Kim Webster

“I think, perhaps one of the most important things is to use a range of strategies. There are no simple, single solutions. Rather, it is important to do many different things, such as law reform, skills development, behaviour change and cultural change in organizations. A range of strategies are needed and its important that they are well-coordinated.”

“A good example at the country level is the National Plan that the Australian government and its partners have developed to reduce violence against women and their children. The plan aims to bring everyone together to coordinate their efforts. This includes government, businesses, community groups, and civil society. I think in Australia we are starting to see transformation in attitudes and practices towards VAWG. That is due in part to there being a way for communities, the women’s movement and governments to work together”

“I think policymakers, particularly those located in central government, have a really important role to play in terms of coordinating strategies across a range of sectors. They can, for example, encourage government departments such as those responsible for education, health or labour to take up the issues as part of their day-to-day business. But critical is resourcing for primary prevention and again governments can resource and support that.”

“I’ll quote somebody I heard the other day who was talking about how you transform public education. She said what she would like to see is an increase in the number of people who understood the complexity of the issue, rather than always reducing it to a 10-second sound-bite. It would be great to see decision-makers really grappling with the varied and sustained change that is needed to prevent violence against women.”

About the expert

Kim Webster
Position: Manager, National Community Attitudes towards Violence against Women Survey, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.