Today was the first day of the AWAVA members’ symposium. Advisory Group members flew in from across the country meet in Melbourne. This time will be used to help harness and amplify cross-sectoral and cross-jurisdictional efforts to prevent and eliminate gender-based violence. We are very excited to host two exceptional guest speakers – CEO of the White Ribbon Foundation Libby Davies and Emeritus Professor Anne Edwards AO.
Watch this space for progress. Follow us on facebook and twitter for live updates!
Around the nation
- Darwin’s only frontline NGO specialising in sexual assault services, Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Rape, was granted $40,000 until Dec 2013 by the NT Government as part of possible first steps towards an territory-wide strategy to combat violence against women
- The joint National Women’s Alliances campaign ‘Priorities for Women’ was featured in Future Politicians following their interview with Program Manager for Equality Rights Alliance Helen Dalley-Fisher
- In WA, Attorney General Michael Mischin requested the first ever comprehensive review victim/survivors’ experiences of the criminal justice system
- McDonald’s Australia brokered a watershed agreement giving their 85,000 employees to access domestic violence leave
- Furthermore, Swinburne University of Technology finalised a new Enterprise Agreement with the National Tertiary Education Union increasing workplace protections and entitlements for those experiencing domestic violence
- In NSW, the recently formed NSW Domestic and Family Violence Council, which advises government on relevant policy and programs, appointed eight non-government representatives to its existing government membership
- NSW Minister for Women Pru Goward announced a new $1.5 million partnership between Family and Community Services and TAFE NSW to provide education, training and professional development for frontline workers assisting victims/survivors of domestic and family violence
- A two-year research project from the University of Technology Sydney added to the body of evidence confirming that victim/survivors of childhood abuse experience increased rates of chronic health conditions in later life
Around the world
- In Japan, advocates for a United Nations-proclaimed day of remembrance for wartime sex slaves (known as ‘comfort women’) organised a symposium to spearhead their campaign to end wartime sexual assault
- In Fiji, Vanuakula Village took unprecedented steps towards empowering women and communities to overcome gender-based violence because they recognised, “true development cannot be achieved without empowering the women as they are the key agents of change in their communities”
- In the US, news outlet MSNBC cast a critical eye over the most recent moves from the Pentagon to combat sexual assault within its ranks by drafting six new executive actions
- In Canada, growing concerns over the prevalence of violence against women and girls, especially in Indigenous populations, spiralled to new heights with a crucial visit from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Publications and Resources
- The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute published a research and policy bulletin entitled ‘Issue 164: Preventing homelessness for women and children who have experience domestic and family violence’
- The Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault released a new publication called ‘The role of forensic medical evidence in the prosecution of adult sexual assault’
- The National Online Resource Centre for Violence Against Women produced a new resource, ‘Special Collection: Preventing and Responding to Domestic Violence in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer (LGBTQ) Communities’
Get Involved!
- AWAVA Member Organisation, the Association of Women Educators (AWE), circulated a Community Engagement Survey to better understand and respond to the needs and interests of their current and potential members
**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only