Welcome to this week’s round up. The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is being held in New York from 14 to 24 March. AWAVA Chair Julie Oberin and Advisory Group members Bonney Corbin, Margaret Augerinos and Maria Delaney Group are joining civil society and government representatives from around the world to discuss how to promote gender equality. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@AWAVA_women) for regular updates from CSW.
Around the country
- More than 80 family violence experts and community groups (including AWAVA) have written to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calling for substantial increases in funding in the upcoming budget to address critical shortages in domestic violence services.
- The NSW Attorney-General Gabrielle Upton has introduced a bill to Parliament to allow Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs) to be automatically recognised and enforced across state and territory lines, as well as in New Zealand.
- Domestic violence leave has been removed from workplace agreements across several Commonwealth public service agencies.
- Game designer, Susannah Emery, is designing a game to equip users with the tools to support victims of domestic violence.
- Matilda Dixon-Smith from Junkee has interviewed Arrernte feminist activist, Celeste Liddle, about Aboriginal feminism and political activism. The interview comes after Liddle’s Facebook account was banned for featuring an image of two Aboriginal women with painted chests and bare breasts performing cultural ceremony.
- In NSW, the first of 12 Australian government funded specialist domestic violence units recently opened in Bankstown.
- In WA, Tenancy WA has called for reforms to tenancy laws in order to better protect victims of domestic violence.
- In NT, the Maningrida community participated in a rally against domestic violence earlier this week.
Around the world
- In Pakistan, a law criminalising sexual assault against minors and child pornography has recently been passed.
- In China, a women’s legal aid group has submitted a formal report to the Chinese government, asking for clarification of the recently enacted domestic violence law.
- In Ghana, statistics show that only 4.4 per cent of sexual and gender based violence perpetrators are prosecuted.
Get Involved!
- Marai Larasi and Prof Rashida Manjoo will be the keynote speakers for the AWAVA/ Our Watch international conference on violence against women (19 to 22 September 2016). Find out more and sign on for email updates at our website!
- The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) is conducting research on domestic and family violence and its impact on parenting. Participation involves an interview with a senior researcher, usually over the phone. Please call 1800 720 142 (free using a landline, rates apply with a mobile) or email [email protected] for more information.
- ANROWS invites applications for funding under the Perpetrator Interventions Research Stream, closing on 28 April 2016
- Domestic Violence Crisis Centre ACT is holding its annual ball on 19 March 2016 in Canberra. Register here!
- Our member organisation, Ruby Gaea, is running a campaign for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which is held every April. The goal of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is to raise public awareness about sexual violation, and to educate communities and individuals about how to prevent sexual assault. This Awareness Month, Ruby Gaea is encouraging the community to take action and organise an event at your school or workplace on the International Day of Action on April 5. For more information or ideas on events, please contact Ruby Gaea’s education team on [email protected] or 08 8945 0155.
- 1800 Respect is running a webinar titled, ‘Understanding the complexities in LGBTIQ domestic and family violence’ on April 21 at 1pm AEST. Register here!
- The Nursing Network on Violence Against Women International (NNVAWI) invites individuals interested in presenting at the 21st NNVAWI conference to submit presentation abstracts. The theme of the conference is ‘Strengthening healthcare systems to promote safety and health of women and families’ and will be held on 26, 27 and 28 October. Submit abstracts by 1 April here!
Correction: In our last round up we incorrectly referred to Telstra’s recent personal mobile safety initiative as an app. It is actually a web-based resource accessible here.