Welcome to a double edition of the Weekly Round up! AWAVA has been working hard in the lead up the fifty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women which will take place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 10 to 21 March 2014. AWAVA are delighted to be sponsoring and presenting 6 parallel events at CSW 58. This year our delegation is:
- Julie Oberin, Chair AWAVA and WESNET and head of delegation
- Margaret Augerinos, AWAVA Executive Committee member and CEO Centre for Non Violence
- Margie Charlesworth, AWAVA Advisory Group member and Women with Disabilities Australia
- Tracy Howe, AWAVA Advisory Group member and CEO Domestic Violence NSW
The last two weeks have seen a very large number of developments in the preventing violence against women sector. The passion and commitment that so many around the world show in working to prevent and eliminate violence against women is truly inspiring. AWAVA also had the privilege of being able, in conjunction with the other National Women’s Alliances, to successfully present our forum on 27th February: From International Language to Local Action: An introduction to the Convention On The Elimination Of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Human Rights Treaty System. We extend our thanks to all of those who contributed to this highly productive event.
Around the Country
- In NSW, Family and Community Services Minister Pru Goward has announced the establishment of a Domestic Violence Crimes Taskforce
- The National Centre of Excellence to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children has begun the process of creating a brand identity to match its important role in the Australian community
- A doctor has lost his appeal against deportation from Australia after completing a prison term for sexually assaulting a patient
- Lawyers and domestic violence services have expressed concerns about the effect of mandatory sentencing laws on victims of gender-based violence
- Concern has been expressed about the uncertain future of funding to help women experiencing homelessness due to domestic violence
- A multi-disciplinary centre aimed at supporting victims of sexual assault is one step closer to being built in Bendigo
- Mabel Wong has made the case for domestic violence to become a business consideration
- Renewed attention has been drawn to the “justice gap for those who experience sexual assault”
- Justice Ruth McColl has warned that moves to wind back efforts at gender diversity on the bench would be a step backward
- The Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse has released its Summer Newsletter
- A pilot project in Melbourne which aims for fairer treatment of victims of sexual assault who have disabilities has been found to be highly successful
Around the World
- In Uganda, misinformation about a new anti-pornography law has led to increased public violence against women
- One of the women involved in the now settled abuse case against Bill Cosby has publicly told her story [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of sexual violence]
- Laos has begun the process of drafting a national plan for the eradication of violence against women and children
- In the United States, activists are urging parents to discuss gender-based violence with their children as early as possible
- In Italy, experts have said that recent legislation changes alone are not enough to prevent violence against women
- The United States Army has disqualified 588 soldiers from holding ‘positions of trust’, including as sexual assault counsellors, on the basis of their criminal records
- In Tanzania, rates of gender-based violence have been rising in all 30 administrative regions of the country
- In Canada, WAVAW have integrated acknowledgement of colonisation into their work on preventing violence against women
**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only