In HASS this term we’re learning about politics and were given the task of writing a letter to the MP in our area about a problem that’s happening more frequently, I chose the safety of women because I want the women in Australia to feel safe and happy here.
Dear Sir,
I am writing to you about my concerns about the safety of women in Australia.
As you may know, women are the most prominent targets of rape, murder, abuse, and violence. 1 in 3 Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, 1 in 5 Australian women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15 and 1 in 3 Australian women have experienced physical or sexual violence from a man they know, and I believe this should be stopped or at least reduced.
The issue that’s causing this problem is people who are drunk/unconscious of what they’re doing, they’re just unaware that the woman doesn’t feel very comfortable around them so they continue to do whatever actions they were doing towards them, or they get really angry quickly and this makes them lose control over their actions towards a woman and ends up harming her.
According to an Australian Personal Safety Survey from 2016, 2.2 million Australians have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from a partner and 3.6 million Australians have experienced emotional abuse from a partner. And In July, a survey by the Australian Institute of Criminology revealed almost 10% of Australian women in a relationship had experienced domestic violence during the coronavirus crisis. Two-thirds of the women said the attacks started or became worse during the pandemic, if we continue to not do anything about this, it’s going to become worse and make Australia less liveable and earn a bad reputation.
I understand that this situation isn’t very important right now compared to other problems in Australia, but this problem is the easiest to make a change to it, such as having more open discussions/talks in workspaces, having a zero-tolerance policy for harassment, or investing in self-defence equipment. This can help girls feel safer and more confident to contribute to these discussions, this also demonstrates teamwork and leadership, which is good for their mental health as it shows that they are capable of doing this.
Once again, I ask you to start a change towards this behaviour and introduce something that would make Australia safer.
Yours sincerely,
Anna Wilson