Welcome to the latest edition of the AWAVA Weekly Round-Up! This week many of the links we highlight relate to the media – from the media’s role in supporting the prevention of men’s violence against women to activists and organisations use of media to spread messages and education about gender-based violence. Media coverage has a huge impact on the way we view the world. It is vital that this coverage upholds the rights of women and children, recognises the underlying cases of violence against women and challenges harmful community attitudes and practices that help to perpetuate a culture in which violence is accepted and normalised.
Around the Country
- Indigenous women from around the world met in Cairns recently for the Global Indigenous Domestic Violence conference
- The All About Women festival has announced video game commentator Anita Sarkeesian on their line up for International Women’s Day next year, along with Tara Moss, Germaine Greer, Clementine Ford and more
- Professor Rosalind Croucher has been reappointed to lead the Australian Law Reform Commission until December 2015
- Former Governor-General Quentin Bryce has spoken about her experience hearing the stories of victims and survivors in her work as head of the Queensland Domestic Violence Taskforce
- Writer Kim Lock has spoken about the need to speak positively about abortion
- Rates of imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been called a ‘national emergency’
- In the ACT, high rental prices and reduced funding for services has left a growing number of women and children fleeing family violence homeless
- The Lebanese Muslim Association have released two videos as part of a campaign to challenge attitudes that lead to domestic violence [TRIGGER WARNING: depictions of violence in video]
- Clementine Ford has written about the need for change in the language used by members of the community and by the media when talking about violence against women [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence, victim blaming]
Around the World
- Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, has described the lack of action on violence experienced by women online as “one of the tragedies of humanity”
- In the UK, a challenge has been heard before the High Court to rules restricting access to legal aid for victims and survivors of violence
- In Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Railway Workers have called for the inclusion of a standard setting item on violence against women and men at work places in the agenda of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 2016
- In China, activists and commentators have highlighted the need for attitudinal change alongside new domestic violence laws
- In Afghanistan, Najiba Ahmadi is working to educate women about their rights and how to navigate the country’s laws if they experience violence [TRIGGER WARNING: threats of violence against children]
- The World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Global Women’s Institute at George Washington University have recommended that international financial institutions take a role in addressing violence against women
- In Liberia, health workers, family members and members of the community have been told they must not dehumanise or discriminate against HIV/Aids patients and victims and survivors of gender-based violence
- In the United States, Megan Carpentier has spoken about her own experience of sexual assault and law enforcement in the state of Virginia [TRIGGER WARNING: Description of sexual assault, violence, victim-blaming, police misconduct]
- In South Africa, there are calls for fathers to take a more hands-on role in caring for their children and breaking down the gender roles that can contribute to violence
- A number of uses of sexual assault in high profile television shows has drawn commentary on the ethics of using sexual violence as a plot device
Research, Resources and Reports
- The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has released a new report, Specialist homelessness services: 2013-14
- A dissertation entitled, ‘Examining Access Barriers to Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter Services for Transgender Identified Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in New York State’ by Carla M Smith is now available online
- The latest issue of Parity (Volume 27 Issue 9) is now available online
- The journal, Trauma, Violence & Abuse, has published a study entitled ‘Problem Gambling and Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis’ and an article entitled, ‘Intimate Partner Violence and the Rural–Urban–Suburban Divide: Myth or Reality? A Critical Review of the Literature’
- VicHealth has released the findings from its 2013 survey of Victorians’ attitudes to race and cultural diversity
- 1800RESPECT have released a set of resources for frontline workers to find out how resilient they are by taking the resilience assessment. They can then sign up to the 10 week e-health resilient program and watch a video on stress, trauma and work: how to look after yourself
Get Involved!
- Workers around Australia who have direct contact with women and children who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence are invited to complete a survey on technology-facilitated abuse! The survey has been released by Women’s Legal Services NSW, the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria and WESNET to guide their creation of resources
- Our sister alliance, economic Security4Women (eS4W) is searching for women from STEM and non-traditional occupations and industries to be highly visible role models on a stand-alone website to be launched in 2015!
- InTouch, Multicultural Centre against Family Violence, are advertising a position for an Indian/South Asian family violence case worker for a pilot Family Violence project entitled Harmony that will be implemented next year
- Early bird registration to the Inaugural Asia-Pacific Conference on Gendered Violence and Violationscloses December 19
- The Australasian Council of Women and Policing (ACWAP) is calling for papers for the 9th Women and Policing Conference being held at Luna Park Sydney from 31 August to 3 September 2015. The theme of the 2015 Conference is: Making History: Shaping the Future. Submissions close 31 January 2015
**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the view of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only.