Inquiry into family, domestic and sexual violence
On 31 July 2020, the Australian Council of Trade Unions provided a submission to the House Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs which has been asked to inquire into and report on family, domestic and sexual violence to inform the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.
As the peak body representing workers in Australia the ACTU is well-placed to advocate on behalf of working Australians on this important issue.
Work has always had a central role to play in advancing gender equity and preventing violence against women, through promoting equitable workplace cultures, increasing women’s economic security and supporting women experiencing and escaping from family and domestic violence. The role of work has never been more important to the advancement of gender equality and the prevention of violence against women.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, women were already disadvantaged in our workplace relations system. The pandemic has exacerbated these inequities, including further increasing the risks of violence against women, both at work and at home.
The next National Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children must address these matters.
Below is a summary of the recommendations in the ACTU submission.
Recommendations
The next National Plan must expressly recognise family, domestic and sexual violence against women as a workplace issue and provide specific detail on the need to promote gender equity and better health and safety for women at work through the following key measures:
- A minimum of 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave for every worker
- Reduce insecure work, including a clear and fair definition of casual worker and stronger rights for workers to covert to permanent employment
- Stronger rights for workers to bargain together for safer and fairer workplace conditions and measures to protect and strengthen Awards
- Measures to protect and strengthen superannuation
- A stronger mandate for the Fair Work Commission to proactively tackle gender inequity across all its functions, including better pay equity provisions and an expert Gender Equity Panel
- A new capacity for the Fair Work Commission to deal with sexual harassment and discrimination matters as recommended by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s Respect@Work report
- A new Model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Regulation on Psychosocial Risks at Work, which provides clear duties on employers to manage the risks of violence and harassment at work, as recommended by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner’s Respect@Work Report and the Boland Review into Australia’s Model WHS Laws
- Guaranteed access to secure, quality family friendly working Arrangements for all those workers who need them
- Universal access to quality, affordable Early Childhood Education and care
- Code of Practice which addresses both the physical and psychosocial impacts of COVID-19, including increased risks of violence and harassment
- A minimum of 10 days Paid Pandemic Leave for every worker
- Ratification of the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment 2019 (C.190) The National Plan must address the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on women, including the need for a proper gender analysis of the impact of policy decisions and interventions, equal representation on all COVID-19 committees, and investment in jobs for women during the recovery phase.
To read the full report – click here
