The Morrison Government is investing $15million over the next three years in Australia's National ResearchOrganisation for Women's Safety (ANROWS).
This funding will support ANROWS to produce,disseminate and promote new research into domestic and family violence andsexual assault.
ANROWS was established in 2013 as aninitiative of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and theirChildren 2010‑2022.
Minister for Families and Social Services PaulFletcher said ANROWS plays an important role in ensuring that domestic andfamily violence services and policy makers have access to high qualityresearch.
"Our Government's first priority is to keepAustralians safe. An integral part of achieving this is building a strong bodyof evidence-based research on domestic, family, and sexual violence, in orderto determine what works in addressing the scourge of domestic violence inthe community," said Mr Fletcher.
"This funding will also enable ANROWS toundertake targeted research on specific groups experiencing violence, such aswomen with disability, women from culturally and linguistically diversecommunities, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women."
Under the Fourth Action Plan of the NationalPlan, ANROWS will receive $5.64 million to undertake a range of researchand evaluation projects.
An additional $4.3 million will support ANROWSto carry out the 2021 round of the National Community Attitudes towardsViolence against Women Survey (NCAS), and undertake further research into the2017 NCAS findings.
In addition, the Commonwealth will provideANROWS with $1.7 million in core funding per annum, for the next three years,bringing the total Commonwealth investment in ANROWS to $15 million.
The Morrison Government recently announced thelargest ever Commonwealth investment of $328 million investment in the FourthAction Plan, which includes a total of $9.2 million in research funding,including the $5.64 million for ANROWS.
The remaining funding will support keyagencies such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics and the AustralianInstitute of Health and Welfare to undertake ongoing work to address data gapsand produce high quality reports on family, domestic and sexual violence. Itwill also support evaluations of the National Plan and National Plan partner,Our Watch.
Minister Fletcher also announced a commitmentof $480,000 for the Penrith Women's Health Centre if the Morrison Government isre-elected.
"This funding commitment will improve thesafety and resilience of women and children in Penrith and surroundsexperiencing or at risk of family and domestic violence, through allocation ofadditional caseworkers and physical resources," said Mr Fletcher.
Federal Liberal Candidate for Lindsay, MelissaMcIntosh welcomed today's announcement and highlighted the importance of thiscommitment for Penrith.
"The statistics on this issue are shocking -one in six women have experienced physical or sexual violence by a current orformer partner since the age of 15. This figure increases to nearly one in fourwomen when violence by boyfriends, girlfriends and dates is included," MsMcIntosh said.
"Whether it's at home, in the workplace, inour communities or online, all women and children deserve to be safe."
"This additional support for the PenrithWomen's Health Centre will improve resilience for vulnerable women and childrenexperiencing or at risk of family and domestic violence - who requireassistance from community support services.
