People Are Calling Peter Dutton A Hypocrite For Supporting White Ribbon Day

    The outrage was sparked by the immigration minister tweeting "I say violence against women and children is just plain wrong".

    Alex Lee
    by Alex Lee

    BuzzFeed News Reporter, Australia

    Immigration minister Peter Dutton has faced a barrage of criticism online after tweeting in support of White Ribbon Day.

    Peter Dutton @PeterDutton_MP

    On this #WhiteRibbonDay & every day, I say violence against women and children is just plain wrong

    Reply Retweet Favorite

    People thought it was a bit rich for Dutton to declare "violence against women and children is just plain wrong," when there are women and children asylum seekers suffering abuse in immigration detention centres.

    Twitter: @PeterDutton_MP

    According to the latest figures from the immigration and border protection department, there are 262 women and 164 children being held in detention centres in Australia and offshore.

    Victoria Martin-Iverson / Refugee Rights Action Network / Via abc.net.au

    Australian of the year and family violence campaigner Rosie Batty called on the prime minister to shut down the offshore detention centres, in an open letter signed by 1,200 prominent Australians.

    Ms Batty wrote: "Those who care about violence against women and children need to care about what happens to people elsewhere under our care."

    Among those who refuted the immigration minister's declaration were staff at the Human Rights Law Centre.

    Rachel Ball @RachelHRLC

    Then the treatment of women and children in your Nauru camp is "just plain wrong", @PeterDutton_MP https://t.co/xnqvaiSqpx

    Reply Retweet Favorite
    Twitter: @TomHRLC

    The irony was just too much for some people.

    Twitter: @jojobananas

    "Mandatory detention of them is state-sanctioned violence," responded one person on Twitter.

    Twitter: @PeterDutton_MP

    Just this week, Australia was admonished by the secretary-general of the UN for its immigration policy of mandatory detention for anyone who attempts to come to Australia by boat.

    Gabrielle Dunlevy / AAPIMAGE

    In a statement, the United Nations said Mr Ban "expressed concern over the detention conditions in Australia's offshore processing centres" and encouraged Mr Turnbull to "reconsider" Operation Sovereign Borders.

    Earlier this month, Australia faced international condemnation from 107 countries, including Iran and North Korea, for its asylum policies.

    A senate inquiry looking into conditions at the Nauru detention centre found evidence of human rights abuses, self-harm, neglect and poor living standards.

    The company running the detention centres, Transfield Services, gave evidence that there had been 67 allegations of child abuse in Nauru.

    400 doctors from the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne refused to discharge asylum seeker children back into detention.

    And last month, a 23-year-old pregnant refugee from Somalia who says she was raped on Nauru had to be flown back to Australia to have an abortion.

    With all that in mind, some people thought this was a more accurate depiction of Dutton's pledge should look like this:

    Marcus @registradus

    I fixed it for you @PeterDutton_MP @MarkDiStef @dannolan

    Reply Retweet Favorite