Welcome to the latest edition of the AWAVA Weekly Round-Up. This week, in the lead up to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women as well as the 16 Days of Activism on Gender-Based Violence, people around the country, including Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women Michaelia Cash and former AFL player Luke Ablett, have been speaking out about the need to change our behaviours and attitudes if we want to prevent and eliminate men’s violence against women. The links below highlight concrete strategies and initiatives being put in place by activists and organisations across the world to prevent gender-based violence and to promote gender equality.
Keep an eye on our Facebook page and twitter feed for more information, stats, and resources every day during the 16 Days of Activism!
Around the Country
- The collective leadership of Australia and New Zealand’s Police Commissioners held a breakfast at Parliament house on 24 November on the theme, ‘Standing together to tackle violence against women and children’
- The Commonwealth Government has committed $1 million over three years to be used by the sporting community to reduce violence against women and children
- Sex Discrimination Commissioner Elizabeth Broderick has spoken to male business leaders who support gender equality to take substantive action to address rates of violence against women
- In Melbourne, calls to the Family Violence Response Centre from people experiencing family violence have risen by 86% over the past 2 years [TRIGGER WARNING: Extremely graphic recording of violence, violence against children]
- The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) have launched ‘Sexual Violence Research (SVR) asthe new name under which they will conduct and communicate research related to sexual violence – replacing the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault (ACSSA)
- In Victoria, increasing numbers of women and young children find themselves living in dangerous and unsuitable rooming houses after fleeing domestic violence
- In Perth, over 500 people have marched to protest domestic violence against women
- In the ACT, police have been criticised for their slow response to an allegation of assault on a Canberra woman [TRIGGER WARNING: Description of violence]
- In Victoria, the Hume council has created a sign spelling out ‘Violence against women – Hume says no’ large enough to be seen by passengers on planes flying in to the Melbourne airport
- In Queensland, the Caboolture Region Domestic Violence Service is working on an early intervention program for children in primary schools to address high rates of domestic violence in the region
- No conviction has been recorded in the sentencing of former AFL player Stephen Milne after he plead guilty to indecently assaulting a woman in 2004
- In Victoria, domestic violence services have expressed dissatisfaction with the commitments made so far by both the Coalition and Labor parties in the lead up to the state election
- South Sydney Rabbitohs have stood down new player Cody Walker for domestic violence offenses
Around the World
- In India, the deaths of 13 women after being operated on at a ‘sterilisation camp’ has prompteddiscussion about empowerment and access to contraceptives for the country’s women. [TRIGGERWARNING: Descriptions of forced medical procedures, death] Chief Justice HL Dattu has spoken about the need for a holistic, systemic change in order to address violence against women
- The United States has recently been reviewed on its efforts to “prevent and punish violence and abuse of women” by the United Nations Committee Against Torture [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of gun violence, police violence]
- In Afghanistan, feminist MP Shukria Barakzai has survived an assassination attempt that has killed three bystanders and wounded 22 [TRIGGER WARNING: Description of violence, suicide-attack, death]
- In Israel, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel has reported that only 15% of sexual assault cases in the country were reported to police in 2013
- In Canada, a study has found that two thirds of women who have experienced sexual violence do not have faith in the country’s criminal justice system
- In Afghanistan, a treatment protocol for all healthcare providers has been launched to provide guidance on how to care for survivors of gender-based violence
- In Kenya, hundreds of people have marched in protest after a woman was attacked on the street for wearing a miniskirt
- Women Scream International Poetry Festival 2015 has announced its first list of participating countriesset to join the festival in March next year
Research, Resources and Reports
- Medical Journal The Lancet has published a series focussed on evaluating the extent of violence against women and the effectiveness of differing programs around the globe
- An article from R.M. Field and A. Lynch entitled ‘Hearing parties’ voices in Coordinated Family Dispute Resolution (CFDR): An Australian pilot of a family mediation model designed for matters involving a history of domestic violence’ has been published by the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law
- The journal, Australian Family Physician, has published a paper entitled ‘Family violence across the life cycle’ which aims to address clinical questions that general practitioners (GPs) may have in identifying and responding to patients experiencing family violence
- The full statement from the Asia Pacific Beijing+20 Civil Society Forum held in Bangkok on 14-16 November 2014 is now available online
- Samantha Jeffries and Christine EW Bond have published an article in the Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology entitled ‘Taking the problem seriously? Sentencing Indigenous and non-Indigenous domestic violence offenders’
- YWCA Australia have released the results of their She Speaks Survey, which collects responses from over 1,600 women aged 15-30 around Australia on topics including discrimination, sexism, violence and leadership
Get Involved!
- The call for papers for the 5th ACFID University Network Conference, Evidence and practice in an age of inequality, is now open and closes on 26 January 2014
- The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign starts tomorrow! Check out this calendar of events from around the globe to see how you can get involved
**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the view of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only.