Walking the Walk: Next Steps Against Family Violence

Where

When

Thursday, 2 Jul 2015, 06:15pm - 07:15pm

Event Status

Past event

After her eleven-year-old son, Luke, was killed by his father in February 2014, Rosie Batty became one of Australia’s most visible advocates for victims of family violence. Her advocacy has led to a royal commission into family violence in Victoria; in January 2015, she was named Australian of the Year.

Batty has succeeded in placing family violence squarely at the forefront of the national conversation. But, as she wrote in a recent article for The Saturday Paper: ‘…policy is what we need. Changing community awareness and being passionate are great things, but the problem also requires nitty-gritty stuff.’

We’ll investigate what this real, practical change in Australia’s relationship to family violence might look like – and grapple with questions of policy – with Human Rights Law Centre executive director Hugh de Kretser, sex discrimination commissioner Elizabeth Broderick, and co-chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples and the National Justice Coalition, Kirstie Parker.

Alongside Rosie Batty and host Joanna Fletcher, they’ll explore what a proper and nuanced response to the complex issue of family violence might entail, and weigh up the roles of law enforcement, government, communities and the legal profession.

Presented in partnership with Human Rights Law Centre and Women’s Legal Service Victoria.

Featuring

Featuring

Rosie Batty

Rosie Batty became an outspoken crusader against family violence following the murder of her son, Luke, in February 2014. Through her personal tragedy she stepped into a leadership role to advocate for victims impacted by family violence. She was named Australian of the Year in January 2015 and made... Read more

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Hugh de Kretser

Hugh de Kretser is the Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre. He has worked on family violence, sexual assault and criminal justice issues for over a decade across his current role and previously as Executive Officer of the Victorian Federation of Community Legal Centres (2007–2013) an... Read more

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Elizabeth Broderick

Elizabeth Broderick is the current Sex Discrimination Commissioner and leader of the Commission’s Review into the Treatment of Women in the Australian Defence Force. Broderick is Global Co-Chair of the Women’s Empowerment Principles Leadership Group, a member of the World Ba... Read more

Kirstie Parker

Kirstie Parker is a Yuwallarai Aboriginal woman from north-western NSW. Parker is an elected Co-Chair of the National Congress for Australia’s First Peoples, co-chairs the national Close the Gap Steering Committee and the National Justice Coalition, and is a Director of Reconciliation Austral... Read more

Joanna Fletcher

Joanna Fletcher has been working on issues arising from relationship breakdown and violence against women for over 14 years. Prior to commencing as CEO of Women’s Legal Service Victoria (WLSV) in 2010, Fletcher managed WLSV’s policy and advocacy work. Fletcher is a memb... Read more

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