Jacquie Petrusma,Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence
Today we recognise and acknowledge International Women's Day, which is an important opportunity to reflect on progress and the actions we need to take to create a more equal future for us all by eliminating all forms of gender based violence, harassment and abuse against women and girls.
Every Tasmanian woman and girl, has the right to live free from all forms of violence, harassment and abuse, and all of us have the responsibility to help make this happen.
That's why eliminating family and sexual violence is a top priority for the Tasmanian Liberal Government, and we are continuing our comprehensive consultation process on Tasmania's next Family and Sexual Violence Action Plan.
Recent national conversations have highlighted the importance of hearing from people with lived experience, which is why we are putting the voices of victim-survivors at the centre of the development of our next Action Plan.
There are five key elements to our public consultation process including:
*The Hearing Lived Experience Survey 2022;
*Establishing a Victim-Survivor Advisory Council, to ensure the Government's policy and program design is continually informed by lived experience;
*Targeted workshops with stakeholders, especially those with diverse lived experience;
*Partnering with Tasmanian Aboriginal people; and
*Public written submissions.
The Hearing Lived Experience Survey 2022 is an online survey for adult victim-survivors with lived experience of family and sexual violence, providing an opportunity for victim-survivors to share their experiences anonymously.
The survey is open for 12 months, giving people a chance to have their say at a time that is safe for them, because we understand that sharing a person's experiences can be traumatic.
All Tasmanians are encouraged to participate in the Hearing Lived Experience Survey, which is available at www.safefromviolence.tas.gov.au.
For Tasmanians who cannot access the internet, the survey will also be available as a hardcopy booklet, which will be available at Service Tasmania outlets and local Neighbourhood Houses from next week.
Pleasingly, we have already received 440 completed survey responses in less than four weeks, which is a fantastic level of response in such a short period of time.
The survey is also achieving a fantastic reach, with ads on social media generating more than 707,000 impressions and more than 8,000 link clicks.
On Facebook, the ad has reached more than 74,000 unique users, and on TikTok it has reached more than 70,000 unique users. An advertising campaign on Snapchat will also begin today.
We are also establishing Tasmania's first-ever Victim-Survivor Advisory Council to inform our next Action Plan as well as provide ongoing advice to the Government during the life of the Action Plan.
The Government will also work in partnership with Tasmanian Aboriginal people during the process to enact the priority reform areas of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap and empowering Tasmanian Aboriginal people to lead responses in their communities.
Since 2015 the Government has invested more than $300 million in direct and indirect services in responding to family and sexual violence, including $63 million for specific measures under our first and second Action Plans. Over the same period, we have also secured a further $8.5 million in investment by the Australian Government.
Our next Action Plan is set to be released in July 2022, and I am committed to working with victim-survivors, key stakeholder groups and service providers towards our shared goal of eliminating violence in Tasmania.
If you or someone you know is impacted by family violence, please call the Family Violence Response and Referral Line 24/7 on 1800 633 937.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual violence, please call the state-wide Sexual Assault Crisis Line 24/7 on 1800 697 877.
In an emergency, always call 000.
