The Commonwealth of Australia

United Nation Women

Combating Woman’s Structural Violance in The Socio-political Aspects
St Nurhazana s-Stikes Panakkukang Makassar

“Eradicating Women's Violence in the Seat of Australian Parliament”

  Australian women no longer want to be involved in politics. There are a number of

perceptions that say sexist and misogynistic persecution often emerges as Australia falls in the
global ranking regarding women's representation in the socio-political field. The Australian
parliament appears to be more inclined to favor more talkative and aggressive male MPs than
women. Women are often seen as unequal in politics and as other decision-making bodies. It is
not uncommon for women politicians to be judged on their dress code, appearance, family
responsibilities, and their competence. Because women are considered weak, various forms of
violence and harassment both verbally and physically arise.

Quoted from detik.com (2019). When this weekend Australia faces a general election, the
BBC looks at what is considered a 'women's problem' in Australian politics. Sarah Hanson-
Young was 25 years old when she won a seat in the Australian Senate in 2007. She is the
youngest woman to do that. The Green Party member has always been outspoken on issues that
are considered progressive and women's rights. But he also spoke at length about his conflicting
attitudes with his political opponents, especially regarding his "dress, body and sexual life." This
is an illustration that the position of women in politicians is currently considered very low.

In addition, often not all women report various types of violations that they have
experienced in their lives. This can range from factors such as shame, guilt, blackmail, facing
threats, feelings of insecurity and fear, to a lack of support and understanding. Women often feel
they are not listened to or are taken seriously or assume that they are doing violence to
themselves. Therefore, reporting remains a challenge. In fact, reporting often elicits controversial
reactions in which victims are watched, exposed and intimidated.

Seeing the violence against women in the political field, we believe that the power to
protect women needs to be increased. Australia has proposed 3 main solutions:
1.  Violence against women politicians needs to be handled by all parties, both education,
information, campaigns from the government to improve the status of women in politics
and the community must erase ancient stereotypes and gender bias
2.  Establish a special task force to assist women in office where the task force handles
complaints, problems and challenges to ensure sustainable solutions for women
politicians in the future.
3.  To combat violence in politics and in all public domains, a strong and comprehensive
approach needs to be used, starting from changing views and ideas about the
contribution of women in our society and by placing women as human beings in our
social, political and economic structures.