Historical Background of National Plan on Violence Against Women

This report examines the 'National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children' in Australia. It begins with an introduction highlighting the prevalence of domestic violence, family violence, and sexual assault. The discussion section delves into the policy's formation, emphasizing its role in addressing violence against women and children, and its vision for a safe society. It explores the principles at stake, analyzing limitations like data constraints. Furthermore, the report identifies issue drivers, such as the increasing role of bystanders and the influence of gender inequality, and it analyzes media portrayals of the policy, including community-based approaches and social media campaigns. The conclusion summarizes the historical context, issue drivers, and media representation of the policy, highlighting areas needing future amendments. The report references key studies and reports to support its analysis.

Running head: 2018 PAPER 6
2018 Paper 6
Student’s Name
University Name
Author’s Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................3
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................6
Reference List............................................................................................................................7

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Introduction
Domestic as well as family violence along with sexual assault are crimes that need to
be immediately stopped in Australia. Currently, in Australia, Chen and Chan (2016),
informed that one among every three women have already experienced physical violence and
one among five women above the age of 15 have been victim of social violence (2010 to
2022: The National Plan). The paper will explain the historical surrounding of “The National
Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Their Children policy” along with analysing the
issue drivers along with media representation of this policy.
Discussion
Reasons and Ways of the Policy Formation
After the release of the plan in the year 2011, the “The National Plan to Reduce
Violence against Women and Their Children policy” has turned out to be an exhibition for
the society to understand and realise what the concerned authorities have been doing to
mitigate the issue of violence on the women or children in Australia (Ellsberg et al. 2015).
The vision of this National Plan is to ensure a society where the Australians can live in an
absolutely violence free and safe community (García-Moreno et al. 2015). This National Plan
emphatically focuses up on 2 particular types of high-level violent crimes:
i) Domestic as well as family violence
ii) Sexual assault
Research exhibits that one strong link exists between the violence against women as
well as their children in Australia and the way people perceive the role of men and women in
the Australian society (Jewkes, Flood and Lang 2015). This National plan gives impetus to
stopping the criminological acts committed against women before they occur as a primary

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cause along with supporting women having miserable experience of physical as well sexual
violence to live freely in the mainstream society and lastly stopping men from indulging in
these criminal acts through “Our WATCH” (Michau et al. 2015).
Principles at Stake
In the implementation of “The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and
Their Children policy” there are certain principles those are observed to be at stake. The
action plan was actually a modified version of the first plan aimed at fulfilling the loopholes
of the first plan (Salter 2016). The main aim of the second plan was to broaden the social
communication so as to engage more sectors and community welfare groups with the plan.
There are certain loopholes in the principles developed by “The National Research
Organisation” for women safety in Australia was formed along with other agencies like Our
WATCH and the social Marketing Campaign: Line. There are certain other limitations to the
principles of this policy, for instance data regarding violations against women and children is
observed to be limited that did not consider including data regarding jurisdictions (Ellsberg et
al. 2015).
Issue Drivers and Media Portray of Policy
Certain drivers that resulted in issues regarding the policy “National plan to reduce
violence against women and their children policy” include an increasing interest in the
“bystanders” potential in playing an important function in order to respond to the violence on
women (Ellsberg et al. 2015). Moreover, other drivers also include existence of people those
are not totally associated with violence along with the drivers like sexism can have a vital
function in preventing it.
Media portray of the policy includes certain community-based approaches employing
social media in order to focus on the importance along with impact of violence on women

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that reports on troll of women’s violent deaths all through Australia. Moreover, factors
related inequality among gender serves as the most regular violence drivers against women
that results in gendered violence patterns. Such identified factors are also termed as gendered
violence drivers against women (Ellsberg et al. 2015).
Conclusion
The paper explained the historical surrounding of “The National Plan to Reduce
Violence against Women and Their Children policy” along with analysing the drivers of
issues and media representation of this policy. The paper revealed that in the implementation
of “The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Their Children policy” there
are certain principles those are observed to be at stake. Considering the same, there are
certain other limitations to the principles of this policy, for instance data regarding violations
against women and children is observed to be limited that did not consider including data
regarding jurisdictions that are needed to be addressed in the future amendments of this
policy.

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Reference List
Chen, M. and Chan, K.L., 2016. Effects of parenting programs on child maltreatment
prevention: A meta-analysis. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17(1), pp.88-104.
Ellsberg, M., Arango, D.J., Morton, M., Gennari, F., Kiplesund, S., Contreras, M. and Watts,
C., 2015. Prevention of violence against women and girls: what does the evidence say?. The
Lancet, 385(9977), pp.1555-1566.
García-Moreno, C., Zimmerman, C., Morris-Gehring, A., Heise, L., Amin, A., Abrahams, N.,
Montoya, O., Bhate-Deosthali, P., Kilonzo, N. and Watts, C., 2015. Addressing violence
against women: a call to action. The Lancet, 385(9978), pp.1685-1695.
Jewkes, R., Flood, M. and Lang, J., 2015. From work with men and boys to changes of social
norms and reduction of inequities in gender relations: a conceptual shift in prevention of
violence against women and girls. The Lancet, 385(9977), pp.1580-1589.
Michau, L., Horn, J., Bank, A., Dutt, M. and Zimmerman, C., 2015. Prevention of violence
against women and girls: lessons from practice. The Lancet, 385(9978), pp.1672-1684.
Salter, M., 2016. ‘Real men don't hit women’: Constructing masculinity in the prevention of
violence against women. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 49(4), pp.463-
479.