A busy week in the AWAVA office last week, with the joint report with NATSIWA, NGOs’ Follow-up report to the CEDAW Committee, being finalised, submitted to the CEDAW Committee and published – thanks again to everyone who contributed to, and endorsed the report. All six National Women’s Alliances and over 100 organisations supported it, a fantastic result! – you can read the report in full here.
An update on the National Plan from FaHCSIA’s National Plan Secretariat is now on our website, and we will continue to share these with you as we receive them.
Last week AWAVA also attended the Australian Government and UN Women launch of the Side by Side Women, Peace and Security DVD and Educational Toolkit at Parliament House – you can watch the film here.
And now, the news:
- In Asia, social media is being used to raise awareness and start conversations about violence against women
- This report from Rape Crisis Ireland looks at alcohol consumption and victim blaming
- ACOSS’s Australian Community Sector Survey 2012 report published last week highlights “”Domestic violence and sexual assault support services feel the strain”” 52% of respondents said waiting times for services have increased and, 68% report costs of services exceed revenue
- In a first of its kind in Australia, the city of Monash will launch a $1million preventing violence against women project
- Western Australia will launch GPS Monitoring for sex offenders
- Female Genital Mutiliation is also back in the news, as it becomes increasingly relevant to Australia
Resources
New Resource!
Mental health and psychosocial support for conflict-related sexual violence: principles and interventions produced by the WHO, UNFPA, and UNICEF looks at strategies for supporting victims/survivors of sexual violence in conflict
Upcoming Events!
A reminder – if you or your organisation have an upcoming event that you want to promote, email the details to [email protected] and we will do our best to include it in our events section.
Exciting news: Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women, is visiting Australia this week, AWAVA will be listening to Ms Bachelet speaking on Gender equality: a lived reality? at ANU on 24 August
September
- See the change in date for the Red Cross Trafficking Training in Sydney now 11 September – click here to find out more
- The Participatory Justice and Victims Conference will be held in Canberra, 17-18 September
- The Southern Regional Alliance conference is now open for registrations and will be held 20-21 September
- Take action on Peace Day 21 September, and become part of the largest gathering of people in the name of Peace and non violence. Watch the YouTube clip here
- Standing firm for change: a journey to justice is a national conference run by the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention & Legal Service Victoria. The conference will be held on 21-23 November 2012, in Melbourne. Registration is open until 30 September
Later
- The No To Violence conference is in November 2012
- Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference in Melbourne, November 2012
- Australian Women’s Coalition is calling young women between 18 – 30 years who live, study or work in Auburn, Bankstown, Liverpool or Coffs Harbour NSW, or in Canberra, ACT to be a part of SHOUT! A series of three free workshops will run in each location, complemented by an online network of support and skills-sharing and a local network of participants and AWC member organisations. The workshops will culminate in community events on Harmony Day next year, 21 March 2013. Find out more here
- Internationally: The FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children (School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University), in partnership with the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC), the Canadian Observatory on the Justice System™s Response to Intimate Partner Violence, and the BC Society of Transition Houses, invites you to join the 2012 National Research Day conference, held 7-9 November in Vancouver