as its implementation. The plan must be implemented effectively, independently monitored and evaluated and adequately funded.

Reducing violence and harassment against women in our country, as around the world, is not a quick fix. It will require strong political courage, honesty about success and failings, and a determination to get it right.

In conclusion let me share a story which reminds me that this is possible.

It is the story of a woman I’ll call Ella. Ella was in her mid 70’s, and had been living in an abusive relationship for around 45 years. Her daughter and grand daughter had come to stay with her and her husband.

One night, Ella’s husband came home from the pub - like he always did. He had been boozing with his mates - like he always did. He walked into the kitchen and - like he always did - proceeded to hit and punch Ella. Ella’s 40 year old daughter hid - like she had always done. But Ella’s teenage grand daughter was watching from the next room. And she did something different. When her grandfather finally left she approached Ella and said:

“It doesn’t have to be like this, Grandma”.

For the first time, someone - Ella’s grand daughter - offered her a way out. She arranged to take her Grandmother the next day to the local domestic violence counselling service. And the heartening thing about this story is that finally after 45 years someone was asking Ella about her relationship – they had given her permission to speak about her abuse.

Stories like Ella’s give me hope. Hope that with education, awareness, advocacy and commitment we can create a world where these women, all women, can have a chance at a life free from violence.

The Seeking Security report also gives me hope. Hope that with this new research and its recommendations, governments and other organisations will listen and take action.

It gives me great pleasure today to launch Seeking Security: Promoting the economic wellbeing of women affected by domestic violence and I commend it to all of you.

[1] Ramsay (2007) ‘Policy Activism of a Wicked Issue’, Ausrtralian Feminist Studies, 22:53, 247-264.
[2] Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety, Australia, 2005 (Reissue), Catalogue No. 4906.0 (2006), 35, at www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4906.0Main+Features12005%20(Reissue)?OpenDocument (viewed 12 April 2010)
[3] Bega Staying Home Leaving Violence Evaluation 2006, cited in McFerran, L (2009) The job as pathway to recovery: Domestic Violence as a Workplace Issue, sydney.edu.au/business/__data/assets/.../wwrg_mcferran_Aug2009.pdf.
[4]Brandwein, R and Filiano, (2000) ‘Toward Real Welfare Reform: The Voices of Battered Women’, Affililia, 15:2,224-242.

[5] Moe, A & Bell, M, (2004) ‘Abject economics: the effects of battering and violence on women’s work and employability’, Violence Against Women, 10:1, 30.

[6] Franzway, S, Zufferey C and Chung, D (2010) ‘Domestic Violence and Multidimensional Factors: Investigating the impact of domestic violence on women’s employment, health and housing’, Our Work Our Lives National Conference, Darwin, 12-13 August 2010.