This International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Minns Labor Government reaffirms its commitment to primary prevention - to stop the violence before it starts in our communities.
We stand with all victim-survivors and their families, and acknowledge their strength, courage and resilience.
We mourn those who have lost their lives to gendered violence. Each one of them a mother, sister, daughter, aunt and friend.
Domestic, family and sexual violence incidents remain stubbornly high.
Every violent incident, every murder is unacceptable. We know we must do more.
This year the theme for 16 Days of Activism to End Gender-based Violence is "UNiTE to end digital violence against all women and girls".
We know that technology-facilitated abuse is on the rise. In 2024, the eSafety Commissioner said there had been a significant rise in explicit deepfakes, with potentially a 550 per cent increase year on year since 2019.
The Minns Labor Government understands the responsibility to address digital violence and has:
- Passed new laws to strengthen protections against image-based abuse by outlawing the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes.
- Modernised the definition of stalking to more clearly cover technology facilitated tracking and monitoring conduct.
- Criminalised coercive control.
We have also invested $38 million into rolling out our first primary prevention strategy - to stop violence at the start.
Our response to domestic, family and sexual violence must be multi-faceted.
We are taking a whole-of-community approach because it is only through a shared commitment to cultural change that we can build a New South Wales where every individual can live with dignity, respect and safety.
Support:
For information on Men's Behaviour Change Programs operating in your local area, contact the Men's Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
If you or someone you know are in immediate danger, call the Police on Triple Zero / 000.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic and family violence, call the NSW Domestic Violence Line on 1800 65 64 63 for free counselling and referrals, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For confidential advice, support, and referrals, contact 1800 RESPECT or 13 YARN.
