The Women’s Safety Summit has launched its open forums today, with women’s safety advocates from around Australia gathering as part of the consultation process for the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, a 12-year plan which maps out Australia’s long-term response to keeping women safe.

The Summit commenced with closed roundtables last week, and in a joint letter signed by thousands of individuals and over 205 organisations, women’s safety experts have come together in a call for the government to commit on 12 key actions for women’s safety.

The letter was sent to the National Women’s Safety Taskforce, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne and Minister for Women’s Safety Anne Ruston, who will present the closing address at the summit.

As the peak body for over 110 specialist domestic and family violence services in New South Wales, Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW) made extensive recommendations following comprehensive consultation with the domestic and family violence sector and based on our submission to the 2020 Federal Inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence.

The fourteen recommendations cover key priority areas, including:

• Quality design and service system cohesion
• Investment in resourcing
• Accessibility and support for marginalised groups
• Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
• Housing and homelessness
• Investment in research and evaluation
• People and animals experiencing domestic and family violence
• Commitment to primary prevention
• Investment in early intervention
• A trauma and gendered violence-informed justice system
• Improved access to justice in the family law system
• Improved health response to sexual, domestic and family violence
• Financial support for victim-survivors
• Governance and accountability

CEO of DVNSW Delia Donovan says now that experts from around the country have come together to define what actions need to be taken, the government needs to make it happen.

“Every day our member services are trying to work within a system that isn’t fully designed to keep women, children and gender diverse people safe,” she says. “We want to see recognition of the specialist domestic and family violence sector and significant investment for services. We provided the solutions, and it’s now time for action.”

“We need bold and transformative change if we are to seriously address this national emergency.”