Dear Prime Minister,
I must begin this letter by saying that while I am appealing to you as Prime Minister, first and foremost I write this letter to the Minister for Women.
My name is Hannah Diviney and I’m a 16 year old girl from Sydney. I felt compelled to write you this letter because when I opened up my laptop today, on the 12th of September, I wanted to vomit. This feeling was caused by the horrifying statistics regarding violence against women in this country.
You have 3 daughters. A wife. Female colleagues. A nation full of women whom you have a duty to, not only as our nation’s leader, but also as the Minister for Women since 2013. Your job is to protect, provide platforms for and ensure that the women and girls of Australia can thrive.
But we cannot do that at the moment.
I’m sure the idea that 62 Australian women have been killed at the hands of a man in 2015 so far induces the same nausea and outrage in you as it does in me, especially since it is only September and that means 2 women have been killed every single week this year.
Imagine if one of those women had held the knowledge to cure cancer or change the world in some other life-altering way – but they could not because they were trapped in an abusive relationship that ultimately took their life
We need significant and immediate action to be taken for us to end this sickening culture of violence and aggression.
As Minister for Women it is your duty to lead this charge, to influence the attitudes and mindsets of Australian men so they learn that women are valuable, strong and not allowed to be disrespected.
Perhaps this mission for change would be assisted by the rise of more women to prominent positions both within our government and society.
You also need to make women feel protected, safe, strong and equal within this country – but particularly for women who are already trapped in worlds of abuse, you need to allow funding for shelters and programs or helplines so that they can leave violent relationships and not become yet another statistic.
Imagine if it were your daughters who needed help. You’d do anything then, wouldn’t you?
Late last year, you said in an interview that your greatest achievement as Minister for Women was the Carbon Tax. Pardon my ignorance, but I don’t see how that helped women. Perhpas that’s an achievement as Prime Minister, not as the Minister for Women. In fact, pardon me again (it might be the rashness and stubborn nature of a teenager), but I fail to see anything gender-specific that you have achieved for women in the two years you have been in this position.
Feel free to correct me, but that’s how I see it.
But if you could tackle this problem and ensure that no more women were forced to feel weak and powerless against men, that would be the achievement of a lifetime.
You would go down in our nation’s history as a man whose actions speak louder than his words, and you would pave the way for women and girls like me to smash glass ceilings and reach our full potential, changing the world while we’re at it.
I write you this letter as one voice who has the privilege and the fortune of being able to speak up and be heard. I want change so that all members of my family both male and female, both present and future, can live where respect is expected, where there is no silence and where violence and aggression towards women and men is a far-forgotten nightmare of the past.
Sincerely and with great confidence,
Hannah Diviney
Do you think Tony Abbott has done enough as Minister for Women?
Top Comments
When will the judges stop giving perpetrators an easy way out? When will the parole board put the rights and safety of the individual and community before the rights of the perpetrator?
Well let's hope the 'new' prime minister gives women more hope for a peaceful future. In the meantime, aren't we all incredibly proud and delighted by this amazing 16yo, who dares to take this hugely important issue straight to the top.
So what can be done?
Granted, AVO's ironically only protect those who aren't going to be murdered. If you're about to murder your former/ current partner, are you really going to take any notice of a piece of paper which tells you to stay a certain amount of km's away? No. So what else can be done? Educating men is an important option, 100%. They need to learn to diffuse anger by supporting one another more as women do, and seek help for anger management. They really do often feel isolated, and when they lose their closest relationship (regardless of how unhealthy it was), they can feel frustrated and desperate to the point of murdeous rage. But also we need to educate women. In saying this I am ABSOLUTELY NOT pointing any blame at all on women. What I am saying is that in schools perhaps we could educate young girls in the actions of predatory partners. Often those partners are passive aggressive. To totally generalize, the scenario follows certain steps:
1. The woman is treated like a princess in early days, and is swept off her feet by the man.
2. As soon as he feels he 'has' her, his behavior changes and he becomes moody and starts undermining her confidence, finding fault in everything she does.
3. She wonders what she's done wrong, and starts to walk on eggshells, hoping to regain his 'love' and 'respect' (but never can).
4. He cuts off all her lifelines- financially, emotionally, geographically etc....she feels isolated, and continues to pine for the early days when he 'loved' her... Self loathing kicks in.
5. Time erodes her confidence even more and she tends to blame herself (because let's face it, women are ridiculously amazing and care so much about others, which is vital to the continuation of the species).
6. She eventually leaves, and the passive aggressive animal wants to kill, crush and destroy her.
Yes, I believe women need to know these things. I educated my very own niece in these facts, so she saw her partner for what he was and managed to leave him before it was too late. Politicians could start making sure girls get the 'education' they need in love relationships, to at least help them see the signs of an unhealthy predatory relationship. It can only help.