We are back at our desks here at AWAVA after a week away in the NT and running the first of our community engagement events in Katherine.  You can read more about how the event went here.

It’s been a big week.

National news

  • FaHCSIA has released an Easy English version of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children.  Its available for download about three-quarters down this page on FaHCSIA’s website.
  • Violence against women is strongly correlated with both financial and personal stress according to a new study released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
  • The transcript of Prime Minister Gillard’s Inaugural EMILY’s List Oration is now available if you didn’t quite make it to the event. Our sources tell us the PM got a rousing chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ at the event as well.
  • The Protection of Australia’s Children Research Audit 1995-2010 is now available to download from the national child protection clearinghouse. The audit covered Australian research projects (including program evaluations) undertaken during the 1995-2010 period on topics relating to the protection of children.
  • A new female-only psychiatric unit has been opened at the Alfred hospital in Melbourne following complaints of harassment and sexual assault by male patients. Read more here.
  • Lesley Cannold wrote an article this week that presented some interesting statistics about women’s reasons for late term abortion and they include rape, incest and domestic violence and honour killings.  She notes that psychosocial reasons for late term abortion also include “cases of women from religious migrant families that might, upon learning of the pregnancy, set them alight”.
  • In a week when the Tasmanian House of Assembly gave in principle support for same-sex marriage, the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick called for greater inclusion of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, intersex and queer in domestic violence responses. Services like the Brisbane Domestic Violence Advocacy Service, who are already doing this, also got coverage.
  • Sex, Love and Other Stuff was officially launched on Thursday 22 September by the Hon. Mary Wooldridge, Minister for Mental Health, Women’s Affairs and Community Services, at DVRCV’s annual Partners in Prevention forum held in Melbourne.

Internationally

  • Foreign Minister, Kevin Rudd, spoke out about violence against women at a UN Forum earlier this week.
  • Ireland has been urged to sign a groundbreaking European convention on preventing violence against women and domestic violence according to the Irish Examiner.
  • There was a call for domestic violence to be counted in South African crime statistics earlier this month.
  • The United Nations released a report last week on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Timor-Leste and highlighted sexual violence against women with disabilities (see page 27 of the report).
  • A group called Walk 4 Life finished a walk across Canada from Vancouver to Ottawa and conducted a protest about the rising levels of violence against Indigenous women and growing number of  murdered and missing Aboriginal women. There was press coverage here and here.
  • In New Dehli, the Hindustani Times reports that a recent UN report has found that Domestic Violence kills more than terror attacks. 8,383 deaths because of domestic violence in 2009 as compared to 2,231 deaths resulting for terror activities including left wing extremism. It goes on to say “Apart from deaths, about 90,000 complaints of domestic violence were received in 2009, indicating that dowry is considered as a perfect instrument to “get rich quick” and “upward material mobility”.”