The Gold Coast SUNS wholeheartedly support today’s announcement by the Queensland Government and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to invest funds and make reform in the prevention of Domestic and Family Violence.
On the day in which the Gold Coast SUNS and Major Charity Partner RizeUp Australia officially launched the annual Round to RizeUp, the Club welcomes the announcement.
“We want the Gold Coast and AFL Community to know that Round to RizeUp is a fixture that will be locked into the calendar each year to ensure we’re playing our role as a football club in raising awareness and educating around the prevention of domestic and family violence,” Gold Coast SUNS Chief Executive Mark Evans said
“For us, it’s about meaning more to the Gold Coast than just being their AFL side, it’s about playing our role as strong members of the community and acting for change in areas that impact our region the most.”
The Gold Coast SUNS has worked closely with RizeUp for the past nine years in an effort to raise awareness and help in their quest to raise much needed funds for those impacted by the effects of Domestic and Family Violence.
To see the full statement from Premier Palaszczuk and Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Woman and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman see below.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced an historic overhaul of laws and practices to better protect Queensland women from domestic and family violence and hold perpetrators to account.
The $363 million package of reforms includes:
- New laws and programs to recognise, prevent and punish coercive control including making coercive control a criminal offence
- A Commission of Inquiry into police practices
- Expansion of the Domestic and Family Violence courts
- Better support for women
- A special strategy for First Nations communities
- Funding for perpetrator programs to change men’s behaviour and stop the cycle of violence
- Expansion of High-Risk Teams and co-responder models to ensure victims receive a joint response from police and DFV services.
- Increased respectful relationships education to all Queensland children and young people
All are the result of Justice Margaret McMurdo’s Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce’s first report Hear Her Voice handed down in December.
“The Taskforce received more than 700 submissions from women and girls with lived experience of domestic and family violence,” the Premier said.
“In addition, women have literally taken to the streets to say ‘enough is enough’.
“My government has heard.
“My government has listened.
“My government is acting.”
Coercive Control
Before the end of 2023, a bill will be introduced to criminalise coercive control.
Coercive control is the most common factor leading up to intimate partner homicide.
Its tragic outcome was most recently seen in the murders of Hannah Clarke and her three children.
It includes isolating a partner from family and friends, monitoring their movements, controlling access to money and psychological and emotional manipulation.
The package of reforms to address this problem includes a community education campaign to recognise it, the expansion of respectful relationship courses and further training for police.
It also includes $106 million to improve safety for victims attending court.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice, Minister for Woman and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman said this is a key recommendation of the Taskforce.
“Our systems need to respond better to this unique form of violence and we need to shift our focus from responding to single incidents of violence to the pattern of abusive behaviour that occurs over time,” the Attorney said.
“We will also explore options to improve availability and accessibility of intervention programs for DFV perpetrators. Intervening to help perpetrators change their behaviour is essential to keeping victims safe from violence.
“We will look to continue and expand trials of online perpetrator interventions and programs addressing violence perpetrated by young men against a parent.”
Commission of Inquiry
The Taskforce made it clear hardworking police save the lives of women and children escaping domestic and family violence every day.
But it also found many survivors had not received an adequate response.
A four-month Commission of Inquiry will hear the testimony of victims and make recommendations to improve their treatment.
The Attorney-General said, in addition, the Queensland Police Service would trial a collaborative co-response model involving police and specialist DFV services working together in a number of locations.
“A key focus of the reforms will be to build understanding of DFV and coercive control across the agency to help police improve how they respond to these matters,” the attorney said.
“Officers need to be able to better identify DFV as a pattern of behaviour over time and assess risk for coercive control and non-physical forms of violence.
“We will act to develop specialist expertise and training in DFV, and improve the frontline response to incidents through development of a manual to guide officers.”
Hannah Clarke’s parents, Sue and Lloyd have welcomed the government’s response.
“As our foundation, Small Steps 4 Hannah tries to achieve, this is all about HALTing the cycle of domestic and family violence,” Mr Clarke said.
“H’ for Hanna, ‘A’ for Aalya, ‘L’ for Laianah and ‘T’ for Trey, the members of our family who we have lost.”
The Premier said confronting the reality of domestic and family violence is the most important step in dealing with it.
“Not one of us can deal with this issue,” the Premier said.
“It will take all of us.”
The Taskforce has already made 89 recommendations, 84 of which were for the government. It has accepted all 84. The remaining five were for the Queensland Law Society and the Bar Association of Queensland.
The final Taskforce report is due by the end of June.
For more information about the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce, visit www.womenstaskforce.qld.gov.au.
