I rise tonight to address the issue of domestic violence in Australia.

Nine years ago today, the United Nations General Assembly declared that November 25, would be observed as the international day for the elimination of violence against women, with the white ribbon becoming the global symbol of solidarity.

The origins of 25 November as the International Day to eliminate violence against women go back more than four decades, when three Mirabal sisters from the Dominican Republic were killed for their political activism. The sisters became a symbol of the crisis of violence against women in Latin America, with November 25 proclaimed as the date to not only commemorate their lives, but also promote global recognition of gender-based violence.

Moved jointly by Senator Scott Ludlam and Senator Hanson-Young.

That the Senate

(a) notes that:
(i) today marks the ninth anniversary of White Ribbon Day, the symbol of the United Nations’ International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women;
(ii) White Ribbon Day marks the start of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence, a global event calling on action to end violence against women;