IWDA welcomes inquiry report into women’s human rights

Quietly, on the last parliamentary sitting day for the year, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Human Rights Sub-Committee tabled the report of their inquiry into the human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean–Asia Pacific region. IWDA praises the Committee’s work and that of the many organisations that provided submissions and evidence. The report is a significant resource and its recommendations important, grounded in evidence from diverse sources. We urge the Government to use the recommendations as a framework for action.

Evidence from IWDA’s 30 years of experience working on women’s rights is commonly cited throughout the report. We particularly welcome the recommendations which draw on IWDA’s research with partners, Triple Jeopardy and Do No Harm. The outcomes of the inquiry provide a concrete roadmap for the Australian Government to drive real change for women and girls, backed by adequate resourcing and improved data collection to measure progress.

We congratulate the Committee for its work on the inquiry and look forward to an early, positive response from the Government including resources required to act on these vital recommendations. Security, justice and rights for women and girls in our region require commitments matched with resourcing that reflects the scale of the issues being tackled, and the key role of women’s organisations in creating change.