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03 November Weekly Round-up: COAG Summit and Third Action Plan special edition

What a week! There has been a great deal of activity in the area of preventing and responding to violence as governments and community representatives gathered in Brisbane on 28 October for the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Summit on Violence against Women and their Children. The Prime Minister used the Summit to reiterate his call for cultural change towards gender equality, while some States and Territories urged further action, including a new Medicare item for family violence counselling and paid family violence leave to be included in the National Employment Standards.

The Summit was also the platform for the release of the Third Action Plan (2016–2019) of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children (2010–2022). Among other things, the Third Action Plan raises the visibility of sexual violence, which has been overshadowed by the recent emphasis on domestic and family violence, and also emphasises the vital role of specialist women’s services, including those represented in AWAVA’s membership. Read AWAVA’s response to the release of the Third Action Plan here.

Other media releases and responses:

The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) has applauded the inclusion in the Third Action Plan of key actions focusing on migrant women, such as developing appropriate visa arrangements for temporary residents subjected to violence.
The National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC) has acknowledged the limited additional family violence funding for Community Legal Centres
Our Watch has welcomed the Third Action Plan and its commitment to implementing Change the Story
Domestic Violence NSW CEO Moo Baulch has told The Project that ‘significant gaps’ remain in funding for homelessness service providers and community legal centres.

In other news:

Rosie Batty has said she is ‘disturbed’ that the Australian Government can find $180 million for a plebiscite but cannot fund domestic violence legal reform, highlighting the fact that perpetrators are still allowed to directly cross-examine victims of domestic violence in Family Court cases, among other problems.
ANROWS has released a major research report documenting the ‘burden of disease’ caused by intimate partner violence, finding that this violence is the largest cause of disease for women and girls aged 14 to 44 years.
The National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples has warned that it may be forced to cease operations in 2017, after it was de-funded by the Commonwealth Government, while co-chair Dr Jackie Huggins said the Congress had a strong heartbeat and was not going without a fight. Co-chair Rod Little highlighted the importance of the Congress’s representative role in the context of major issues including domestic and family violence.

Get involved!

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.
The Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence against women and their children (MAEVe) is hosting a roundtable on ‘Financial abuse in the United Kingdom’, facilitated by Prof Cathy Humphries, on Friday 11 November. For more information click here.
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.
Lucy’s Project is inviting everyone to join the “Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse-International Perspectives, Conference 2016”, which will be held from 5-6 of November at the Portside Conference Centre, near Wynyard Station, Sydney CBD. Click here to book tickets.
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^th November 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.
Soroptomist International Australia is sponsoring the Rosie Batty Roadshow, which will make its final stop in Adelaide on 7 November Proceeds will go to the Women’s Legal Services in each capital. To buy your tickets click here.

July-October 2016 Quarterly Update

We’ve heard that our friends and supporters would like to learn more about the work AWAVA has been doing. So, welcome to the first ever AWAVA Quarterly Update! Thanks again for your support, and please let us know what you think.

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The Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) is one of the five National Women’s Alliances funded by the Australian Government. We bring together women’s organisations and individuals across Australia to share information, identify issues and their solutions, to respond to and prevent violence against women and their children. AWAVA’s role is to ensure that women’s voices and particularly marginalised women’s voices are heard by government, amplifying the work of our member organisations and supporters.

Our advocacy efforts are currently focussed on three main portfolios of work that relate to ending violence against women and children, which we recognise as a cause and consequence of gender inequality. These three areas are:

The role of specialist women’s services in responding to and preventing violence against women and children
Supporting the implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022
Access to justice for women and children living with or at risk of violence

Specialist Women’s Services

AWAVA’s message is that if you care about ending violence against women and children, you need to care about services. Specialist women’s services, which are at the heart of developing and delivering best-practice responses, are drastically underfunded despite increasing demand for their services.

Currently, most domestic and family violence services rely on short-term homelessness funding or are juggling other small, short-term project-based funding streams which do not account for the breadth of their complex and indispensable long-term work. Further, homelessness service funding through the National Partnership of Affordable Housing (NPAH), which is a key source of funding for domestic and family violence services from the federal level, is still due to end at June 2017. This is of serious concern for AWAVA’s members because if the NPAH discontinues, so does much of the federal level funding for domestic and family violence services: the consequences to our sector will be devastating.

In August, AWAVA re-established our working group on specialist women’s services to advocate for better resourcing and recognition for the role of specialist women’s services, which will build on the findings and recommendations from our policy brief on The role of women’s specialist services in Australia’s response to violence against women and children. This work is currently underway so please watch this space!

In the immediate term, funding security is needed for services funded under the NPAH, while governments work collaboratively with all stakeholders to develop a secure, dedicated and appropriate funding system that will work properly support and protect the breadth of work of the diverse services in our sector.

The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children

The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 (the National Plan) is an important document that aims to unify the Australian community towards a shared goal: ending violence against women and children. It also encourages often-disparate actors in the private, public and NGO sectors to combine their efforts towards achieving this goal. The four Action Plans (of three years each) under the National Plan are intended to build a set of defined and practical steps to respond to and prevent violence against women and their children. The Department of Social Services (DSS) “leads” on the implementation of the National Plan, although efforts to eliminate violence against women and children involve efforts taken across the breadth of government.

1800RESPECT

1800RESPECT is the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service for people living in Australia and is a key initiative of the National Plan. 1800RESPECT is contracted through Medibank Health Solutions which until recently sub-contracted the whole of its call centre counselling work to Rape & Domestic Violence Services Australia. A recent evaluation of 1800RESPECT has resulted in the implementation of the “First Response” triage model and the establishment of an Implementation Clinical Advisory Group (ICAG) to guide the development of the triage function.
AWAVA continues to raise our members’ questions and concerns about changes to 1800RESPECT and to share information and opportunities to comment. In part as a result of our advocacy, the state-based specialist women’s domestic violence hotline services are now represented on the ICAG. We will continue to communicate with 1800RESPECT in order to better understand the changes to the services and to advocate for collaboration with other women’s services.

The Third Action Plan

Over the past few months, DSS has undertaken numerous roundtable consultations and workshops across the country to inform and develop the Third Action Plan (2016-19). The release of the Third Action Plan is expected to occur at the COAG National Summit on Violence Against Women on the 28th of October 2016.

Throughout the development of the 3rd Action Plan, AWAVA and AWAVA’s Advisory Group members have had ongoing communication with the Department of Social Services (DSS). In addition to contributing to the workshops and consultations, AWAVA continues to provide constructive feedback and recommendations on the Third Action Plan. Among other things, AWAVA and AWAVA’s Advisory Group members have been advocating for:

A greater focus on protecting and resourcing services, especially specialist women’s services. We know that, national wide, specialist services have been struggling to meet the increasing demand for their services while often facing unsustainable funding cuts. These services are not only crucial to women and children’s safety but are also necessary to re-affirm and re-establish the rights of survivors/victims and their families to live free of violence after having left a violent relationship.
Access to justice, particularly in relation to safety in family law.
Increased attention on sexual violence, both within and outside of domestic and family violence contexts, which must be a focal point and mainstreamed throughout the Action Plan.
Making sure that all women and children are meaningfully included within the plan, including but not limited to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, women subject to racism on the basis of their cultural or linguistic background, women with disability, women living in poverty and or/with mental health, women in prison, women asylum seekers and refuges, LGBTIQ communities, women in regional, rural and remote areas, older and younger women.
Improved consultation mechanisms and monitoring and evaluation for work under the National Plan, which continues to be a large concern regarding accountability and transparency in regard to the plan.

Access to Justice

The legal system is often a crucial part of women’s and children’s journey out of violence. However, women and children living with or at risk of violence regularly face serious barriers in accessing justice. AWAVA’s working group on access to justice came together to better understand some of these barriers and shortcomings.

In August, AWAVA released a policy brief on Access to justice for women and children living with or at risk of violence. This paper draws on existing literature and community sector knowledge – including the expertise of AWAVA’s members – to highlight some of these barriers and shortcomings. It also foregrounds some of the efforts needed to enable the environment necessary for access to justice to exist and many steps that could be undertaken to improve legal system’s responsiveness and establish stronger safeguards for women and children experiencing and at risk of experiencing violence.

AWAVA has also advocated directly to the Attorney General’s Department to call for measures to improve access to justice for women and children living with or at risk of violence, particularly relating to family law and legal assistance. In addition to promoting the findings and recommendations within our policy brief, AWAVA continues to highlight that in the context of family law and family violence it is crucial that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community controlled organisations, and specialist women’s legal services and programs receive adequate and sustainable funding. We also stress the need to take a gender-transformative and human rights approach.

Our work in the following months will focus on an emerging issue of concern: sexual violence both within and outside of the context of domestic and family violence. Sexual violence has become increasingly invisible within the “violence against women” agenda and continues to be misunderstood in policy and practice. Additionally, law reform in the area of “sexual violence” has faltered although much work is needed within this area. Our working group on access to justice has recently begun working towards an issues paper on law reform on the area of sexual violence. Watch this space!

Other recent work:

Prevalent & Preventable, a major international conference on preventing violence against women, was co-hosted by AWAVA in conjunction with Our Watch. Read the wrap-ups here.
Submissions on topics including migration, family law and the Budget.
Our International Engagement Project is a joint project of the five National Women’s Alliances, focusing on international gender equality efforts through the Commission on the Status of Women meetings and the Sustainable Development Goals. Find out more here.
Supporting member campaigns, such as Women’s Legal Services Australia’s Five Step Plan for Safety First in Family Law and the National Union of Students Women’s Department’s work on stopping sexual violence at university
Ongoing: Weekly News Round-ups (register to receive these by email here, and catch up on past editions at our website), social media (follow us on Facebook and Twitter) and two-monthly meetings of our Advisory Group.

Contact us! If you have ideas or feedback about our work, please email [email protected] Visit our website at www.awava.org.au

Download full report here.

Submission on Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016, 04 October 2016

In line with the new Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016, AWAVA agrees that there is merit in addressing family, domestic and sexual violence in the migration law context and that reforms are needed to support more suitable pathways for victims of this violence. However, we express reservations about the likely effectiveness of proposed Bill in achieving these goals, as well as the possible unforeseen ramifications of this Bill for victims/ survivors of domestic and family violence.

We are submitting our position paper to the committee reiterating the recommendations outlined in the Victorian Royal Commission into Family violence report and also the recommendations made by the ALRC that relate to family violence.

Download our submission here

26 October Weekly Round-up

The harms inflicted by domestic violence often do not end after separation or divorce. Long after a violent relationship has ceased, women can continue to suffer from mental and physical health problems while having to face homelessness and poverty. A common form of abuse within violent relationships, financial abuse sometimes continues beyond separation as well. This week ANROWS released Domestic Violence and Women’s Economic Security: Building Australia’s Capacity for Prevention and Redress, a report highlighting the financial abuse of women and opportunities to better address the economic harms caused by violence. Similarly, a study conducted by Elizabeth Branigan for the Coburg Brunswick Community Legal and Financial Counselling Centre in 2015 outlined magnitude of damage caused by financial abuse. In ’His Money or Our Money?’ Financial Abuse of Women in Intimate Partner Relationships, she points out that its “recognition is fundamental to an understanding of the often deeply hidden ways that patriarchal relationships continue to disadvantage women and children.” Both reports show how a range of legal, corporate and income support systems perpetuate the effects of financial abuse and work against women’s economic empowerment, and both identify key steps for their reform.

An Australian Institute of Family Studies study into the effects of family violence on parenting has found that a ‘Disney Dad’ phenomenon places women in the disadvantaged position of carrying the burden of day to day expenses and responsibility of children while ex-partners lavish children with gifts during contacts to win loyalty and allegiance.
Research has found a link between the density of poker machines in a suburb and levels of domestic violence.
In Victoria, university students have created “If These Walls Could Talk”, an exhibition in which body paint was used to camouflage the bodies of 24 models against different wallpapers to symbolise the lack of voice, fear and shame that women subjected to domestic violence feel.
Also in Victoria, controversy has emerged over the government’s Respectful Relationships curriculum, with the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) urging the Minister for Education James Merlino to remove web links and resources that the ACL deems inappropriate for children.
Caitlin Overington has written about CCTV footage being used as evidence in court proceeding about cases of violence against women, noting that such evidence can help with convictions, but that reliance on it also entails risks.

The Women NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) has commissioned a study to on violence against women and girls in 15 counties within Liberia.
In Canada, the Edmonton International Women’s Day Committee has staged a Take Back the Night march and rally through downtown streets to oppose violence against women.
In Colombia, the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have initiated talks on how to rework the peace deal that would end the civil war. Columbian feminists have expressed the need for the progressive inclusion of women’s issues especially gender-based violence in formulating the new accord.

The Office of the Attorney General has released the Family Law Council’s final report on Families with Complex Needs and the Intersection of the Family Law and Child Protection Systems. Delivered to government in June 2016 and now published, the report focuses on enhancing collaboration between the family law system and other support services engaged in child protection, including mental health, family violence, drug and alcohol, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and migrant services. Access the report here.
In the United States, the National Coalition of Anti Violence Programs has released a report on hate violence against LGBTQ and HIV-affected people in the US. A program of the New York City Anti-Violence Project, the research confirmed that hate violence in its various forms is far too commonly inflicted upon LGBTQ people and people with HIV in the US.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Summit on Reducing Violence against Women will be held in Brisbane on 27 and 28 October 2016, to review progress and profile best practice in efforts to make Australia safer for women and their children. Online roundtables are open now, enabling submissions and comments from people who are unable to attend in person. Visit the Summit website to register and take part.
The Domestic Violence Resource Centre of Victoria has updated its infographic poster presenting the latest statistics on family violence in Victoria and Australia. Download the poster here.
The Office for Women is inviting applications from civil society to be part of the Australian Government delegation to the 61st session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) to be held in New York from13-24 March 2017. The due date for applications has been extended and will now close 11:59pm AEDST Sunday 30 October 2016. For more information visit the Office for Women’s website 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. Early bird rates close on 21 October.
Lucy’s Project is inviting everyone to join the “Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse-International Perspectives, Conference 2016”, which will be held from 5-6 of November at the Portside Conference Centre, near Wynyard Station, Sydney CBD. Click here to book tickets.
FECCA is hiring a Communications Advisor for a one year full-time contract until 30 June 2017 with possibility of extension. Click here for more information.
The National Rural Women’s Coalition Ltd is calling for expressions of interest for the role of Independent Director for a period of two years commencing 24^th of November 2016. To apply or for more information email [email protected].
The National Rural Women’s Coalition is launching “Brave Danny” a picture book for children on 24^th November 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].
Across Australia (and elsewhere) Reclaim the Night marches are held on the last Friday in October, to protest violence against women and their children, particularly sexual violence, and to re-assert our right to be safe in public spaces. This year marches will be on Friday 28 October. Check your networks and social media for details about local events. Marches will be held in Brisbane,Canberra(organising led by our member organisation Canberra Rape Crisis Centre), Darwin (organised by our member Ruby Gaea Centre against Sexual Violence), Alice Springs and no doubt elsewhere!
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.
The National Multicultural Women’s Conference will be held on 3 and 4 November 2016 in Parkroyal Parramatta, Sydney. Find out more here.
Soroptomist International Australia is sponsoring the Rosie Batty Roadshow from 5 October to 7 November 2016, travelling from Brisbane to Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide. Proceeds will go to the Women’s Legal Services in each capital that Rosie will visit. To buy your tickets click here.

19 October Weekly Round-up

Welcome to the week’s Round-Up. In a speech that has resonated with women around the world, United States First Lady Michelle Obama has voiced a powerful condemnation of the sexual objectification of women. Addressing Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s defence of his comments about women as “locker room banter”, she said, “This is not something that we can ignore. It’s not something we can just sweep under the rug as just another disturbing footnote in a sad election season. Because this was not just a ‘lewd conversation’… This was a powerful individual speaking freely and openly about sexually predatory behaviour, and actually bragging…” Michelle Obama’s speech is a strong reminder that such behaviour and attitudes must not be tolerated or condoned.

For those who want to take action, please join one of the Reclaim the Night marches that will be happening simultaneously in various places across Australia and in other parts of the world, on Friday 28 October. Reclaim the Night marches are held every year on the last Friday in October to protest violence against women and their children, particularly sexual violence, and to re-assert women’s right to be safe in public spaces. For more information, see our Get Involved section below.

Around the Country

The COAG National Summit on Reducing Violence against Women has been announced. It will review progress and highlight best practice in government efforts to reduce violence against women. The Summit will be held in Brisbane on 27 and 28 October and will be co-hosted by the Premier of Queensland, the Hon Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, and the Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP. Online Roundtables will enable contributions from those not attending
In Victoria, the Department of Education has released the new Respectful Relationship curriculum which will be mandatory in all state schools from foundation year onwards to work towards eliminating gender stereotypes and male privilege.
In a video interview shared online, ANROWS has discussed with University of New South Wales Associate Professor Jan Breckenridge the project she coordinated to evaluate and compare State and Territory governments’ “Safe at Home” programs addressing homelessness and other issues arising from domestic violence.
Our Watch is developing a new resource on preventing violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, which is expected to be released in 2017. For more information, click here.
Jenna Price has written about cuts to funding for legal services, noting that community legal centres including women’s legal services are already forced to turn away 160,000 people each year, a situation that will worsen dramatically once further cuts come into effect in July 2017.
In Queensland, RizeUp, a non for profit organisation based in the Gold Coast has been making a difference in the lives of women and children survivors by creatively transforming homes using furniture and home items donated online.

Around the World

In Liberia, the United Nations has called for an end to the widespread impunity for sexual offenders caused by institutional weakness, corruption and financial constraints.
In South Africa, Fezekile Kuzwayo, the woman who accused President Jacob Zuma of raping her in 2005, has died. A memorial was held to remember her life and work as well as for activists to reiterate calls for a strong stand against gender-based violence.
The Scottish government has made a decision to invest £665,000 over the next two years for the Scottish Women’s Rights Centre (SWRC) to expand their work in Dundee and the Highlands, extending their services to more women.
In the United States, Paul Ang, director of men’s engagement at Centre for Awareness, Response and Education (CARE) has launched NÜ Men, a six-week program of group discussion among university men to deconstruct ideas of masculinity and the attitudes and behaviour that result in violence.

Research and Reports

White Ribbon Australia has released findings of a study of its Ambassador Program conducted by University of Wollongong researchers, Kenton Bell and Claire E. Seaman. Through in-depth interviews and online survey, the project investigated the motivations behind men’s participation in the Ambassador program as well as their roles and the challenges they face as ambassadors.

Get Involved!

The Office for Women is inviting applications from civil society to be part of the Australian Government delegation to the 61st session of the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) to be held in New York from13-24 March 2017. The due date for applications has been extended and will now close 59pm AEDST Sunday 30 October 2016.
WESNET is hosting the Inaugural Technology Safety Summitin 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. Early bird rates close on 21 October.
ANROWS in partnership with Melbourne Research Alliance to End Violence Against Women and their Children (MAEVe) at the University of Melbourne will hold the free public lecture “Translating Violence Against Women Knowledge into Action” on the 25^th of October in Melbourne Museum, 11 Nicholson St., Carlton VIC. Register here.
Lucy’s Project is inviting everyone to join the “Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse-International Perspectives, Conference 2016”, which will be held from 5-6 of November at the Portside Conference Centre, near Wynyard Station, Sydney CBD. Click here to book tickets.
FECCA is hiring a Communications Advisor for a one year full-time contract until 30 June 2017 with possibility of extension. Click here for more information.
The National Rural Women’s Coalition Ltd is calling for expressions of interest for the role of Independent Director for a period of two years commencing 24^th of November 2016. To apply or for more information email [email protected].
The National Rural Women’s Coalition is launching “Brave Danny” a picture book for children on 24^th November 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].
Across Australia (and elsewhere) Reclaim the Night marches are held on the last Friday in October, to protest violence against women and their children, particularly sexual violence, and to re-assert our right to be safe in public spaces. This year marches will be on Friday 28 October. Check your networks and social media for details about local events. Marches will be held in Brisbane,Canberra (organising led by our member organisation Canberra Rape Crisis Centre), Darwin (organised by our member Ruby Gaea Centre against Sexual Violence), Alice Springs and no doubt elsewhere!
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.
The National Multicultural Women’s Conference will be held on 3 and 4 November 2016 in Parkroyal Parramatta, Sydney. Find out more here.
Soroptomist International Australia is sponsoring the Rosie Batty Roadshow from 5 October to 7 November 2016, travelling from Brisbane to Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide. Proceeds will go to the Women’s Legal Services in each capital that Rosie will visit. To buy your tickets click here.

14 October Weekly Round-up

Welcome to this week’s Round-Up! Originally conceived to make sense of the racialised experiences of black women, ‘intersectionality’ is a term expressing the understanding that gender inequality is not the same for all women: racism, homophobia, colonialism and abelism all combine to affect women’s different experiences of gender inequality and violence. At the recent Prevalent & Preventable conference, participants sought to explore what ‘we’ actually mean when we use the term ‘intersectionality’. This required recognising and acknowledging that as individuals and individuals within groups, there are multiple sites of oppression, and simultaneously, multiple sites of privilege and power. To learn more about what happened at the conference, read the Storify wrap-up here and Yvonne Lay’s reflections here.

Around the Country

In the Northern Territory, a specialist domestic violence court will be trialled in response to coroner Greg Cavanagh’s findings on the deaths of two Aboriginal women.
In Western Australia, the family of Ms Dhu, a 22-year old Aboriginal woman who died in custody from medical conditions arising from previous domestic violence, has criticised the coroner for reserving her decision about whether to release footage of the final days and hours of Ms Dhu’s life. More information at the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee page here.
Also in Western Australia, the Peel Alliance Interventions for Teen Anger and Violence (PAITAV), an alliance of organisations within the Peel region, has been launched to increase community awareness and provide assistance for families experiencing violent behaviours by teenagers at home.
The International Labour Organisation has sought Australia’s advice and participation in developing a global convention on the impact of domestic and other forms of violence in the workplace.
Channel 7 Sunday Night program has conducted the largest ever Freedom of Information (FOI) investigation into rape and sexual misconduct in Australian universities. The investigation targeted all 39 universities and found hundreds of complaints resulting in very few disciplinary actions.
[This links contains descriptions of abuse that are likely to be distressing. If you need or someone you know needs support, please call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732]
Michael Brull has refuted Warren Mundine’s claim that there is widespread silence about violence in Aboriginal communities, documenting the many reports and widespread advocacy over decades by Aboriginal women in particular.

Around the World

In India, Hindustani Times has started an eight part series of open letters written by eminent Indian writers to discuss the reality of the rampant sexual assault of women in India. Actor, poet and film director Farhan Akhtar started the series with an open letter to his 16 year old daughter.
In Pakistan, ‘Gender Sensitive Guidelines for Women in Media in South Asia’, a consultation meeting has been held between UNESCO Pakistan and Uks to review guidelines for women practitioners in the media as well as discuss the balance in gender balanced representation in media institutions especially at decision-making level.

In the United States, President Barack Obama has signed into law the Sexual Assault Survivors Act that will protect survivors’ access to the initial forensic medical examination and ensure the preservation and testing of more than 100,000 rape kits in police warehouses and crime labs.

Also in the United States, following a report by The Washington Post on his 2005 vulgar video recording, GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump has explained that his comments were mere “locker room banter”. In this article, University of Pennsylvania professor Shaun R. Harper examines how the endorsement of sexual assault under the guise of banter contributes to cultures that enable violence.

In Africa, Einice Musiime has reported on the long term benefit of teaching boys that crying is normal in expressing emotions, arguing that conversations about social norms of masculinity should be encouraged.

Research and Reports

Women’s Foundation of Oregon has released a comprehensive report on the issues, experiences and status of the current generation of Oregon women and girls. Count Her In has collected baseline data from 1,000 women and girls across the state emphasizing on eight pressing issues requiring immediate action, among them violence against women and systemic racism.

Get Involved!

Join friends and colleagues working for women’s rights and gender equality at the National Women’s Alliances’ International Engagement Forum to hear about updates and new inputs on the Sustainable Development Goals from the government and civil society. Forum will be held on the 19^th of October , from 10 AM to 4 PM on level 3, 175 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW. Invite and agenda here.

WESNET is hosting the InauguralTechnology 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. Early bird rates close on 21 October.
Ruby Gaea Darwin Centre Against Sexual Violence Inc. invites you to join us for the annual Reclaim the Night March to end sexual violence against women and children on 28 October 2016 starting from at 6:45pm at Bicentennial Park (Corner of Daly Street & The Esplanade). For more information email [email protected]or visit the website here.
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.

Lucy’s Project is hosting the second annual conference on Domestic Violence and Animal Abuse-International Perspective to be held from 5-6 November at the Portside Conference Centre, level 5 Symantec House, 207 Kent St., Sydney. 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.
The National Multicultural Women’s Conference will be held on 3 and 4 November 2016 in Parkroyal Parramatta, Sydney. Find out more here.
Soroptomist International Australia is sponsoring the Rosie Batty Roadshow from 5 October to 7 November 2016, travelling from Brisbane to Sydney, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne and Adelaide. Proceeds will go to the Women’s Legal Services in each capital that Rosie will visit. To buy your tickets click here.

Post Conference Report

AWAVA’s Program Manager, Merrindahl Andrew delivered her speech during the closing day of the Prevalent and Preventable Violence against Women conference which was held in Adelaide from 19 to 22 of September 2016.

I want to address a question that’s been raised several times in the conference, which is how to build on the momentum we have at the moment, and keep it going: how to push for the social change that is required to meet our shared goal.

Worldwide, the most important factor influencing government responses to violence against women is the presence of a strong, autonomous feminist movement.

In their study of 70 countries Laurel Weldon & Mala Htun found that the presence of such a movement was more influential than any other factor in achieving the broad range of government responses that support victims and survivors, and work towards eliminating violence.

Strong, autonomous women’s movements make more of a difference than national wealth, left-wing parties, or the number of women legislators.

However, Weldon & Htun did also find that women’s policy agencies and international norms strengthen feminist efforts, as movements work within and across borders and demand the creation of new institutions to advance feminist interests.

What does autonomous mean? Well, Weldon & Htun defined it simply as meaning autonomous from organisations that do not have gender equality as their primary goal, such as political parties and unions. So it doesn’t necessarily mean small, or non-hierarchical, or having a philosophy of any particular degree of radical-ness: it just means not subsumed within a broader organisation that’s not focused specifically on gender equality.

But social science can only give findings about past patterns of how people achieved social change. There is no instruction manual; we still have to decide what to do in the present, with incomplete information. Partly because things change even as we’re trying to change them, and because we also change in that process.

An image that came to me in one of the sleepless nights leading up to this conference is that doing this kind of social change is like trying to stir a pot of hot custard with a spoon made of chocolate.

It can be frustrating and messy, and you might end up holding nothing, but what we’re making is pretty good.

Beyond that, I do not advise relying on this metaphor!

Weldon and Htun’s research was limited, as all research must be, by certain definitions: in their case they were focused on what determined the extent of governments’ responses to violence against women. They were mainly measuring things like government funding for refuges, shelters and rape crisis centres, law reform, and training for workers such as police. All things that still concern us today.

But what about the next step that we’re trying to make: to a national and local focus on prevention, to a concerted effort to change the underlying drivers of violence. An effort that obviously involves a wide range of actors beyond as well as including governments.

As we have seen at this conference, and as Our Watch has articulated so well in Change the Story – this involves working towards a situation where messages and influences about equality, respect and non-violence are coming from all directions and in all settings – reinforcing and multiple.

What is the factor that is going to get us there? Our Watch plays a key role, and its member governments can be hugely influential if they bring that influence to bear – but who is going to persuade them to bring that influence to bear? Change needs to come from so many more people and institutions. It’s almost as if what we need is – An autonomous feminist movement! Or something new along those lines that is being created right now.

Actually – this kind of systemic change is something that the Australian feminist movement has always been working towards. The great debates about ‘reform vs revolution’ in the 1970s and 1980s were basically resolved along the lines of:

It’s OK to work for reform as long as by doing so you’re strengthening and not undermining the chances for revolution.

It’s a question that’s still worth asking – what are the implications of our actions?

Meanwhile, the feminist movement itself has changed. Is that the term we even want to use now?

You could say that the groups that are organised towards reform (and maybe still revolution!) are now less autonomous than in the past, because they’re more linked in with other institutions – which is partly a gain, since that kind of institutionalisation is one of the ways feminist movements ultimately achieve change.

You could say that AWAVA falls into that category.

On the other hand, the newer and more autonomous groups – often operating through social media and localised/informal networks, and in various specific settings – are mobilising opinion, leading through influence, creating connections and giving voice to experiences that are deeply relevant but not represented in mainstream portrayals of violence against women.

One of the constructive things that we can do to strengthen the links between the more institutionalised parts of the movement – the parts that have a degree of legitimacy or power because of our place in broader institutions – and the more autonomous and perhaps less powerful parts.

But without trying to force everybody into some grand scheme, and with the kind of respect that makes it safe and humane for everyone.

Another constructive thing we can do is look to the contribution of women’s organisations and women’s services over the last forty years, and re-articulate the principles developed:

individual and systemic advocacy,
contributing to social change and policy development while drawing on women’s experiences,
non-victim-blaming,
recognising the individual woman as the expert in her situation
knowledgeable about the patterns of violence and what’s required for healing

– a powerful, effective model that goes way beyond the shorthand description of ‘response’, as it’s used to distinguish services from ‘prevention’.

Wherever it works to do so, let’s make sure that prevention efforts and broader advocacy are linked to this model.

On Tuesday, Maha Abdo from the Muslim Women’s Association encouraged us to acknowledge and sit with what is uncomfortable. In that spirit, I want to acknowledge that every time I say ‘we’, I feel uncomfortable because I have not defined ‘we’, or asked any of you on what terms you might like to be included in this ‘we’.

It’s the poetic, political ‘we’ of ‘we, the people’, it’s an attempt to construct a collective – and it always threatens to be a form of domination: as in, ‘are you with us, or against us?’

This is part of the history of the women’s movement, and why intersectionality is so important.

The other problem with ‘we’ is the tendency towards a kind of romanticised notion of ‘us against the world’ – or worse still: ‘we few, we happy few’, glorious and honourable even in our likely failure.

We do not want to be few! We want to be many! We do not intend to fail; we plan to succeed!

That’s one of the great contributions of Our Watch, among others: to have such big and open ambition about the scale that we want to have, the number of people we want to mobilise, beyond our own groups, backgrounds and political positions.

So, please take my use of ‘we’ as contingent, as provisional, if possible as an opening rather than a closure. And I will continue to acknowledge the discomfort.

As good as recent developments have been, sometimes in our area it feels as if there’s a terrible lack of traction. We can see the urgency and the horror of what we’re dealing with, but it feels like our wheels are spinning –the institutions around us often fail to respond with commensurate attention – sustained attention, realistic resources, an extra shoulder to the bumper of a badly bogged car.

There is progress, and at times there are hope-inspiring leaps of progress –

like when Our Watch produced Change the Story;
like when Australia’s Prime Minister acknowledged that gender inequality underpins this violence;
like when the Victorian Government commissioned and then committed to implementing – and funding! – perhaps the most extensive and systematic inquiry into domestic and family violence ever undertaken.

And then – perhaps even at the same time – we are confronted by the sheer inadequacy of every step taken so far.

There are two things I think that can give us comfort and hope.

One thing is to look to each other for inspiration and to honour each other’s work, acknowledging that we all sit in different positions, with different roles and limitations, and with lives beyond as well as linked to violence.

The other thing is that it all adds up. We don’t have to do it all ourselves – we can’t.

I went to a great speech once by Mark Yettica-Paulson, and to encourage the audience he quoted the song by Kev Carmody and Paul Kelly – not the famous line ‘from little things big things grow’ – but the line that says:

‘If we fall others are rising.’

In the song, that’s Vincent Lingiarri’s defiance, his warning to the powerful land-holders that the Gurindji’s efforts will be sustained beyond individuals. We have some of that same determination, that longevity, in our efforts to eliminate violence.

Marai Larasi reminded us that ultimately we want to be out of a job. The double bind is that in order to get there, we need to be able to do our jobs.

We have to acknowledge that our world is quite harsh in rewarding status and credibility, and punishing those who lack it, or are seen to lack it.

We have to not let our own need for status and credibility, as organisations and individuals, squeeze out, push down on others.

We have to make space for those others who are rising, and we have to create enough shared resources, networks, knowledge, goodwill, trust, friendships – so that they’re rising into something they can take hold of and make something from.

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