We know that unequal access to power and resources is the main cause of violence against women and that economic participation is a key indicator of gender equality. So, what does this look like here in Australia? Well, not so great. Women are significantly more likely to be living in poverty than men, with 14.7% of women compared with 13% of all men experiencing poverty in 2011-12. On average, women need to work 65 extra days in a year to earn the same as men. 

On a local level, 42% of women in the City of Kingston earn less than $400 per week compared to 28% of men. On average, women need to work 65 extra days in a year to earn the same as men. The majority of unpaid caring work is undertaken by women. Women are twice as likely to be underemployed than men, and are retiring with around half the savings of men. The gender pay gap, for full-time working Australian women over a typical 45 year career equates to about $700,000. We also know that these statistics are even worse for Indigenous women, women with disabilities and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 

Given all of this, it is perhaps unsurprising that experiencing violence from an intimate partner is one of the key causes of homelessness for women and their children. Women living in poverty who experience violence within relationships have fewer options to seek safety, due to their lack of income and limited access to resources. 

All things being equal, there would be no violence against women.

#Image designed by by the Integrated Family Violence Partnership Southern Melbourne