Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697630601919.pdf (Australia)
PO Box 3132 Norwood SA 5067 ABN 85 898 562 097 The Zonta Club of Adelaide submission to the Federal Enquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality a.

The role of gender inequality in all sphere of life in contributing to the prevalence    of domestic violence Lack of wage parity reinforces gender inequality.

Provides messages to the community that women not good enough, lacking in skills and therefore should be paid less.

The lower wages of top women athletes e.g.


hockey, soccer and cricket, where they are paid less than the male teams despite being highly successful internationally provides the impression to the community that they are worthless.

Low number of men taking up paternity leave continues to reinforce different skills between male and female and indicates that women can have time out of the workforce but not desirable for men.
There needs to be across the board structural change in workplaces that encourages and gives permission for men to take leave.

One way would be for a part of paternity leave to only be available if the male takes the paternity leave.

The societal attitude still exists around women being the ones to take care of the house.

The domestication of women reinforces gender attitudes.

Images and campaigns showing more equal participation in domestic tasks could break down this dichotomy.

b.
b.

The role of gender stereotypes in contributing to cultural conditions which support domestic violence, including, but not limited to, messages conveyed to children and young people in:  The marketing of toys and other products, Education, and Entertainment i. ii.

iii.

Sexualisation of young children through products, dress, toys and cosmetics reinforces that girls should be sexy, submissive and boys should be dominant, macho, important and strong.
These products reinforce boys to grow to males that can be powerful and strong and that girls need to be attractive and submissive to males.

Suggest making a campaign like the successful plain packaging of cigarettes.

If products for children did not have macho and dominant images for boys and sexy submissive images for girls then children are not having this image and concepts reinforced by the community in which they live.
The role of government initiatives at every level in addressing the underlying causes of domestic violence, including the commitments under, or related to, the c. Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 7 National Plan to reduce Violence against women and children; and Introduce public campaigns such as plain packaging for toys, cosmetics for children.

Need public figures on advertising and media that stand up against violence.
A media campaign that includes statistics on the number of men incarcerated for violence.

 Government to support clubs and publically recognise clubs that have sanctioned club members who have hit or abuse their partner.

Clubs that sanction and not allow a player to participate in club activities and games for a period of time are highlighted by government initiated program.
 Mandated program for convicted domestic violence offenders which deals with respectful relationships and handling stress and anger.

 Mandated reporting of violence with an adult should be instigated for professionals.

 A National Curriculum on Respectful Relationships should be instigated at primary   and secondary school levels People working with children need to be trained in respectful relationships.
For example those within education, sport and clubs Increase the number of parenting courses in the community.

Courses available in the community have been reduced over the last 15 years and need to be available for the early parenting the middle and teenage years assisting parents to deal with strategies to handle stress, communication and respectful relationships.

d. Any other related matters  Look at best practice overseas.
What countries have a lower rate of domestic violence and what have they done to support this in their community.

Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 7