Striving for a safer, fairer world for women
GENDER equality is a human right. But for most women and girls around the globe — Australia included — it certainly doesn’t feel that way. Women across Australia have profound knowledge and endless creativity. From our large cities to the regions and remote First Nations communities, our voices are many. What brings us together is our call for equality.
Last week, I was proud to lead Australia’s delegation at the 67th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York. I did this not only as Australia’s Assistant Minister for Indigenous
Australians, but also as a Yanyuwa Garrawa woman from Borroloola in the Northern Territory with a strong line of matriarchs before me.
I had an amazing group of Australian women by my side in our delegation, working with our international counterparts to push for long-lasting change for women and girls.
This included women like Julie Inman Grant who is the world’s first eSafety Commissioner, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar
AO and Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, just to name a few.
We heard UN Secretary-General António Guterres deliver a stark warning to the Commission saying “Gender equality is growing more distant… on the current track, UN puts gender equality 300 years away.”
He condemned the erasure of women from public life in Afghanistan and the rollback of sexual and reproductive rights in many other countries as well as violence against women.
The extremity of this inequality may seem like a world away from modern Australia, but that’s not entirely true.
Across Australia, one woman is killed every 10 days by a current or former partner. I know all too well that Indigenous women are nearly 11-times more likely to die due to assault than non-Indigenous women.
Among many challenges, this year, the CSW is focusing on education in the digital age, and innovation and technological change.
The theme casts a wide net, drawing together some of the most pressing issues facing communities today, from the concerning digital gender gap to the scourge of gender-based discrimination, harassment and violence online.
First Nations women and older women are among the most digitally excluded in Australia with poor digital literacy and less access to devices and an internet connection. The digital gap may seem invisible, but its impact can be seen very clearly. Before I headed to the United Nations, families from the bush community of Yarralin told me they were frustrated with a phone service outage during severe floods where the river around them grew at a rapid rate.
These phone service outages happen far too often in the bush and it doesn’t just mean a day without scrolling on social media. It means you can’t call the local health clinic or police in an emergency.
It means you can’t use your EFTPOS card to buy food for your family at the only shop in town.
I took these stories to the United Nations and spoke about Australia’s experience honestly on the world stage, and shared some of the many ways we’re tackling gender inequality at home.
Our delegation had the chance to champion Australia’s ambition to become one of the most genderequal countries in the world, and our commitment to improve digital literacy, education and access for women and girls no matter who they are or where they live. This is especially the case for women and girls who live in the regions and remote areas.
Thinking about building women and girls’ digital capabilities opens conversations around other areas, too, including ensuring cybersecurity for online businesses and safe digital spaces, away from online harassment and misinformation.
We also have the chance to speak about our National Strategy to Achieve Gender Equality which includes ensuring that women and children are safe from violence.
Our National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children is our commitment to a country free of gender-based violence – where all people live free from fear and violence and are safe at home, at work, at school, in the community and online. This is a human right for all people and we are committed to ending violence against women and children in Australia in one generation.
Ultimately, Australia’s gender equality work extends far beyond our shores. We are also committed to lifting women’s leadership across the globe and investing in women’s economic empowerment in our region of the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Women, working together, with a collective sense of responsibility to strive for a future that’s safer, fairer, and more equitable for women and girls, and for all. It’s a future I’m looking forward to seeing for my own girls, and indeed all women and girls across the world.