Federal government launches ‘world-leading’ bid to end violence against women and children within a generation

The federal government is setting an ambitious goal to end violence against women and children within one generation, with the release of a new national plan on family violence calling for better crisis housing and assisting men to develop "healthy masculinities".

The new plan calls for reforms to how media, schools, justice systems, tech companies, the health sector and perpetrators themselves act, with the new National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children giving dozens of suggestions to improve violence prevention and response.

"Violence against women and children is not inevitable," the report said. "By addressing the social, cultural, political and economic factors that drive this gendered violence, we can end it in one generation."

Commonwealth, state and territory governments have all endorsed the plan, which does not contain specific funding requirements or commitments but is rather a broader blueprint for change.

One-third of women have experienced physical violence, and one in five experienced sexual violence. Intimate partner violence is the main preventable cause of illness and death in women aged 18 to 44, with one woman killed by a partner every 10 days on average. The report states violence against women and children costs the economy $26bn a year.

The Covid pandemic saw offending increase, with two-thirds of women experiencing violence saying the violence started or escalated after the pandemic began.

"Too many of us are being re-traumatised trying to engage with systems that are meant to 'protect' us but fail," a statement from members of the Independent Collective of Survivors said, which was included in the report. "Systems that create barriers to access and have costs beyond our means because services are not designed for the realities of our lives.