Jacinta Allan needs to do more than walk the protest walk on violence against women

If you were looking for an antidote to Scott Morrison declining to front a women's justice protest in 2021, then Premier Jacinta Allan leading a rally against gender-based violence last weekend probably hit the spot.

The image of Allan – only the second woman to lead the state – and her colleagues guiding 10,000 protesters through Melbourne’s CBD was a powerful one.

Premier Jacinta Allan joined the National Rally Against Violence to protest violence against women over the weekend. Credit: Wayne Taylor

It also proved, again, that Labor is more attuned to the public mood than the Coalition, who were so oblivious to the anger taking over the streets that they scheduled a press conference to talk about hospital funding at the same time as the protesters started their march.

It’s not that hospital deficits aren’t an important issue, but as far as I’m aware, it’s an issue that has failed to energise voters to skip their Sunday brunch and take to the streets in anger.

Reducing gender-based violence is a movement that is seductive to many voters.

A similar wave of fury saw disaffected female voters turn on the Liberal Party at the last federal election, making claims by the opposition during last weekend’s press conference – that the Allan government has its “priorities all wrong” – unlikely to win voters back.

But when one journalist finally prompted the opposition to comment on gendered-based violence, Victorian Liberal MP Georgie Crozier offered this: “The premier herself can go out and attend rallies, but they need to actually deliver.” And on that, it’s hard to disagree.

Allan was passed the premiership baton only eight months ago, so it would be misguided to direct all the anger and blame at a leader clearly fed up with men killing women.

The premier’s first foray into activism was to ensure an inaccurately named “gentlemen’s bar” was forced out of her home town of Bendigo back in the mid-1990s. She was also part of the government that set up the historic Royal Commission into Family Violence in December 2014.

Yet, rates of violence against women and girls in Victoria remain stubbornly high. In Victoria, 39 per cent of women have experienced physical or sexual violence since the age of 15.

Perhaps that’s why the image of Allan and other Labor MPs leading a march of incensed protesters fed up with inaction and holding signs saying “The system has failed us” felt a bit off.

Labor has been in power for 20 of the past 24 years and Allan has been a member of cabinet for more than 85 per cent of that time.

While her passion and commitment can’t be questioned, it’s right that we ask why her government’s policies have failed to significantly improve outcomes for women, despite it spending more money on domestic violence prevention than any other state.

During this week’s national cabinet meeting, governments agreed on a $5000 support payment for women fleeing domestic violence – $1500 in cash and $3500 as a pre-paid card for goods and services. It’s a good start. Research shows that financial barriers are one of the biggest impediments to victim-survivors leaving violent relationships.

But with Melbourne’s average rental prices at $550 a week, $1500 is unlikely to be enough for a bond for a private rental property.

Which brings us to government housing. According to data from the latest Department of Families, Fairness and Housing annual report, the wait time for public rental housing for people fleeing family violence in Victoria is 23.6 months, up from 11 months in 2020-21.

Two full years.

Allan would never be silly enough to say it, but there is an argument that she doesn’t “hold the hose” on this issue, insofar as she is not in the houses of frightened women and children to stop perpetrators, nor on the beat helping police chase down violent thugs.

But she does hold court in cabinet, and there are levers her government can pull to help address the drivers of gender-based violence, provide assistance and support to those who experience it, and help those when they flee.

With social media proving a problematic platform for gender-based violent extremism, perhaps it's time to address the glaring gaps in the law relating to hateful speech on the basis of gender.

This year, cabinet will consider ways to strengthen the state’s anti-vilification protections, presenting another opportunity to tackle the most extreme gendered hate speech. This idea was floated in a 2023 report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which suggested state governments should consider filling the legislative gap by “qualifying gender as a factor for both hate speech and for advocating violence against a group”.

The ASPI report argued that doing so would not only enable a proportionate justice response to counter the most harmful examples of gendered hate speech, but it could also make it easier for social-media platforms to respond to it.

Real life is complex and government policies alone will not eliminate gender-based violence, but it’s one of the best opportunities we have to improve things.

Annika Smethurst is state political editor.

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