As Australians sit in their homes tonight, many of us will hear the sound of a police siren in the distance.

We might ask ourselves: What are police dealing with in my neighbourhood? A robbery? A car accident? But the stark reality is this: nearly 100,000 police emergency call-outs each year come in response to domestic violence. One woman dies at the hands of a partner each week.

But these figures are not new. We’ve all heard them before. They ring in our ears like an ongoing echo of shame. And they are about people’s lives.

It’s time to stop talking. It is time to act. A Labor government will act. We will make addressing women’s safety a national priority.

If elected, Labor will invest $153 million to hire 500 new community workers to help women and children escape violence.

These workers will be placed in community services that work with families leaving abusive situations. These services do incredible work on the front-lines of this crisis. But they are overstretched and under-resourced.

This funding could provide an extra case worker to stand by a woman as she navigates the difficult path of setting up a new life.

It could be a financial adviser helping a woman clear the debts that an abusive partner racked up in her name. Or a counsellor to help children sort through and make sense of what they have witnessed or felt.

Half of these 500 new community sector workers will be located in rural and regional communities.

This is critical. While services are inadequate across the nation, it is rural and regional Australia where women and children have the greatest difficulty in accessing the help they need to be safe.

When it comes to Western Australia, this investment is aimed at reversing a concerning trend.

Police figures show that nationally in 2020, the incidence of family-related violence climbed 13 per cent on the previous year.

But in WA, the figure rose by 15.7 per cent. Sixty-five per cent of assaults and 42 per cent of murders recorded in WA relate to family and domestic violence.

Western Australia’s families need action and accountability.

Labor will establish a new Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner to act as a strong voice for survivors, and to provide accountability and co-ordination for violence prevention efforts.

The commissioner will work across all levels of government and with community organisations ensuring we place resources where they are most needed, and advise whether our policies are working.

The commissioner will have another important task: to raise the profile of this devastating crisis, making sure we are having the tough and honest conversations that can make real and lasting change.

These two new announcements — on community workers and a commissioner — form part of Labor’s co-ordinated plan to address women’s safety.

Right now, it feels like the deck is stacked against women and children trying to leave abusive homes.

Every night, too many are forced to sleep in their car, couch surf or even return to a violent partner because services have no available housing. That’s a disgrace. When a woman makes the courageous step to leave an abusive relationship, it is our obligation to get her the help she needs.

Labor will invest $100 million in crisis accommodation and build 4000 homes for women and children fleeing violence and older women on low incomes who are at risk of homelessness.

Labor will introduce 10 days paid domestic violence leave — because no woman should have to choose between her job and leaving an abusive relationship.

Together these measures will make a real difference. They will save lives.

Domestic violence is a hidden evil that needs to be flushed out of the darkness. A Labor government under my leadership will take it seriously and act with purpose. We need more resources and more Federal leadership to co-ordinate the good work happening at different levels of government and in the community.

But individuals must also play their part. And while this is an issue for all of us, men must step up. We can’t just be allies in words, we must be allies in action, too. We must hold ourselves accountable, talk about behaviour and act when we see problems.

Thursday was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It’s a chance to talk about how we can make a real change on domestic violence. It’s an opportunity to do the right thing.

This opinion piece was first published in the West Australian on Friday, 26 November 2021.