3 June 2015 | General Interest
The complete membership of the Government’s Advisory Panel to reduce violence against women has been announced, with Aboriginal candidates Ed Mosby, Vicki Hovane, and the Hon. Bess Price MLA included in the final panel.
The Hon. Bess Nungarrayi Price MLA, Member for Stuart, has been an outspoken advocate for women and children in Aboriginal communities.
She is joined on the panel by well-renowned Queensland psychologist Ed Mosby, from the Helem Yumba Central Queensland Healing Centre, and experienced researcher and practitioner Vicki Hovane, whom currently acts as co-chairperson of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association Steering Committee.
Former Victorian Police Commissioner Ken Lay will Chair the panel; domestic violence advocate and Australian of the Year Rosie Batty will serve as Deputy Chair, alongside Heather Nancarrow, CEO of the Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.
The panel has been established to advise the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) on the issue of domestic and family violence, and make recommendations on the best course of action for response.
The Government has informed that experts included in the panel have been nominated by each state and territory and have specialised knowledge across domestic and family violence, sexual assault, online safety, violence within Indigenous and culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and people with disabilities.
The Advisory Panel will run for up to 18 months and will immediately begin advising COAG on practical ways to address violence against women. The panel will report back to COAG by the end of 2015.
In Australia, one in three women over the age of 15 experiences physical violence in their lifetime and the statistics in relation to women murdered at the hands of a current or former partner are abhorrent.
To learn more about the Advisory Panel, it’s full membership, and the national plan to reduce violence against women and children, read the announcement on the website of the Prime Minister.
