Welcome to the latest edition of the AWAVA Weekly Round-Up. This week, we highlight a variety of opportunities for individuals and organisations to contribute to the elimination of male violence against women. We also highlight a number of stories from activists and organisations who are taking action in their communities and around the world.
It can be overwhelming when we are confronted with the huge scale and entrenched nature of gender-based violence. However, it is inspiring to hear of the countless number of women and men who are devoted to the realisation of gender equality and who work tirelessly to prevent violence against women!
We had the opportunity to meet some of these women and men last Friday 31 October at the Canberra Reclaim the Night march. It was wonderful to walk with so many people from all over Canberra to publicly reject sexual violence and the culture that makes women feel unsafe and vulnerable in public places.
AWAVA staff reclaiming the night with members of the Canberra community
Around the Country
- The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) has lodged a claim at the Fair Work Commission to make a minimum of 10 days of leave available to all workers in Australia who experience domestic violence
- Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) has announced a $3.5 million research program to look into violence against women and children in Australia over the next 2 years
- The Queensland Premier’s Special Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence has begun its work by emphasising the need to focus on the actions of perpetrators and avoid victim-blaming
- Two $1,000 grants have been provided to groups in rural NSW to continue their programs that raise awareness about violence against women
- Randwick City Council and NSW Police Force are encouraging fathers and sons to share pictures on social media under the hashtag #ARealManSaysNo to demonstrate their commitment to opposing violence against women
- In New South Wales, Constable Genelle Warne has been nominated for Police Officer of the Year for her work as a domestic violence liaison officer in the Blacktown Local Area Command
- In Victoria, a number of new domestic violence-related laws have come into force, including one which allows victims to ‘name and shame’ their attackers
- The Australian Defence Force (ADF) have rejected claims that they have not adequately addressed historic allegations of abuse at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA)
Around the World
- In India, the ‘Rise’ campaign against violence against women continues to gain support and attention
[TRIGGER WARNING: Images of harassment, assault, sexual violence]
In Spain, thousands of people have participated in a ‘feminist strike’ to protest discrimination and violence against women
In New York, a video created by Hollaback! [TRIGGER WARNING: Street harassment] to highlight everyday street harassment has generated wide-ranging discussions about methods of activism, intersectionality, and how to effectively communicate issues of systemic abuse
Anglican leaders around the world have spoken out against gender-based violence in solidarity with women in preparation for the start of the 16 Days of Activism campaign in November
In the UK, victim-blaming and lack of support for survivors continue to result in very low rates of reporting of violence against women
In Uganda, Minister for Gender, Labour and Social Development Mary Karooro Okurut has called for greater action to address the disproportionate negative impact of the oil industry on rural women
In Turkey, a pilot program where ‘panic buttons’ were issued to women who had experienced domestic violence has been deemed a failure
In Somalia, women continue to experience extremely high rates of violence with little support from the country’s government
In Canada, investigations continue into possible assaults committed by former radio presenter Jian Gomeshi
Research, Resources and Reports
- Our sister alliance Equality Rights Alliance (ERA)’s Young Women’s Advisory Group have created a paper on the state of sexuality and respectful relationships education in the national curriculum: Hearing Young Women’s Voices: The Equality Rights Alliance Young Women’s Advisory Group (YWAG) Policy Position on Sexuality Education
- A new paper in The International Journal of Child Abuse & Neglect has been published, entitled Do family order and neighbor intervention against intimate partner violence protect children from abuse? Findings from Kathmandu
- The International Journal of Sexual Health has published an article entitled Experience of forced sex and subsequent sexual, drug, and mental health outcomes: African-American and Hispanic women in the Southeastern United States
- Research has been published in the Journal of Law and Medicine by C. Forster entitled Compensating for the harms of family violence: statutory barriers in Australian victims of crime compensation schemes
Get Involved!
- The Office for Women would like to invite all interested individuals, non-government and civil society organisations to provide input into the Australian government priorities for the 59th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59), via a written submission
- The Women’s Centre for Health Matters (WCHM) is conducting a survey to help find ways to better support people from LGBTIQ communities who have experienced domestic violence. They want to hear from anyone who identifies as LGBTIQ and has experienced domestic violence, as well as people who have supported someone from the LGBTIQ community who is experiencing domestic violence. Click here to complete the survey
- On Wednesday 5 November, the Women’s Legal Services NSW Foundation will be hosting a forum on Commercial Surrogacy and Women’s Rights
- The Call for Abstracts for the Child Aware Approaches Conference in Melbourne 18-19 May 2015 will close on Friday 14 November
- Details have been announced for the webinar consultation for Australia’s upcoming Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council. This is an important opportunity for Australian NGOs to encourage and influence the Australian Government to improve protection and promotion of human rights and fulfil its international obligations and all interested parties are encouraged to attend
- There are also some places still available at the Canberra Universal Periodic Review of Rights in-person consultation to be held on 27 November
- On 21 November, Flinders University will be hosting Symposium for policy-makers, service providers, researchers, consumers and interested individuals to share knowledge and experiences on enabling social inclusion: gender and disability responsive good governance
- Hollaback is working with Cornell University’s ILR School professor Beth Livingston to study the experiences and impacts of street harassment internationally. To get more information about their research or complete their survey online, click here
**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the view of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only.