“I hope to be part of a Royal Commission that presents findings that will change lives and, hopefully, save them.”

So says Natasha Stott Despoja AO, who will lead the state’s Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.

Ms Stott Despoja's qualifications have her well placed to take on the role of Royal Commissioner.

In July 2013, she was named the founding Chair of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and children. She was appointed life patron of Our Watch in August 2022.

Ms Stott Despoja served as national Ambassador for Women and Girls from 2013 to 2016 and was a member of the World Bank’s Gender Advisory Council from 2015 to 2017.

She is currently a member of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and served on the 2017 UN High Level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and Adolescents.

A former Leader of the Australian Democrats and Senator for South Australia, Ms Stott Despoja is also the author of the book “On Violence”.

The Royal Commission is expected to take 12 months, and will have powers to recommend policy, legislative, administrative and structural reform.

It will formally commence on 1 July, however Ms Stott Despoja will soon begin preliminary work.

The Royal Commission will examine five key themes, aligned with the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032:

• Prevention: How South Australia can facilitate widespread change in the underlying social drivers of domestic, family and sexual violence;
• Early intervention: How South Australia can improve effective early intervention through identification and support of individuals who are at high risk of experiencing or perpetrating domestic, family and sexual violence;
• Response: How South Australia can ensure best practice response to family, domestic and sexual violence through the provision of services and supports;
• Recovery and healing: How South Australia can embed an approach that supports recovery and healing through reducing the risk of re-traumatisation and supporting victim-survivors to be safe and healthy;
• Coordination: How government agencies, non-government organisations and communities can better integrate and coordinate efforts across the spectrum of prevention, early intervention, response and recovery.

The Royal Commission will have a strong focus on empowering the voices of survivors and will help shift community understanding and discourse about domestic, family and sexual violence.

Ms Stott Despoja commended the state government on establishing the Royal Commission and acknowledged the tireless work of the sector for advocating for such an inquiry.

“The Terms of Reference are comprehensive and broad ranging,” Ms Stott Despoja said.

“They are underpinned by an intersectional approach, which is especially critical given the high rates of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children and the violence perpetuated against women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and women with a disability.

“I may bring decades of policy work, have experience as a legislator for more than a decade, and have worked with an organisation specialising in primary prevention of violence against women and their children for the past 10 years (Our Watch), but mostly I am driven by a desire to see this violence eliminated in South Australia and beyond.”