AWAVA Secretariat, Author at AWAVA

International Anti-Street Harassment Week (Day 3)

“Catcalls, sexist or sexual comments, homophobic and transphobic slurs, flashing, groping, stalking, and assault in public spaces. Gender-based street harassment is a global problem. It makes us feel less safe, it restricts where we go. IT MUST END.

Join us April 12-18, 2015, as we rally, march, and hold workshops, tweet chats, wheatpasting and chalkwalks to bring attention to this problem & engage our communities in solutions. ”

For more information, visit: http://www.meetusonthestreet.org/

International Anti-Street Harassment Week (Day 2)

Join us April 12-18, 2015, as we rally, march, and hold workshops, tweet chats, wheatpasting and chalkwalks to bring attention to this problem & engage our communities in solutions. ”

For more information, visit: http://www.meetusonthestreet.org/

International Anti-Street Harassment Week (Day 1)

Join us April 12-18, 2015, as we rally, march, and hold workshops, tweet chats, wheatpasting and chalkwalks to bring attention to this problem & engage our communities in solutions. ”

For more information, visit: http://www.meetusonthestreet.org/

Weekly Round-Up * 30 March

Welcome to the latest edition of the AWAVA Weekly Round-Up. This week, many of the links we’ve highlighted focus on the huge contributions that dedicated staff in frontline services make to the community in Australia and around the world. While they are often given a backseat in the media, these individuals commit themselves to assisting people in need, often in very difficult circumstances. The perspectives and insights of those who work in frontline services within the preventing violence against women sector are crucial as we develop effective and innovative initiatives to eliminate men’s violence against women.

Around the Country

Family violence workers around Australia accept low pay and conditions in order to support much needed services
The Federal Government has announced that it will accept all 19 recommendations of the Moss Review into sexual abuse in Australia’s offshore detention centre in Nauru
Discussions are proceeding on trials of cashless welfare cards to prevent recipients from purchasing alcohol and gambling
Lieutenant General David Morrison’s successor as Chief of Army has been named
In Queensland, MP Billy Gordon has been expelled from the Labor Party after failing to reveal his criminal history, including accusations of domestic violence
In Victoria, trials have begun of a system of monitoring domestic violence offenders deemed especially dangerous
[TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence, gun violence]
In the ACT, women’s refuge Beryl Women Inc has reported an increase in abusers using GPS technology to try and track women to their shelter [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of abuse]
In New South Wales, the third annual report by the NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team has been tabled and includes 23 new recommendations, as well as noting that half of the 14 recommendations from the last report have not been acted upon
In Victoria, journalist Chris Johnson suggests that media focus on women killed by strangersdisguises the broader issue of men’s violence against women
In the ACT, a magistrate has rejected the argument that alcohol and anger management issues caused a man to abuse his wife and child [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence, violence involving children]
In Victoria, an internal review has found women are bullied and harassed inside the Victorian Liberal Party
The Melbourne Comedy Festival has received criticism for not taking action after a comedian told an audience member to “die” after they staged a silent protest in response to a joke about rape[TRIGGER WARNING: Rape joke]
In Victoria, a priest has apologised for inappropriate comments he made about murdered woman Jill Meagher during a service at a primary school [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence, victim blaming]

Around the World

Katharine Viner has become the first ever woman named Editor in Chief at The Guardian
In Afghanistan, the body of a women killed by a mob has been buried with women’s rights activists taking part in her funeral [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence, death]
In the United States, discussions of ‘revenge porn’ as a form of abuse have been prompted by the actions of fraternity Kappa Delta Rho [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of harassment]
In Wales, concerns have been raised that women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds do not feel comfortable reporting domestic violence
In Turkey, national campaigns and protests against violence against women continue [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of abuse, violence, sexual violence, death]
In the United States, writer Hannah Giorgis talks about the reasons women of colour a reluctant to report sexual violence to police [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of sexual violence]
In South Africa, Deputy Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court Dikgang Moseneke has linked violence and discrimination against LGBTI people and violence against women, calling for action to reject this behaviour
In the United States, a number of football players who have been either been convicted or face charges of domestic violence and sexual assault continue to play in the NFL [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of sexual violence, violence]
In China, five young women remain in custody after being arrested on International Women’s Day during a protest against sexual harassment on public transport

Research, Resources and Reports

The Australian Human Rights Commission has released their Rights & Responsibilities Consultation Report online
The Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence in Australia have released their Interim Report online
Youth Action NSW and the White Ribbon Foundation have released the results of a survey of over 3,000 young people in New South Wales about their attitudes and knowledge of domestic and family violence
A chapter, ‘Cultural competence – transforming policy, services, programs and practice’ in the bookWorking Together | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice is now freely available online for download
The Centre for Innovative Justice has released their report Opportunities for Early Intervention: Bringing perpetrators of family violence into view
No Ceilings: The Full Participation Report from the Clinton Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is now available online
The journal Psychiatry, Psychology and Law has published an article entitled ‘Protecting Australia’s Children: A Cross-Jurisdictional Review of Domestic Violence Protection Order Legislation’

Get Involved!

Become an AWAVA Volunteer Intern! We’re looking for 2 Canberra-based interns – a Policy Intern and a Research Intern – to work 1 day per week and get some behind-the-scenes experience at a small NGO in the preventing violence against women sector. Applications close tomorrow!

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the view of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only.

Funding for Legal Aid Kept

Attorney-General Senator the Hon. George Brandis and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash have announced that current levels of Commonwealth funding of Legal Aid
Commissions, Community Legal Centres (except Environmental Defenders Offices) and
Indigenous legal assistance will continue for another two years. In their announcement, the Government acknowledge the crucial role ready access to legal assistance plays in protecting and supporting women and children experiencing violence.

This announcement comes after a protracted campaign from a number of directions hoping to persuade the Government to maintain funding to legal assistance. A PDF of the joint media release from the Attorney-General and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women is available here.

International Day for the Right to the Truth Concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims

“On 21 December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 March as the International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims.

The purpose of the Day is to:

– Honour the memory of victims of gross and systematic human rights violations and promote the importance of the right to truth and justice;
– Pay tribute to those who have devoted their lives to, and lost their lives in, the struggle to promote and protect human rights for all;
– Recognize, in particular, the important work and values of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero, of El Salvador, who was assasinated on 24 March 1980, after denouncing violations of the human rights of the most vulnerable populations and defending the principles of protecting lives, promoting human dignity and opposition to all forms of violence.”

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/en/events/righttotruthday/index.shtml

Weekly Round-Up * 23 March

Welcome to the latest edition of the AWAVA Weekly Round-Up. This week, many of the stories we highlight deal with increases in violence against women during and after natural disasters. This is a clear example of the need to look at events in our society through a gender lens. In 2012, our sister alliances, economic Security4Women and the National Rural Women’s Coalition created a package of resources and training materials to that addressed the disproportionate economic impact of natural disasters on women. These materials are available for download online.

This week has also been the final week of the 59^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59). The event has been a fantastic opportunity to meet with our colleagues from NGOs around the world and to influence the direction the world’s Governments take to address the needs and rights of women and girls. However, we are concerned about the way that Civil Society Organisations have been excluded from both the negotiation of the political declaration and the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) Methods of Work resolution and emphasise the vital nature of civil society participation in the CSW process.

AWAVA representatives discussing the role of men’s behaviour programs in assessing violence against women

Around the Country

In Queensland, a spike in domestic violence incidents has been reported following Cyclone Marcia
Minister for Social Services Scott Morrison has announced a two-year extension to homelessness services’ funding, giving the groups certainty to continue their work
Police comments suggesting women should not use public parks alone after the murder of a teenage girl in Melbourne have prompted huge outcry from around Australia about the misunderstanding of men’s violence against women
The Moss Review into sexual assault in immigration detention facilities on Nauru has found conclusive evidence that women and children experience sexual abuse while in detention
[TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of sexual violence, violence against children]
In the wake of new research, calls are increasing for attention and action on the problem of street harassment [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of street harassment]
The Australian Senate Finance Committee has released a report calling on the Government to commit to adequately funding community legal services
In New South Wales, both major parties have made commitments to address domestic violence in the lead up to the state election. The Liberal government’s planned domestic violence register has drawn criticism from domestic violence service workers. This register is also incorporated in Labor’s domestic violence package
In Victoria, the leader of the country’s first specialised Family Violence Command has been appointed by Victoria Police
In the ACT and Victoria, large increases in domestic violence reporting have been recorded
Conversations have been sparked on Twitter about the issues of homelessness and inappropriate housing for older women
The Guardian has begun maintaining a list of women killed in Australia this year where police have laid charges against their partner or ex-partner
In the ACT, Victims of Crime Commissioner John Hinchey has said more urgent action needs to be taken to address family and domestic violence
In Victoria, a bill is before the senate to enable judges to give clearer directions to juries in sexual assault cases and prohibit instructions which state that sexual assault complainants are unreliable in general

Around the World

In Africa, countries hit by the Ebola epidemic are recording increases in violence against women
The United Nations Population Fund have dedicated $35 million to support sexual and reproductive health needs in Vanuatu during Cyclone Pam recovery efforts
The United Nations has highlighted women’s participation in sport as key to increasing gender equality around the world
In Ghana, Police have asked journalists to report cases of sexual violence in an appropriate way in order to avoid causing further harm to victims
In India, Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar has been named UN Women’s first male ambassador
In the United States, families are being urged to use reporting on athletes committing violence against women to discuss the issue and teach children about respectful relationships
In the UK, legal experts have spoken out about unrealistic restrictions on domestic violence victims’access to legal aid
In the United States, the Government has announced additional funding to address the backlog of hundreds of thousands of ‘rape kits’ that remain untested around the country
In the United States, Actress Ashley Judd has written about sexually violent tweets at her and her perspectives as a survivor of child sexual abuse [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of sexual violence, violence against a child, sexual harassment, threats]

Research, Resources and Reports

A recording of Dr Marilyn Waring’s 2015 Pamela Denoon Lecture ‘The Dark Side of Women’s Caring Roles’ is now available to listen to online

Get Involved!

The full program is now available for the Supporting Children & Young People that have Experienced Domestic & Family Violence Conference being held in Alfred Cove WA on 25-26 March
Become an AWAVA Volunteer Intern! We’re looking for 2 Canberra-based interns – a Policy Intern and a Research Intern – to work 1 day per week and get some behind-the-scenes experience at a small NGO in the preventing violence against women sector. Applications close 31 March

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the view of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only.

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

“The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 March. On that day, in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in Sharpeville, South Africa, against the apartheid “pass laws”. Proclaiming the Day in 1966, the General Assembly called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination (resolution 2142 (XXI)).

In 1979, the General Assembly adopted a Programme of activities to be undertaken during the second half of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (A/RES/34/24). On that occasion, the General Assembly decided that a week of solidarity with the peoples struggling against racism and racial discrimination, beginning on 21 March, would be organized annually in all States.”

For more information, visit: http://www.un.org/en/events/racialdiscriminationday/background.shtml

CSW59: Prioritising Women’s Safety, Working Towards Gender Equality, and Holding Perpetrators to Account through Men’s Behaviour Change Programs

This panel will be jointly hosted by AWAVA and WESNET at 12:30pm in the Hardin Room, Church Center United Nations (CCUN), 777 UN Plaza

Speakers:
Julie Oberin (Chair of AWAVA and WESNET)
Pauline Woodbridge (Coordinator, North Queensland Domestic & Family Violence Resource Service (NQDVRS), WESNET Member)
Margaret Augerinos (AWAVA, WESNET)

For more information about AWAVA’s CSW59 participation, visit: http://awava.org.au/2015/03/10/announcement/awava-news/awava-parallel-events-at-csw59

Weekly Round-Up * 16 March

Welcome to the latest edition of the AWAVA Weekly Round-Up. This week, we have highlighted efforts from across the country and the globe to bring conversations about violence against women into the public sphere. Attitudes and beliefs about gender and violence allow this issue to continue and fester in our society, but these conversations offer the opportunity to engage people who would never otherwise think about gender-based violence to change opinions and behaviours they may have that contribute to gender inequality and violence. It is key for us to get the message out there: violence against women is everybody’s business.

Around the Country

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has identified Tasmania as the lead jurisdiction in the push to make domestic violence orders apply across the whole of Australia
Midwives around Australia have indicated that they do not have enough knowledge or training to assist pregnant women in violent relationships
Journalist Georgina Dent has compared her experiences of harassment as a law student to those described by many women working as doctors
[TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of sexual harassment] and Emma Linton, an analyst in the oil and gas industry has talked about her own experiences of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace
In New South Wales, domestic and family violence is set to become a key issue in the upcoming election
In the ACT, the Territory Government has announced an additional $300,000 of funding to augment its efforts in addressing domestic violence
In Tasmania, Governor Kate Warner has expressed her plan to focus on changing attitudes about gender in an effort to eliminate discrimination and violence against women
In New South Wales, participation in the Love Bites school based program that focuses on domestic and sexual abuse has increased from 48 in 2014 to 220 students this year [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence]
A former professional AFL player has been found guilty of domestic violence offenses and fired from his position coaching in the SANFL [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of abuse]
In the Northern Territory, the Senate Inquiry into Domestic Violence has heard that sporting clubs have a key role to play in educating children about domestic and family violence
Anger is growing after Wicked Campers have failed to comply with their own commitments and a ruling from the Advertising Standards Bureau to remove sexist and occasionally violent slogans from their vans [TIRGGER WARNING: images of sexist, violent slogans, nudity]
The Centre for Public Christianity has called on conservative evangelical churches to fund research into domestic violence within their congregations
Service providers are calling for greater recognition of the role acquired brain injuries can play in affecting women who have experienced violence even after they have left a violent situation

Around the World

Indigenous women around the globe have been praised for their resistance against violence and for taking action to protect themselves, their communities and the environment [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence, sexual violence, state-sanctioned violence]
The United Nations has described levels of violence against women as ‘alarmingly high’ with mixed progress being made in the last two decades
In Canada, public discussions of sexual assaults and harassment on public transport are taking place after a photograph of a sexual assault on a commuter train was posted to Facebook [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions and image of sexual assault]
YWCA Australia Executive Officer Dr Caroline Lambert has written about the importance of young women’s voices in the negotiations at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York
In India, a recent study in the state of Chhattisgarh has found that healthcare providers are not providing adequate care to, and are in some cases further assaulting, victims of gender-based violence [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of sexual assault, harassment]
In Puerto Rico, the Secretary of Education has authorised the inclusion of a gender perspective as an integral part of the curriculum in public schools [TRIGGER WARNING: Victim-blaming, death]
In Wales, the Violence Against Women bill has been passed unanimously, making it the first such law in the UK [TRIGGER WARNING: Descriptions of violence, gun violence]
In the Solomon Islands, the first phase of the UN-Solomon Islands Government Joint Programme on Eliminating Violence against Women and Girls has officially been launched
In Pakistan, calls are being made to reduce incidents of gender-based violence in schools

Research, Resources and Reports

NSW peak organisations and state-wide service providers that work within the sexual violence and domestic and family violence field from a feminist framework along with the Men’s Behaviour Change Network have together developed a blueprint to end sexual assault and domestic and family violence in NSW called A Safer State. The blueprint itself and Key Recommendations are both available for download online
New research has been released on the prevalence of street harassment in Australia, with 87% of women experiencing at least one form of harassment and one quarter of women being threatened after rejecting sexual advances

Get Involved!

Professor Marilyn Waring’s recent speech on the ‘economics of dignity’ as the 2015 Pamela Denoon Lecture will be broadcast tomorrow, Tuesday 17 March at 8:05pm EST on ABC’s Radio National
Julie McKay, Executive Director of the Australian National Committee for UN Women, has created a list of 6 actions you can take to accelerate progress towards gender equality
Associate Professor Sharon Hayes from the Queensland University of Technology is conducting a survey on attitudes to sexual harassment and assault. Complete the survey by clicking here
Registrations are open for It’s Time To Talk Conference 2015: The Impacts of Domestic Violence on Families – a free conference for entry level workers in the community services sector in Bankstown NSW on 27 May 2015 5:30-8:30pm
Become an AWAVA Volunteer Intern! We’re looking for 2 Canberra-based interns – a Policy Intern and a Research Intern – to work 1 day per week and get some behind-the-scenes experience at a small NGO in the preventing violence against women sector. Applications close 31 March
You can still get involved with the action during the second week of the Commission on the Status of Women by tweeting along under the hashtag #CSW59

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the view of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only.

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