Welcome once again to the latest edition of the AWAVA Weekly Round-Up. It has been an exciting week for us here at AWAVA. We began on Monday and Tuesday with the annual National Women’s Alliances Forum in Canberra: two full days of collaboration with our sister Alliances from around the country. You can read tweets from the forum under the hashtag #nwa2014.
Some highlights of the 2014 forum included the Parliamentary Breakfast hosted by Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women, as well as the attendance of Tara Moss as a guest speaker at the Forum Dinner. Ms Moss discussed with us gender inequality and representation in the media.
It was a fantastic event, and a wonderful way to welcome our new Program Manager, Sophie!
On Wednesday, we participated in a Round Table on the Economic Impact on Women in Disaster Affected Areas in Australia hosted by our sister alliances economic Security4Women and the National Rural Women’s Coalition. This highly productive discussion, held at Australian Parliament House in Canberra, was attended by a wide variety of stakeholders and brought to light the significant need for disaster response to be assessed through a gender lens.
AWAVA has also had the pleasure of attending the launch of the Second Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 on Friday morning. You can read more about the Second Action Plan 2013-2016 on the Department of Social Services website.
Around the Country
- “The Federal Government and every State and Territory Government have agreed to implement the National Domestic Violence Order Scheme” in order to make court orders intended to keep victims safe enforceable nationwide
- From 1 July 2014 The Line social marketing campaign is transferring to the Foundation to Prevent Violence Against Women and their Children
- In New South Wales, surprise and concern is being expressed that a large number of women’s refuges, including Australia’s first women’s refuge Elsie, have been handed over to large religious organisations by the NSW Government
- Anne Summers has spoken about her experiences of violence and personal journey as a feminist [TRIGGER WARNING: sexual violence, unsafe abortion]
- Doctors in Victoria have been urged to be more vigilant following a report showing that half of all women who die either during pregnancy or soon after giving birth were killed or took their own life
- In South Australia, police have spoken about reforms which have been put in place since the public murder of Zahra Abrahimzadeh in 2010 [TRIGGER WARNING: descriptions of abuse, physical violence, threats of violence, death]
- In Victoria, the Government has introduced a bill to Parliament to remove defensive homicide provisions initially intended to family violence victims
- An inquest is being conducted into the killing of Noelene Beutel and the role of doctor/patient confidentiality [TRIGGER WARNING: descriptions of physical violence]
- In the aftermath of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, reports of sexual assault have dramatically increased across the country
- In NSW, a police officer charged with sexually assaulting a young girl has been released on bail
Around the World
- UN Women, in conjunction with OHCHR, have launched the UN Secretary-General’s Guidance Note on Reparations for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
- In Libya, Women’s Rights Activist Salwa Bugaighis has been assassinated
- Soraya Chemaly has created a list of ‘10 Everyday Sexisms’ that typically remain unnoticed or unremarked upon
- In the United States, research is examining the pressure on survivors of domestic violence to maintain a ‘two-parent household’
- In New Zealand, a new resource including a short film as well as a set of lesson plans has been developed to help support children who have experienced family violence
- In Fiji, Police Chief of Operations ACP Rusiate Tudravu has stated that the Fiji Police Force does not have sufficient expertise or funding to deal with violence against women
- In the Great Lakes Region in Africa, a new World Bank project has been approved to provide support to survivors of sexual and gender-based violence
- Robin Thicke’s latest music video is being criticised for attempting to romanticise stalking and harassment
Research, Reports and Resources
- An inquiry into Domestic Violence in Australia has been passed by the Senate with tri-partisan support. The closing date for submissions is 31 July 2014
- Submissions remain open for funding from the newly established Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety to conduct research into stemming rates of violence against women
- Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety is creating a Networking Database “to enable researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, community members, and others interested in reducing the impact and incidence of violence against women to connect directly with each other.”
**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the view of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only.