An expert panel examining how to best prevent violence against women and children has called for harsher alcohol and gambling laws to help bring down rates of sexual, domestic and family violence. 

It also recommended funding more crisis accommodation, and the development of a national response to online misogyny and radicalisation among other measures.

The so-called “rapid review” was set up following an emergency meeting of national cabinet in May, which was held in response to a spike in the number of women being killed.

The first recommendation of the group is to “explicitly prioritise the experiences and needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”, though some Indigenous women have told the ABC those running the process failed to consult with them. 

The rapid review was co-led by family, domestic and sexual violence commissioner Micaela Cronin, the executive director of the Commonwealth Office for Women, Padma Raman, and the secretary of the Department of Social Services, Ray Griggs.

Alcohol and gambling blamed for abuse

The panel said alcohol, gambling and porn companies had not been proactive in addressing the impact their products and business models have on the severity of violence and abuse against women and children.

“The review recommends that governments review and amend alcohol and gambling regulatory environments to prioritise the prevention of DFSV [domestic, family and sexual violence],” it read.

“This includes through restrictions on alcohol sale, advertising and delivery time frames; restrictions leading to a total ban on advertising in gambling; and an examination of the density of electronic gaming machines and use of online gambling in relation to DSFV prevalence.”

Federal crossbench MPs recently joined researchers in calling for the federal government to do more to reduce the impact of alcohol-exacerbated violence on women and children.

Labor has not said if it will agree to do so, nor has it formally announced if it will follow through on recommendations from a senate inquiry, led by the late Labor MP Peta Murphy, that called for a total ban on gambling advertising.

Ministers have publicly suggested that such a ban would not happen, with a partial ban instead being considered.

The rapid review recommended restrictions on alcohol advertising, sales and delivery times as well as a total ban on gambling ads.

Other industries under the microscope of the review include media and porn.

It called for the establishment of national standards for media reporting on gender-based violence and for the government to ensure its pilot of online age-verification is conducted with major social media platforms.

Currently, the government’s age assurance trial doesn’t require those companies to participate.

Social media companies will be invited to participate in a consultation process as the trial is conducted.

Plan to tackle misogynist digital world 

The review noted that porn had become the default source of sex education for young people and it recommended increasing literacy around issues like choking:

“Age verification will not automatically address porn-related harms, to give young people the context they need to navigate the increasing pornification of mainstream culture, the review recommends continued efforts to give young people literacy on porn, and the associated normalisation of non-fatal strangulation in sex, and therefore also supports increased support and resourcing to specialised sexual violence prevention programs like ‘It’s Time We Talked’.”

Alongside this, the panel called for a national plan designed in conjunction with men and boys to counter the rapid growth of misogynistic content and influencers online.

“This has also been recognised as contributing to a rise in broader radicalisation,” it read.

“Online content remains increasingly unchecked and unmoderated, with young men becoming more isolated the longer that they spend time in these environments.

“Health experts are therefore advocating for the attitudes held up by the ‘manosphere’ to be considered criminogenic in nature, given that misogynistic beliefs are a significant predictor of most forms of violent extremism and violence against women.”

New Medicare item among recommendations

While many of the panel’s recommendations relate to the states and territories, one targeted at the federal government is the establishment of a new Medicare item number.

It would give GPs more time to spend with those affected by domestic, sexual and family violence, though the review said it must come with privacy measures attached.

Minister for Women and Finance Katy Gallagher thanked the panel for the report.

“We know that preventing violence is complex, and the guidance in this report will help government build on the National Plan and its existing work and consider how to further prevent violence — to stop it from occurring in the first instance, to prevent it from escalating, and to stop women being killed,” she said in a statement on Friday.

“This report builds on the extensive work underway across the women’s safety sector and provides important insights to guide our prevention efforts to ensure they continue to be effectively targeted, with the highest possible impact.”

Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth said there needs to be persistent and consistent attention on the issue.

“We know there are emerging issues in this space, such as some of the extreme misogynistic content that is fed to young people online and we need to be assessing and having conversations about issues we may not have previously so we can bolster our efforts,” she said.

“Australia has seen high levels of domestic and family violence for too long. We all need to work together, governments, businesses and the broader community to make the change we want to see.”

Following the federal budget, the government was criticised by a number of frontline workers who said it did not adequately follow through on commitments to properly fund services fighting against violence. 

Community legal centres helping those fleeing violence want the government to do more in the mid-year financial outlook update and have called on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to double funding to the sector.