Ending gender-based violence: The cost of inaction is high

Dear friends,

Those who have read my column or have heard me speak know that gender equality is a priority for Australia, and a priority for me.

Gender equality underpins our policies and our development investments – we can’t achieve our vision of a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific without gender equality.

And we can’t achieve equality until we tackle the scourge of gender-based violence.

Globally, more than one in every three women has been beaten, raped or abused in some other way, most often by someone she knows, including her husband or another male family member. In the Philippines, one in five Filipino women aged 15 to 49 has experienced physical violence. In Australia, one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner.

Pervasive gender-based violence causes financial insecurity and hardship, disrupts livelihoods and increases women’s and girls’ vulnerability. It creates barriers to victim-survivors fully participating in society and can prevent women and girls from being empowered to study and work.

Apart from the human cost on the lives of women and children, as an economist, I am all too aware of the negative impact gender-based violence has on national development and social stability.

For example, an International Monetary Fund study shows that an increase in the share of women subject to violence by 1 percent can reduce economic activities by up to 8 percent.

Globally, the economic cost of violence against women and girls is estimated at approximately 2 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), or US$1.5 trillion. The United Nations estimates that by advancing gender equality across public, private and social spheres, US$12 trillion could be added to global GDP by 2025.

Australia’s National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children estimates that gender-based violence costs the Australian economy AU$26 billion each year, with victim-survivors bearing approximately 50 percent of that cost.

Robust responses, including investment in gender-based violence prevention, are essential for building a better future for all.

In October 2022, Australia released a National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children