Change in Awareness Levels and Effectiveness of National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women

Change in the awareness levels of the victims, community and bystanders and
effectiveness of National plan to reduce violence against women and their children 2010-
2022
The presence of a policy and its implementation are two different exercises. The gap between
knowledge and information present between these stages can be managed effectively by
implementing operational planning. The key elements of this plan were to foster collaborative
approaches among the key stakeholders to bring down the number of incidents of domestic
violence. Another major concern of this program was associated with the awareness levels of
the individuals related to domestic violence (“Violence against Women in Australia”, 2017).
In the year 2013, the addition of theme five in the main framework changed the results of this
program. Theme five is associated with cross-sector development. The awareness levels of
the urban population were high, they were aware of the definitions of domestic violence.
However, the rural sector of the country was unclear. For instance, women in the rural areas
of Australia were unaware of the fact that an act of violence performed by an intimate partner
is a crime and the offender can be booked under adequate laws.
Prior to the certain campaigns, many women were not aware of their rights during court
proceedings. (National Symposium on Violence against women and girls with disabilities,
2013).
In the year 2016, the Australian government initiated "Stop it and Start Campaign." This
campaign created a model for many NGO's and other socially concerned bodies. Many more
NGO’s joined the frontline by launching similar campaigns. Reclaim the Night (RTN), and
“White Ribbon Australia” (WRA) are primary among them. This example gives a clear
picture where the addition of implementation of theme five in the existing program creates
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