AWAVA Program Manager, Author at AWAVA

Stronger Inclusion of Gender Equality Needed in Health and Physical Education Curriculum

AWAVA’s response to the draft Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum was submitted in April 2013, AWAVA supports the inclusion of the ‘role of power in relationships’ in the Healthy Relationships and Sexuality section of the curriculum and the references to exploring gender, gender roles and gender stereotypes.

To further enhance the development of the HPE curriculum and its implementation, AWAVA recommends three key focus areas:

Stronger inclusion of gender equality education messages throughout the curriculum, starting in early childhood 
Teacher education being prioritised for the effective delivery of the curriculum addressing gender equity and equality and Respectful Relationships education 
Bullying and violence programs, including Respectful Relationships, drawing on a gender analysis

Read our submission below:

AWAVA – HPE Consultation – ACARA Cover Letter

AWAVA Response to HPE Curriculum Consultation

Child Aware Approaches Conference, Melbourne

11-12 April: Child Aware Approaches Conference, Melbourne, click on link for further information

Solving the Jigsaw Professional Development Melbourne series

Solving the Jigsaw Program – Changing the Culture of Violence Building a Culture of Well being

Professional Development and Training Modules

This training opportunity is for Teachers, Year Level Co-ordinators, Primary Welfare Officers, Well Being Co-ordinators, Assistant Principals, Principals and Professionals who work with children and families. These staff members as they all play key roles in student well being and welfare in schools. The professional development program has maximum effect when a team of key staff from a school participate. Solving the Jigsaw provides practical tools and strategies for a whole school approach to violence, bullying and well being

For more details email: [email protected]

ACOSS National Conference 2013 Community: The Heart of the Economy

ACOSS National Conference 2013 Community: The Heart of the Economy: 25-26 March 2013

National Wine Centre of Australia Adelaide, South Australia

ACOSS will be getting past the numbers and focusing on the importance of putting people and community at the centre of economic and social policy. With the date of the federal election set, the ACOSS Conference offers an important opportunity to get the latest ideas and directions from key thinkers and to put community at the heart of election debates. Join the discussion and have your voice heard!

For more details see: www.conference.acoss.org.au

Protecting Domestic Violence as a Protected Attribute

AWAVA joined 96 other organisations, including many of our member organisations and Friends & Supporters, in calling on the Government to pass the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 through parliament by the end of June this year and welcoming the additional protected attributes suggested in the recommendations made by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee.

See the letter here: Joint NGO letter to Attorney-General

AWAVA also issued a Media Release: Protecting Domestic Violence As A Protected Attribute

AWAVA Call to Action

We need your help to make sure that the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 is heard this parliamentary sitting. The Bill’s passage is essential to secure the status of being a survivor or victim of domestic violence as a protected attribute in discrimination cases.

What we want you to do:

Call your local MP and other members now and cover the points in this letter or
Drop a personalised version of this letter into your local MP’s office or
Email the attached personalised version of this letter to your local member and other members and follow-up with a phone call to check it is received
Pass on the letter to your networks to send to their members

This is a local issue, there will be women in constituencies and clients seen at local support services that are facing discrimination and who would greatly benefit from this much-needed protection.

You can also:

Sign the GetUp! Petition, this will be handed to the Attorney General today, 19 March: http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/anti-discrimination/time-for-action/sign-the-petition; send the populated short letter to your MP and contact the papers with a letter
Send the GetUp! Petition to your networks

SHOUT!

Australian Women’s Coalition is calling young women between 18 – 30 years who live, study or work in Auburn, Bankstown, Liverpool or Coffs Harbour NSW, or in Canberra, ACT to be a part of SHOUT! A series of three free workshops will run in each location, complemented by an online network of support and skills-sharing and a local network of participants and AWC member organisations. The workshops will culminate in community events on Harmony Day next year, Find out more here

Media Release: Protecting Domestic Violence As A Protected Attribute

How will we now protect survivors and victims of domestic violence from the discrimination we know they face in the workplace and in accessing safe, secure, long-term accommodation?

The Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus QC, has just announced that the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 will be on hold, missing a once-in-a-decade opportunity to introduce much-needed protections for survivors and victims of domestic violence. The Government will be introducing the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill to protect gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people from discrimination in Commonwealth laws, which is obviously welcomed, but the protections must go much further. Read the Government media release

AWAVA are very supportive of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 and are extremely disappointed that the recommendation to include the status of being a survivor/victim of domestic violence as a protected attribute stands and falls with the Bill

“We have a once-in-a-decade opportunity to make a real difference to women who are currently experiencing, or have experienced, domestic and family violence by including the status of being a survivor/victim of domestic violence as a protected attribute in the consolidated Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination (HRAD) Bill 2012. Not taking this opportunity to provide a much-needed protection and support to women is an absolute travesty.”

“How do we protect Australia’s most vulnerable women if there is no specific legislative protection from the discrimination we know they still face in the workplace and when seeking safe, secure and long-term accommodation? If we can include protections in the Fair Work Act and workplace indicators, why not in our discrimination laws? We know that this is absolutely needed for the safety and security of women and their children to find their way out, and stay out of,abusive relationships.” – Julie Oberin, Chair of AWAVA

Read AWAVA’s full Media Release here

Weekly Round-up* – 15 March

As CSW57 is winding up in New York the AWAVA delegation have been working hard to support negotiations and secure outcomes to end violence against women and girls. No doubt there will be lots of newsworthy items from the UN early next week on the Agreed Conclusions – although news reports this week suggest continual blocking by some member states may stall negotiations. Women’s organisations globally have signed a statement urging member states not to renegotiate women’s rights.

CSW57 News

The New York Times reports concerns there will be no Agreed Conclusions
The Washington Post reports that Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood says the current CSW57 draft violates islamic rules
This article looks further at women’s sexual and reproductive rights

Around the nation

This media release from Minister Collins gives a Pledge to All Women and Girls to continue Australia’s efforts to eliminate and prevent violence against women and girls
New funding has been announced by Foreign Minister Bob Carr to help end violence against women in Cambodia
Clementine Ford questions why we keep asking women to protect themselves from rape
ABC reports on the Senate Inquiry into forced sterilisation
Julie McKay, UN Women Australia says that violence against women is why we need to keep discussing gender equality

Internationally

The UN has announced a study on the extent of violence against Indigenous women and girls
The small nation of Tuvalu has recognised violence against women as a growing concern
In Kenya, new Rites of Passage are being introduced as a step to end female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)
A Director of Public Prosecutions study from the UK shows false allegations of rape and domestic violence are very rare
The UK National Union of Students have published a new research report looking at ‘Lad Culture’ in British Universities
In India, the prime accused in the Delhi Gang rape case was found dead in his jail cell in New Delhi
Read these great articles, one following on from Steubenville We’re Sick and Tired of Rape Being Treated Like an Unavoidable Joke and 5 ways we can teach men not to rape
From New Zealand this excellent video avoids victim-blaming and highlights responsibilities of others

AWAVA are now on Facebook – if you haven’t already ‘like’d our page, please do so to receive regular posts and updates from AWAVA and help us to build a Facebook following: http://www.facebook.com/AWAVAaustralia

ACT Women’s Grants Program

The Minister for Women, Joy Burch has called for applications for the ACT Women’s Grants Program. In 2012–13, there is a total funding of $130,000 available including an additional $30,000 for the inaugural Audrey Fagan Violence Prevention Grants.

Funding is available under the following three categories:

Category One – Capacity Building: seeks to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of community organisation to advance the objective and priorities of the ACT Women’s Plan.

The maximum funding available for a Capacity Building Project is $5,000 (GST Exclusive).

Category Two – Special Projects: seeks to advance the objectives and priorities of the ACT Women’s Plan by contributing to public policy, service development, or gendered research.

The maximum funding available for a Special Project is $25,000 (GST Exclusive).

Category Three – Audrey Fagan Violence Prevention Projects (new): seeks to progress one or more of the objectives outlined in the ACT Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Strategy 2011–2017.

The maximum funding available for an Audrey Fagan Violence Prevention Project is $15,000 (GST Exclusive).

Please note only one application per category may be submitted by an organisation/group. Applications close on 22 April 2013. All applications must be submitted online. This can be accessed at http://dhcs.smartygrants.com.au/

Please refer to the ACT Women’s Grants Guidelines 2012-2013 to ensure that your organisation/group is eligible. A copy of the guidelines are on the Women ACT website at: http://www.dhcs.act.gov.au/women/grants_and_scholarships

For further information or assistance please contact the ACT Office for Women on 6205 0515 or 02 6207 2552 or via email [email protected]

Today is the National Day of Action Against Bullying here in Australia.

For those interested in real social change and the prevention of bullying and violence, the Social Justice Education service provides a range of supports for leaders, managers, policy officers and practitioners, in government, schools and universities, and also works with social service and other education service organisations, and parent, childcare, community and sporting organisations. Visit www.teachjustice.com.au for more information

*Articles published are not necessarily representative of the views and opinions of AWAVA, and are published as general information only

National Day of Action Against Bullying

Today is the National Day of Action Against Bullying here in Australia.

For those interested in real social change and the prevention of bullying and violence, the Social Justice Education service provides a range of supports for leaders, managers, policy officers and practitioners, in government, schools and universities, and also works with social service and other education service organisations, and parent, childcare, community and sporting organisations.

Visit www.teachjustice.com.au for more information.

Weekly Round-up * 8 March

It’s fitting that today’s International Women’s Day’s theme is “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women” as over 6,000 members of civil society are gathered in New York for the 57th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW57) to focus on the elimination and prevention of violence against women. This is the largest ever meeting to address violence against women. The AWAVA delegation are actively engaging and participating. Follow the AWAVA delegation on Twitter by following #CSW57 #AWAVAWomen or keep up-to-date with our Facebook posts and website blogs. If you haven’t already seen and ‘liked’ our Facebook page please do, and help us establish a Facebook following.

AWAVA joined the global effort today to push to get #endvaw trending on Twitter to get people to start discussing what is undeniably a global pandemic. The international community has been working hard this week to end violence against women, with activism and lobbying at CSW57 and #CSW57 trending on Twitter and offensive T-shirts promoting violence against women being removed from Amazon’s wesbite.

Chair of AWAVA Julie Oberin’s International Women’s Day message: “We need to keep our promise to women and children who are victims or survivors of any form of violence against women, to end that violence. Globally, nationally, locally we must take responsibility, each and every one us, and commit to speaking out against violence and changing attitudes and behaviour that allow it to continue unabated. The levels of violence are unacceptable, we are facing a global pandemic, we must act now.” Julie Oberin, Chair of AWAVA

Read more in AWAVA’s International Women’s Day 2013 Media Release

Around the country

The Age comments that The global upsurge in protest against violence and misogyny is potentially revolutionary
An article in New Matilda reports that Women are more likely than men to become homeless – especially rural and Indigenous women – and domestic violence remains the number one cause
The Herald Sun reports on the gang rape of a young woman in Sydney and states Sexual violence won’t be tolerated
Anne Summers comments in the Daily Life that “there is a global pandemic of violence against women”
Read Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick’s speech at the inaugural National Rural Women’s Conference, Rural responses to rural challenges: The need for a contextualised response to family and domestic violence

Around the world

Listen to this audio blog from AWAVA’s Chair, Julie Oberin, on the importance of CSW57 and ending violence against women and girls
At CSW57 in New York, Minister Collins gave an Unwavering commitment to safer world for women and girls in Australia’s country statement
Minister Collins presented on Using new technology and social media to address violence against women and girls, including the Australian Government’s The Line, at CSW57
Michelle Bachelet says that culture must not block progress on stopping gender violence
In the US, watch this video clip of President Barack Obama signing the Violence Against Women Act
In the UK, MP Harriet Harman calls for a substantial donation from Amazon to a women’s refuge as an apology for selling T-shirts on Amazon which encourage the sexual and physical abuse of women
In the UK, the Government has pledged £35 million to end female genital mutilation/cutting in a generation
Again from the UK, campaigners say women’s awareness of what constitutes domestic violence is ‘shockingly low’

This site is being archived soon. Visit wesnet.org.au for more information.

About AWAVA Program Manager