Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to UN Committee Against Torture, 17 October 2014 112. Violence against women remains a critical and endemic issue in Australia. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records that 41 per cent of women aged 18 and over have experienced violence in their lifetime.103 Seventeen per cent of women have experienced violence from a current or former partner since the age of 15 (compared to 5.3 per cent of men).104 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 45 times more likely than non-Indigenous women to be victims of domestic violence.105 113. The Australian government has taken significant positive steps to reduce violence against women in the last five years. In particular: • In 2010 the Australian government released the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-22. The National Plan is being delivered through four three-year Action Plans, with the Second National Action Plan launched this year. We welcome the development of plans for every State and Territory such as the Action Plan to Address Violence against Women and Children 20122015 by the Victorian Government,106 and initiatives under these plans such as a Crisis Support Scheme in the ACT.107 We also welcome the establishment of the National Foundation to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children (‘Ourwatch’) and the establishment of National Centre of Excellence, now called Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS). • In November 2011 the federal Parliament enacted the Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2011 which seeks to respond more effectively to domestic and family violence and child abuse in the family law system by prioritising the safety of children; expanding the definition of ‘family violence’ to include socially and financially controlling behaviour and exposing a child to family violence; and making it easier for victims to report violence. 114. The Commission notes that a sustained focus and investment is needed to end violence against women and address the root causes of violence against women including gender inequality and harmful gender stereotypes. 115. The Commission welcomes continued periodic data collection, including regular prevalence surveys such as the ABS Personal Safety Survey and the National Community Attitudes to Violence Against Women Survey, and notes that cross-jurisdictional data is essential to inform public policy responses to violence against women. The Commission notes the limited available data on the experiences of violence of specific groups of women, including culturally and linguistically diverse women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women with disabilities and lesbian, trans and intersex women, and recommends addressing this gap as a matter of priority. 116. The Commission is also concerned there is insufficient provision of funding for a range of support services for women experiencing violence, particularly for women living in rural and remote areas and culturally and linguistically diverse women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women with disabilities, lesbian, trans and intersex women. 29