Labor Government advocates for paid domestic violence leave and more* Weekly Round-Up 4 August

Around the Country

• The Labor Government advocated for paid domestic violence leave at its national conference last week.
• The National Rugby League, Australian Football League, Netball Australia and Australia Rugby Union have been granted $250 000 each in government funding to help combat violence against women and children as part of the Our Watch Sports Engagement Program.
• The Allison Baden-Clay Foundation, named after the victim of a brutal domestic violence murder, was launched this week. The foundation will work alongside other campaigners to raise awareness about the warning signs of emotional and physical abuse.
• Australia’s only women’s residential detox and rehabilitation service, Jarrah House, and the nation’s only sexual assault network for Indigenous Women, Hey Sis We’ve Got Your Back, are struggling to meet demand due to funding constraints.
• In NSW, homeless women in Sydney are increasingly relying on public transport for shelter due to severe shortage of refuge accommodation available to women.
• In Victoria, the Royal Commission has heard about the importance of reforming the court system so as to allow collaboration between family and state and territory courts.
• In Queensland, Quentin Bryce visited Rugby League team, Brisbane Broncos, to involve them in the campaign to prevent violence against women and children.
• Again in Queensland, Domestic Violence Action Centre Ipswich is relying on motels and hotels to house women escaping from domestic violence due to lack of accommodation and limited funding.
• In the ACT, ACT police have said that they have attended to an average of almost seven family violence-related incidents a day in the past year.

Around the World

• In Ireland, new laws have been proposed to better support domestic violence victims. Measures include making the court process and the process of obtaining interim barring orders easier.
• In Mexico, emergency measures to address violence against women are to be implemented in 11 municipalities.
• In China, a draft of the nation’s first piece of legislation combatting domestic violence has been approved at an executive meeting of the State Council. However, social organisations and feminists have questioned the potential of the legislation to create meaningful change.
• In Canada, the government has been criticised for its poor human rights track record, including an inadequate response to violence against Indigenous women.

Research, Resources and Reports

• The Human Rights Commission has recently launched a new toolkit to prevent discrimination faced by pregnant women.

Get Involved!

• AWAVA is hiring! We are recruiting a Program Manager to lead our Canberra secretariat. Apply here!
• Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety (ANROWS) is hosting two public lectures with internationally renowned scholar on legal responses to domestic violence, Professor Leigh Goodmark, on 10 and 14 August 2015. Register here!
• Australia’s first National Children’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell, will discuss her role and the development of her 2015 Parliamentary report through a webinar at 1pm on 12 August 2015. Registerhere!
• The Women’s World Summit Foundation’s new campaign – 17 Days of Activism for the Empowerment of Rural Women and their Communities – begins on 1 October 2015. More information here!
• The 2015 National Indigenous Domestic Violence Conference will be held on 7 October 2015 in Carrara, Queensland.
• Ask LOIS (Legal Online Information Service) is a free online service, providing legal information to community workers assisting women in NSW. Find out more about upcoming webinars on various legal issues on their website.