The Choice: Violence or Poverty with Anne Summers
Join us as we explore Professor Anne Summers' ground-breaking report 'The Choice: Violence or Poverty’, and discuss how we can remove barriers facing women looking to escape partner violence on Tuesday 26 July.
This month, renowned feminist and journalist Professor Anne Summers AO released her ground-breaking report The Choice: Violence or Poverty, revealing many thousands of Australian women are unable to leave violent relationships without being forced into extreme financial hardship.
“Many women are presented with a dire choice: do they stay and risk the violence continuing or even escalating, or leave and face the high probability of a life of ‘policy-induced poverty’?”
- Dr Anne Summers AO
Anne's report shows that the choices, and the consequences, are very stark for women wanting to escape domestic violence. The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children seeks to encourage and support women to leave violent relationships. But government policy, through payments policy and other welfare measures, ensures that as many as half the women who choose to leave will end up in poverty.
The UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion and UTS Business School invite you to a public discussion on the implications of Anne's findings and how we can remove barriers facing women looking to escape partner violence.
Professor Carl Rhodes, Dean, UTS Business School will host a panel discussion with:
- Dr Anne Summers AO, Professor, UTS Business School
- The Hon Anna Bligh AC, CEO, Australian Banking Association
- Leanne Ho, CEO, Economic Justice Australia
About the speakers
PROFESSOR ANNE SUMMERS AO
Anne Summers is a best-selling author, feminist and journalist, with a long and highly accomplished career in the fields of politics, the media, business and the non-government sector in Australia, Europe and the United States. Anne has been a leader in the women’s movement since the early 1970s, is the author of nine books including the classic Damned Whores and God’s Police.
THE HON ANNA BLIGH AC
The Hon Anna Bligh AC is the CEO of the Australian Banking Association. She is a respected Australian leader and former Premier of Queensland. She has been an advocate for education, the role of women in public life, and services to the not-for-profit sector.
LEANNE HO
Leanne Ho is the CEO of Economic Justice Australia. She is a human rights lawyer and leader in the community and pro bono legal sectors. She has previously worked as the legal adviser to United Nations peacekeeping missions and its Human Rights Advisory Panel.
