❓ Ms. Giddens asks about public education campaigns on coercive control. The Minister details the government's phased approach, including a $5 million campaign with significant reach and increased helpline calls, highlighting ongoing efforts to combat family and domestic violence.
AnsweredQoN 136Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Family and domestic violence—Coercive control
136. Ms Kim Giddens to the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic
Violence:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to combating the scourge of family and domestic
violence.
(1) Can the minister advise the house how this
government is delivering public education campaigns to raise awareness of the
signs and dangers of coercive control?
(2) Can the minister update the house on the
importance of this campaign in the phased implementation of coercive control
legislation?
136. Ms Kim Giddens to the Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic
Violence:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to combating the scourge of family and domestic
violence.
(1) Can the minister advise the house how this
government is delivering public education campaigns to raise awareness of the
signs and dangers of coercive control?
(2) Can the minister update the house on the
importance of this campaign in the phased implementation of coercive control
legislation?
AnswerView source ↗
I thank the member
for Bateman for this question, but also for her continued interest and
commitment in keeping women and children safe in Western Australia.
(1)–(2) Criminalising coercive control is
a priority of the Cook Labor government, and we are on track to introduce a standalone
offence in this term of government. Coercive control takes away a person's
freedom and their independence. Coercive control can seriously affect a person's
safety, their mental and physical health, their employment, their
relationships, their financial security and, of course, their sense of
autonomy. That is why it is important that we do this properly, and changing
the law is not enough on its own. It needs a phased approach to make sure our
systems can respond appropriately to coercive control first. A community
education piece is vital, because most people do not know what coercive control
is. It is so that the police, the public and frontline workers can easily
identify it and enforce the laws as they are intended. This approach that we
are taking is what legal experts and victim-survivors are saying is needed—and
we are listening to their advice. We are ensuring these laws are appropriate
and effective in combating this insidious issue.
In September last year, we
launched a $5 million community education campaign to drive more understanding in
the community of these behaviours and why they are unacceptable in Western
Australia. Phase 1 raised awareness of the warning signs of coercive control.
The emotive "coercion hurts" videos—I am sure we have all
seen them—have been displayed on social media and they have been viewed
more than 7.8 million times. A "story that is not ours" video,
produced with cultural storytelling techniques, was displayed more than two
million times in a three-month period. Our coercive control and family and
domestic violence online hub has now been viewed more than 178,000 times, and
it provides an important resource for victim-survivors, the general public and,
importantly, perpetrators. We have seen an increase in people seeking support and
calling the women's and the men's domestic violence helplines, and we have just
launched the second phase. Phase 2 will spread information about coercive
control to even more Western Australians via TV, radio and digital platforms
and by print and outdoor advertising. These coercive control campaigns build on
a range of systemic and legislative reforms already underway to protect and
support victim-survivors and hold perpetrators to account. This is another
example of how this government continues to show leadership on the prevention
of family and domestic violence. I encourage all members to share these
campaigns as much as they can in their communities and on their social media.
for Bateman for this question, but also for her continued interest and
commitment in keeping women and children safe in Western Australia.
(1)–(2) Criminalising coercive control is
a priority of the Cook Labor government, and we are on track to introduce a standalone
offence in this term of government. Coercive control takes away a person's
freedom and their independence. Coercive control can seriously affect a person's
safety, their mental and physical health, their employment, their
relationships, their financial security and, of course, their sense of
autonomy. That is why it is important that we do this properly, and changing
the law is not enough on its own. It needs a phased approach to make sure our
systems can respond appropriately to coercive control first. A community
education piece is vital, because most people do not know what coercive control
is. It is so that the police, the public and frontline workers can easily
identify it and enforce the laws as they are intended. This approach that we
are taking is what legal experts and victim-survivors are saying is needed—and
we are listening to their advice. We are ensuring these laws are appropriate
and effective in combating this insidious issue.
In September last year, we
launched a $5 million community education campaign to drive more understanding in
the community of these behaviours and why they are unacceptable in Western
Australia. Phase 1 raised awareness of the warning signs of coercive control.
The emotive "coercion hurts" videos—I am sure we have all
seen them—have been displayed on social media and they have been viewed
more than 7.8 million times. A "story that is not ours" video,
produced with cultural storytelling techniques, was displayed more than two
million times in a three-month period. Our coercive control and family and
domestic violence online hub has now been viewed more than 178,000 times, and
it provides an important resource for victim-survivors, the general public and,
importantly, perpetrators. We have seen an increase in people seeking support and
calling the women's and the men's domestic violence helplines, and we have just
launched the second phase. Phase 2 will spread information about coercive
control to even more Western Australians via TV, radio and digital platforms
and by print and outdoor advertising. These coercive control campaigns build on
a range of systemic and legislative reforms already underway to protect and
support victim-survivors and hold perpetrators to account. This is another
example of how this government continues to show leadership on the prevention
of family and domestic violence. I encourage all members to share these
campaigns as much as they can in their communities and on their social media.
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