3 key updates to Change the Story: Our Watch's national framework to prevent violence against women

Today, Our Watch launched the second edition of Change the story, an evidence-based framework that guides a coordinated national approach to preventing violence against women. It was my honour to speak at the launch.

In many ways, we all wish we didn’t need this second edition. We all wish that violence against women was no longer a national epidemic, that women weren’t being killed by their partners, every single week.

But while we have made progress, we have a long way to go!

Ending violence against women is challenging work. Those who work in this field are trailblazers in many ways. The original Change the story was the first of its kind in the world – an evidence-based framework to guide a coordinated national approach to preventing violence against women.

But as trailblazers we must always be learning, evolving, doing better. And that is what Change the Story, version 2 reflects.

It solidifies what we already knew in terms of a clear understanding of the gendered drivers of violence and the essential actions needed. But it also demonstrates all that we have learned in the last 7 years in Australia and internationally – from new research and evidence, through practice-based learnings, and from victim-survivors themselves.

First, It goes beyond a focus on individual behaviours to consider the broader social, political, and economic factors that drive violence against women. With 1 in 2 women experiencing sexual harassment in their lifetime, and 1 in 3 experienced physical violence since the age of 15, we know this is not an individual problem. It is not the problem of a few bad men, or the problem of an unfortunate few women. This is a deep-rooted cultural and systemic problem in Australia. And to prevent it, we need systemic and structural change. We must promote the equal distribution of power, resources and opportunities between people of all genders. 

Second, the updated framework strengthens its focus on the connection between harmful forms of masculinity, gender inequity and violence against women and points to the importance of effectively engaging men and boys in prevention work.  

I know sometimes we find it hard to name. But let’s be clear, violence against women is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men. In 2012, 95% of men and 94% of women who experienced violence did so at the hands of a male perpetrator. 2018 data suggests women are sexually assaulted at a rate almost seven times higher than men.

For too long we have seen this as a women’s issue. It has been framed as an issue for victims to solve. And in many cases for victims to prove their own victimisation. All the time, against the backdrop of a culture of silencing, blaming, minimising and trivialising our experiences.

I designed and led the largest multi-country Study on men’s perpetration of violence in the Asia Pacific region with the United Nations, so I know firsthand how important this data is in informing the development of effective prevention programs and policies. This is not about BLAME, it is about meaningful CHANGE. We will never succeed in ending violence against women until we address the drivers of perpetration, not just the drivers of victimisation!

Third, there is an expanded focus on how gender inequality intersects with other forms of inequality and oppression - racism, ableism, ageism, heteronormativity, cissexism, class discrimination, and the ongoing and historical impacts of colonisation.

Violence against women touches all of us. But some women face greater risks than others and this new edition of Change the story shows much more clearly how addressing all of these intersections is a critical part of prevention work. In that way we can ensure that we are addressing all forms of violence against all women.

With these three new areas of focus, I hope we can all work to make greater progress in ending violence against women.