We are calling on the Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister for Communities Shannon Fentiman to publicly support the inclusion of domestic violence leave in the National Employment Standards (NES).
We want our state government to champion the inclusion of domestic violence leave in the NES at the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Summit on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children later this month.
One woman is killed in Australia almost every week by a partner or ex-partner. (Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC), 2016.)
Two thirds of women experiencing domestic violence also work. Domestic violence doesn’t just happen at home — it follows women to work as well, through threatening emails, phone calls and stalking.
Despite the hundreds of incidents of domestic violence reported in Queensland every day there is no basic entitlement for a worker experiencing such violence to access leave.
Domestic violence leave gives women the time they need to attend counselling and support service appointments, court dates, allows them to move home or take their children to new schools in order to escape the cycle of violence.
A bipartisan approach to domestic violence is needed. We won’t wait. We cannot wait. Join us in our calls to the Premier and the Minister for Women and the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. We need ACTION now.