World-first framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and more * Round-Up 23 November

Around the Country

• ABC TV will air Sarah Ferguson’s two-part documentary series Hitting Home on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November at 8.30pm. Hitting Home asks how domestic violence begins and how it escalates from control to physical violence, exploring courts and safe rooms, domestic abuse programs in prison, forensic doctors and specialised police units in search of answers.
• Aboriginal Community Police Officer Bettina Danganbarr has called for the East Arnhem community of Galiwinku community to have its own women’s shelter. Officer Danganbarr has operated her house as a makeshift women’s shelter since she moved to the remote Aboriginal community in 2008.
• The WA Ombudsman has found that over 90 per cent of ‘interactions’ by WA’s child protection authority where family and domestic violence was found did not lead to further action.
• In South Australia new laws allow people with abusive partners to terminate a lease without facing a financial penalty.
• In Victoria, a new multi-disciplinary centre has been established to support victims of sexual assault and child abuse in Gippsland.  The centre, in Morwell, brings together child protection workers, nurses, police and counsellors.
• In The Conversation, Stefano Verrelli and Eileen Chu ask whether today’s standards for being a ‘real man’ are leading to violence against women.

Around the World

• Australia’s human rights record has been scrutinised by more than 100 countries at the UN as part its universal periodic review, with the treatment of asylum seekers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people drawing particular concern. The sterilisation of women with disabilities was also criticised, and Women With Disabilities Australia has argued that this practice falls under the UN definition of torture.
• The new Canadian government has committed to developing and implementing a national plan on violence against women. The Canadian Network of Women’s Shelters and Transition Houses has created a Blueprint, endorsed by over 180 organisations, to guide the development of the plan, and has welcomed the government’s announcement.
• Also in Canada, the government has pledged an inquiry into violence against First Nations women.
• In the United States, the Public Broadcasting Service will re-air Justice for my Sister on 24 November in honour of the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. Kimberley Bautista, producer and director of this award-winning 2013 documentary on femicide in Guatemala, has said that she hopes the screening will contribute to the debate on immigration by helping US audiences understand the context of violence from which Central American women are fleeing.

Research, Resources and Reports

• ANROWS has released a new report, Promoting community-led responses to violence against immigrant and refugee women in metropolitan and regional Australia.
• The Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria’s latest issue of Advocate is out now, with articles on the Royal Commission, family violence in an LGBTIQ context and more.
• 1800RESPECT has launched an online toolkit for frontline workers to help them better recognise the signs of sexual assault and domestic and family violence and empower them to respond well.
• The Australian Medical Association has also released a resource for GPs on Supporting Patients Experiencing Family Violence.

Get Involved!

• AWAVA, in conjunction with Our Watch and supported by WESNET, invite you to attend an international conference on violence against women. The conference will be held from 19 to 22 September 2016. More information here!
• Women’s Services Network (WESNET), AWAVA’s lead agency, is running a four day training workshop for services and agencies working with or supporting women experiencing gender based violence. The workshop will focus on strategies to address technology facilitated abuse and will run on 26, 27 November and 3, 4 December 2015. The training is funded by the ACT Government and is open to participants from the ACT. Find out more here!
• Join Australian of the Year Rosie Batty in conversation with Executive Director of UN Women Australia Julie McKay on 30 November in Canberra. This event is open to the public and all ticket sales will be donated to UN Women programs in the Pacific. Register here!
• 25 November is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This year you are urged to Orange the World to show your support!
• Women’s Legal Services Australia invites female victims/ survivors of sexual assault and domestic/ family violence who have been involved in family law court proceedings about children’s matters and would like to share about their experiences to please answer the short survey (open until 31 December).
• The Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research and ANROWS are conducting a national survey relating to the enforcement of domestic violence protections orders in Australia. Complete the survey here by 30 November 2015.
• The 21^st Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International Conference 2016 will be held from 26-28 October 2016. More information here!

* Due to staff leave, the Round-up will be produced fortnightly instead of weekly from 9 November until the normal weekly pattern resumes on 21 December.