Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to the CEDAW Committee – 12 June 2018 Recommendation 2: That the Australian Government: (i) (ii) Fully incorporate CEDAW into Australian law. Amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 to improve its effectiveness, consistent with the Commission’s recommendations to Australia’s Second Universal Periodic Review.12 4 Violence against women and girls and their health and wellbeing (CO 28–29, 40–43, CEDAW articles 1–5, 12 and 16, LOI 10–11, 21) 4.1 Violence against women and girls 16. Violence against women in Australia, including family and domestic violence (FDV), sexual assault and sexual harassment, remains endemic and hinders the realisation of gender equality.13 17. The Commission commends efforts made under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–22 (the National Plan),14 the Council of Australian Government’s commitments under the Close the Gap framework,15 and the additional funding committed in 2015 to both prevention and response measures and services.16 18. The intersection of gender with other forms of inequality results in women with disability, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, lesbian, bisexual, trans and intersex women (LGBTI), and women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds experiencing higher rates of FDV and other forms of violence, and additional barriers to seeking help and support.17 While the Commission welcomes targeted actions under the Third Action Plan (2016-19) (Third Action Plan) under the National Plan to address violence against women with disability,18 the Government did not accept a 2015 Senate inquiry recommendation that the National Plan be updated to include institutional and disability accommodation settings.19 19. The Commission also notes that Indigenous women are at higher risk of violence, compared to the general population.20 The Commission has made a number of submissions that make recommendations to address violence against Indigenous women and their children,21 emphasising that any reforms must be developed in consultation with Indigenous women, in a manner consistent with the principle of free, prior and informed consent.22 20. The Commission is also concerned about the lack of Australia-wide data on FDV related deaths. The Commission welcomes the Government’s funding to examine measures to ensure national coherence and collection of data on FDV deaths,23 and encourages the Government to act on the findings of the Commission’s review of Domestic Violence Death Review mechanisms in Australia, when released. 5