Lawyers, politicians, teachers and local government leaders to name a few are typical of your everyday progressive activist with much to say and do in and around our local communities, universities and parliaments. 

Their very existence is either denied or their numbers much understated by their more moderate work colleagues. The sad fact is the denial by so many of their existence and influence provides a breeding ground for the activist to pursue their fanatical causes seemingly driven by warped ideology.

Their insatiable appetite for the need for control and influence is openly on display when they challenge regularly the status quo and standard norms. The display of outrageous and lewd behaviour is standard procedure for these individuals and justified as a protest against more normal behaviour.

Domestic violence is a crisis in Australia and it’s getting worse. In 2017, 53 women were killed by domestic violence. As of 8 December 2018, that number stands at 66. That’s one women killed every five days. And this number doesn’t include all the rapes and strangulations and attempted murders. It doesn’t include at least 18 children who have also been killed as a result of family violence this year.

In NSW, we spend half of what Victoria spends on preventing family violence. Our women’s shelters are often, if not always, full. NSW is the only state or territory that has not signed up to and contributed funding to Our Watch, a ground-breaking organisation set up to drive nationwide change in the culture, behaviours and power imbalances that lead to violence against women and their children.

In 2016-17, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Pru Goward, said the government spent $59 million on all homelessness services for women, including women's refuges. But this is woefully inadequate and every day women and their children escaping violent men are turned away from refuges in NSW. If the government can spend $87 million per year on advertising, then surely we can make sure there is adequate investment in providing shelter to women fleeing violence at home.

Recently the NSW Women’s Alliance launched A Safe State, a comprehensive policy platform for preventing and responding to sexual, domestic and family violence. 

The platform has 49 recommendations for funding, law and policy change including: establishing an independent statutory body for the primary prevention of gender-based violence; making education about gender-based violence a key priority in NSW secondary schools; decriminalising abortion; an additional $310 million over four years for specialists domestic and family violence services; development of a specific Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander led strategy to prevent violence; an additional $1.7 million per year in funding for the NSW Rape Crisis Centre; an additional $25.86 million per year in funding for specialist women’s legal services and community legal centres; and improved training for NSW Police Officers on how to respond appropriately to sexual, domestic and family violence.

Every person has the right to be safe and to live free from violence and government is responsible for ensuring that every person experiencing, or who has experienced, sexual, domestic and family violence is supported to heal, has a safe home and can access justice.  

Surely we can all agree to this?