National Roundtable on violence against women in culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities and more*

Around the Country

• The Federal Government has introduced a new means test to be applied by Community Legal Centres across Australia.  It is argued that this will effectively deprive thousands of Australians of crisis legal support.
• Kerry Carrington, Professor of Criminology at the Queensland University of Technology, has proposed a trial of women-only police stations in Australia.
• The Royal Commission into Family Violence has heard from Dandenong police about the drop in reoffending  since the zero tolerance approach to domestic violence was introduced 18 months ago.
• In a submission to the Commission,  Victoria Police have recommended that police officers should be able to grant and vary the terms of intervention orders at the scene of domestic violence incidents.
• The Commission has also heard from the Supreme Court of Victoria about the lack of appropriate facilities in its heritage listed buildings, including outdated technology, which is undermining victims’ safety.
• In NSW, two specialist District Court judges have been appointed for child sexual assault cases.
• In Victoria, University of Melbourne Professors, Kelsey Hegarty and Cathy Humphreys, have established the Research Alliance to End Violence against Women and Children in order to encourage interdisciplinary research on the topic.
• In Tasmania, Premier Will Hodgman has promised to allocate more resources to combatting domestic violence, following a meeting with Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty.

Around the World

• In Somalia, the Ministry of Women Affairs has announced that it is planning to introduce a new law that will ban female genital mutilation.
• In Canada, members of the Canadian Football League will undergo mandatory training on preventing violence against women.
• In New Zealand, Justice Minister Amy Adams has proposed the creation of standalone domestic violence laws.
• In Indonesia, reforms to the system allowing discriminatory by-laws to be enforced may result in fewer by-laws, and increased protection for women and other minority groups.
• In the UK, Cambridge University has revised its guidelines on reporting sexual assault and harassment following criticism that its previous disciplinary system was inadequate.

Research, Resources and Reports

• The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) Committee has released a report on improving women’s access to justice.
• YWCA Canberra has launched ‘Relationship Things’, an online resource for young people that explores topics around respect, communication, gender equality, diversity, safe sex and consent.

Get Involved!

• YWCA Canberra is hosting its ‘She Leads Workshop’ on 11 August 2015. These workshops are designed to equip women with skills to take on leadership positions on boards. Register here by COB 10 August 2015.
• 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.
• The Canberra Community Sleepout will be held on 16 October 2015. Find out here how you can get involved and help combat homelessness in Canberra!
• The 3^rd World Conference of Women’s Shelters will be held in the Hague from 3 – 6 November 2015. More information here!
• 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.