09 November Weekly Round-up

 
Invigorated by the recent National Multicultural Women’s Conference, we are excited to bring you this week’s round-up. At the conference, Antoinette Braybrook spoke about domestic and family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, noting that despite the proliferation of violence in these communities, it is not perpetrated only by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women suffer from abuse at the hands of men from different backgrounds and cultures, as documented in the report submitted by the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service (FVPLS) to the Victorian Royal Commission. Moreover, violence leaves lasting and devastating effects on women and children’s psychological and emotional wellbeing. ANROWS recently published A preventable burden: Measuring and addressing the prevalence and health impacts of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Australian women, finding this to be the third most important factor contributing to disease (including mental illness) among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, and the number one factor for women in Australia more generally. You can listen to ANROWS CEO Heather Nanacarrow discussing the impacts and prevention of IPV in an interview with 2ser 107.3.
 

• The ACT Government has made advances in investigating crimes of domestic violence by using video evidence in court proceedings, preventing victims from being re-traumatised by repeated re-telling of their accounts of abuse.
• The Federal Government has rejected the Victorian Government’s call for a special Medicare subsidy for family violence counselling services, which was a recommendation of the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence.
• In Melbourne, the Swinburne Institute for Social Research has partnered with the City of Borroondara for a forum that engages the community in working towards ending violence against women and children.

• In Canada, amidst an economic boom in north-east British Columbia, Amnesty International has called on the Canadian government to implement a gender-focused review of the impacts of ongoing resource and energy projects on indigenous women and girls, including housing insecurity and sexual assaults facilitated by the influx of transient industrial workers employed in the area.
• In Indonesia, due to the high rate of undocumented and unreported incidences of deaths from domestic violence, Kate Walton, an Australian expat, launched the “Counting Dead Women” program to encourage the government to adopt a similar project to account for the numbers of those who were abused and killed in domestic violence.
• Also in Indonesia, Alainsi Laki-laki Baru or the New Men’s Alliance has launched campaigns on the elimination of violence against women in a highly patriarchal society using various formats such as discussion groups, public rallies and online campaigns.
• In India, witch hunting has become a important form of violence against women. Those who are branded as witches, who are mostly women, are being persecuted and buried alive, with 2,290 such cases between 2001 to 2014.
• In the Pacific, the Fiji Women’s Crisis Centre (FWCC) together with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has organised a regional police training program to improve officers’ skills in dealing with cases of domestic violence. The workshops, which will be held in Nadi, will train 30 police officers from 11 countries in the South Pacific.

• The Melbourne Social Equity Institute is inviting everyone to a free seminar to present findings of a study on financial abuse in the United Kingdom on 11 November, 11-12 pm at the meeting room of Melbourne Social Equity Institute 201 Grattan Street Carlton, Victoria. Register here.
• The Waratah Support Centre is holding “It’s No Secret” – Sexual Assault, Sexual Abuse and Domestic Violence” a national conference on 24 November, from 8:30 -5:00 at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre, BUNBURY, WA. For booking details click here.
• Indigenous Conference Services (ICS) has organised the 2016 International Indigenous Allied Health Conference from 01-03 December at Pullmans Cairns International Hotel in Cairns. For more information visit the website.
• 1800RESPECT will be holding a webinar on “Improving Cultural Understanding and Engagement with people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities” on 1 December 2016, 1pm AEDT. The presenter will be Craig Rigney of Kornar Winmil Yunti (KWY). Register here.
• Law Trobe Law School will be holding “Online/Offline: Sexual violence, activism, and justice”, a free seminar to be held on 25 November, from 4-6 pm at the La Trobe University Franklin Streets Campus, Melbourne. Register here.
• WESNET is hosting the Inaugural Technology Safety Summit in Sydney on 21 November 2016. This one-day conference will focus on the various complex issues and concerns that come from the intersection of technology and domestic and sexual violence, and stalking. The Tech Summit will bring together those working with women and their children experiencing violence and other stakeholders from government and corporate Australia. Attendees of the Tech Summit will learn how technology can be misused as a tactic of abuse, how women experiencing gender-based violence can use technology to improve their safety and privacy, how digital evidence can be collected to hold perpetrators accountable, and how agencies can strengthen policies and practices to improve service delivery, and what other support technology and telecommunications companies can provide.  To find out more and register please visit the conference website.
• On 14 November our member organisation DV Victoria is joining with other organisations in calling for people to gather in support of Domestic and Family Violence Leave. For more information click here.
• The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) is hiring a Communications Advisor for a one year full-time contract until 30 June 2017 with possibility of extension. Applications close 13 Nov. Click here for more information.
• The National Rural Women’s Coalition is launching “Brave Danny” a picture book for children on 24^thNovember from 5-7 pm at Melbourne Ether Conference Centre, 265 Little Bourke Street, Melbourne. The book was written by Robin Adolps for children and illustrated by Nicky Johnston. For more information, contact [email protected].
• The Adelaide White Ribbon Breakfast will be held on 25 November at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 6:45 am to 9:00 am. The guest speaker will be the honourable Marcia Neave, chair of the recent Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence. Book here.
• The University of Melbourne has created a website called ‘NotTheOnlyOne’ where women can anonymously read and share stories about experiencing family and domestic violence.