Nov 2016- March 2017 Quarterly Update 

Click here to download the Quarterly Update

Welcome to AWAVA’s latest update. After a brief hiatus and holiday period we are a little later than planned with this one, making it more like half-yearly update! While updating you on our work, we also aim to give you some hand-on tools and materials for you to use in your work.

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:

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

The role of specialist women’s services

AVAVA’s message continues to be clear: if you care about ending violence against women and children, you need to care about services. As awareness rises about government efforts to eliminate violence, demand for services has also continued to rise: a predicted and positive outcome, but one that must be met with a greater investment of funding.

The National Partnership on Affordable Housing (NPAH) remains a significant component of family and domestic violence spending; it is a key source of funding from the federal level for safe and appropriate housing for women and children and also provides significant resources to the domestic and family violence specialist services, which assist with key “wrap around” services, such as specialist women’s services. However, since 2015 the NPAH has been subject to yearly roll-over, which provides funding uncertainty for specialist services.

During the lead up to the COAG meeting on housing and homelessness in November 2016, AWAVA worked along-side members of the community to advocate for funding security for these services and called for the extension of the NPAH, which was to end in June 2017. The joint open letter signed by 209 organisations including AWAVA can be found here. AWAVA also wrote to State and Territory Premiers, Chief Ministers and Women’s Safety Ministers asking them to help those attempting to build their lives free from violence by urging the Commonwealth to take leadership and recommit to long-term, fully indexed extension of the NPAH.

AWAVA has also advocated directly to relevant Ministers and Senators about the important role NPAH plays in providing specialist services working to prevent and end violence against women and children, and continues to promote the findings and recommendations within our policy brief on the role of specialist women’s services.

On the 9^th of December, the Commonwealth Government extended the NPAH for another year (to June 2018) while Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments continue to work on long-term homelessness reform. However, attention has now shifted to the larger overarching National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA), which funds domestic and family violence services and other homelessness as well as social housing. Indications from the Commonwealth Government that its contribution to NAHA is under active consideration for reform have raised concerns, given the importance to women of social housing and the critical need for accommodation and support services for victims/survivors of domestic violence.

AWAVA will continue to participate in discussions surrounding these reforms, and their interaction with the Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Children, and will continue to advocate for adequate, secure and sustainable funding and protection for specialist services.

Supporting the implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children

COAG Summit

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National Summit on Reducing Violence against Women and their Children was held in Brisbane during the 27^th and 28^th of October 2016. The Summit brought together delegates, including Commonwealth, State and Territory Premiers, Chief Ministers and Women’s Safety Ministers and featured presentations about progress and best practice in the area of women and children’s safety in each state and territory and across Australia. AWAVA’s Chair Julie Oberin attended this event and we also made online submissions to a series of roundtable discussions on several topics. The roundtables identified a number of key insights and suggested actions – summaries can be found here.

Third Action Plan

The Summit also saw the release of the Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children. AWAVA welcomed the Third Action Plan, particularly the plan’s recognition of the role of specialist women’s services, which AWAVA advocated for throughout the development of the Third Action Plan. However, AWAVA like many other peak bodies and community groups continues to believe that a much larger investment of funding is required to genuinely address service needs and strengthen prevention efforts to end violence against women and children. AWAVA’s media release welcoming the Third Action Plan can be found here.

AWAVA will continue to communicate with and work alongside the Department of Social Services (DSS) to support and provide constructive feedback and recommendations to the implementation of the Third Action Plan. In particular, we look forward to being engaged in the working groups under the Third Action Plan and hearing more about the work of the National Plan Implementation Executive Group (IMPEG), which comprises representatives from the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments who provide oversight of the National Plan implementation and evaluation.

1800RESPECT

Social Compass has been commissioned by the Department of Social Services to seek the views of a range of stakeholders as part of an evaluation of 1800RESPECT, the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. Service providers and peak bodies were encouraged to take anonymous survey in March 2017. The survey and evaluation reports have not yet been publically released. 1800RESPECT released a media statement in February 2017 indicating an increase in the number of calls that were answered, following the introduction of the new First Response triage model in August 2016.

AWAVA continues to ask for further information about the functioning of 1800RESPECT (such as data about referrals) and the steps the service is taking to support women in overcoming barriers they face when accessing the services.  We will continue to advocate for collaboration with other women’s services, greater transparency and information sharing with community stakeholders.

Access to justice for women and children living with or at risk of violence

Tech-facilitated abuse and image based sexual abuse

AWAVA has previously called for the creation of a new offence in the Australian criminal code to criminalise the unauthorised sharing of intimate images (image-based sexual abuse and exploitation).  The Australian Government has expanded the role of the e-Safety Commissioner, appointing Julie Inman Grant to the role in November 2016. A new portal will be established later this year to enable women to report imaged based sexual abuse, and the Government has committed to releasing a discussion paper in the first half of 2017 to work towards the establishment of a civil penalties regime (instead of a criminal offence). AWAVA has worked with the e-Safety Commissioner on terminology, contributing to a shift from using the term ‘revenge porn’ to the term ‘image-based abuse’, and looks forward to continuing working with the Commissioner in the next phase of her office’s activities.

Country visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

In February 2017 the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dubravka Šimonović made her country visit to Australia. AWAVA took on an informal coordination role to help ensure that as many civil society organisation as possible could meet with the Special Rapporteur. The meetings were attended by a variety of organisations including women legal services, ethnic communities’ representatives, women with disability advocacy organisations, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders family violence prevention services.

Prior to the visit, AWAVA made a submission to the Special Rapporteur in which we highlighted strengths and weaknesses of the Australian Government’s legislative, policy and program responses to violence against women as well as the funding situation that puts women’s services in a state of uncertainty. As we stated in the submission, this is a critical gap in the Government’s otherwise positive approach to preventing and responding to violence against women, and steps to remedy this gap need to be prioritised. You can access the full text of the submission here.

You can also find the End of Mission Statement by Dubravka Šimonović by following this link.

Parliamentary Inquiry into a better family law system to support and protect those affected by family violence

The Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs is conducting an inquiry into how Australia’s family law system can better support and protect people affected by family violence. As well as supporting the work of our member organisation Women’s Services Australia, AWAVA is preparing our own submission, which is focused on funding needs and the role of specialist women’s services in the area of family law. More details to follow in the next update.

The Committee encourages people with experience of family violence and family law to complete an anonymous online questionnaire (open until 30 June). The Committee also invites members of the community to express interest (by 30 June) in making a short statement to the Committee by telephone. We would urge our friends and supporters to use these opportunities and provide their input. Please share this information with other people and organisations who may be interested.

Submissions

Oct – Dec 2016

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

Jan – March 2017

• Social Services Legislation Amendment (Omnibus Savings and Child Care Reform) Bill 2017
• Submission to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences 2017
• Submission in response to the exposure draft of the Family Law Amendment (Family Violence and other Measures) Bill 2017 (Cth) and corresponding Public Consultation Paper 2017

Operations updates

Annual Face to Face meeting with the Advisory Group

In March 2017 AWAVA held its annual face to face meeting of the Advisory Group. We value the opportunity to hear from members around the country about their work. As a result of the meeting, we have developed an outline of AWAVA’s priorities for the next three years, which will focus on strategic engagement and representation, enhancing equal access to justice and accountability, promoting effective responses to improve women’s safety and recovery, primary prevention and institutional change and (in collaboration with the other National Women’s Alliances) development of an international agenda.

 Staff changes

We’ve had to say good bye to Megan Morris, who’s taking up a role overseas, and Teena Saulo, who is leaving to focus on her doctoral studies. We have welcomed Anahita Surya back in the capacity of Administration and Communications Assistant. We’ve also welcomed Tina Dixson who is replacing Megan in the capacity of Policy Officer.

Other activities

16 Days of Activism

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign (16 Days of Activism) ran from the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on the 25 November through to Human Rights Day on the 10 December. It aims to raise awareness and galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

During the 16 Days of Activism, AWAVA ran a social media campaign focusing on the role of specialist women’s services in ending and responding to violence against women, linking this to the need to maintain NPAH (see above). The campaign on Facebook and Twitter focused on the importance of promoting and protecting specialist women’s services, including community controlled and women-centred services, in the efforts to end violence against women. We are thankful to everyone who joined, shared and responded campaign’s messages.

Commission on the Status of Women, 61st session in New York, March 2017 (CSW61)

AWAVA’s delegation to CSW61 was led by Julie Oberin (AWAVA and WESNET Chair) and included Dixie Link-Gordon, Ashlee Donohue, Pauline Woodbridge and Margaret Augerinos. A parallel event led by Ashlee and Dixie highlighted the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women to ending violence against women. CSW is a valuable space in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women can mobilise and connect with broader global and national networks. The National Women’s Alliances have a role in supporting this participation and we can build on the work at CSW61 to lead sound practices for representation. Other events in which AWAVA delegates presented and participated included events on women-led spaces as an element of economic empowerment and technology safety. Through joint submissions from the National Women’s Alliances, AWAVA contributed input on the Australian Government’s priorities for CSW61 before the meeting.

Future plans

The role of specialist women’s services brochure

In consultation with the Advisory Group, AWAVA is currently developing a 2-page brochure about the role of specialist women’s services in response to violence against women. This brochure can be used to raise awareness on the importance of specialist services as well as a supplementing material when applying for funding. Watch this space.

2017-2018 Federal Budget

On 9 May AWAVA will participate in the 2017-2018 Federal Budget Lock-up briefing for community stakeholders. This allows us to analyse the budget in relation to the government’s commitment on reducing violence against women. We will be releasing our response to the Budget shortly after it is publicly released.

We are currently seeking our friends and supporters’ contributions regarding specific areas of concern and/or any issues that need to be followed up or analysed in the Budget. Please send us your questions by COB 5 May to Tina at [email protected] .

Don’t forget, you can view our most recent updates and other relevant information in our Weekly News Round-ups and social media (follow us on Facebook and Twitter).

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

Click here to download the 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.