Australia in Switzerland
Bern and Geneva
Switzerland, Liechtenstein

statement601

Human Rights Council - 26th Regular Session

Item 3
Clustered Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences and the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights

Australian Statement
11 June 2014


Australia thanks the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, its Causes and Consequences and the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights for their reports.

Australia does not tolerate violence against women, any time, any place.

Australia’s commitment to empowering women is reflected in our domestic policies and foreign policy and development agenda.

Australia’s National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 (the National Plan) is a 12-year strategy with a vision that women and their children live free from violence in safe communities.

The National Plan has a strong focus on stopping violence before it occurs and on changing community attitudes around both gender equality and violence to effect long-term change. It also focuses on ensuring that services meet the needs of women and children who have experienced violence, holding perpetrators to account, and improving the evidence base.

We share the Special Rapporteur’s concern that violence against women cannot be analysed in isolation of individual, institutional and structural factors that shape the lives of women, and that these factors demand gender-specific approaches.

We note the Special Rapporteur’s comments regarding states’ effective responses to violence, which entail primary prevention activities such as developing gender equality frameworks and promoting attitudinal change. Given Australia has a strong focus on primary prevention, we are interested to hear the Special Rapporteur’s views on international examples of measures that are effective in preventing violence.

Australia congratulates Philip Alston on his appointment as Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights.

The Special Rapporteur draws attention to taxation policies in addressing extreme poverty. We note that Australia has prioritised international tax reform and domestic resource mobilisation during its presidency of the G20. The G20 is taking action to ensure that profits are taxed where activities derive profits and where value is created. The G20 is also taking action to minimise opportunities for tax evasion, including promoting automatic exchange of information for tax purposes.