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Welcome to all of our new subscribers! In the past few weeks we have had quite a few newbies join us, which is great! Remember, if there is an event you want to promote, or an article of interest you want to share, send it through to [email protected] and we will try to include it in our round-ups.

Quite a bit of interesting news across our virtual desks this week, so settle in for some great reading!

Around the Nation

• The Final Report of phase 1 into allegations of ongoing sexual and other abuse in the Defence Force has been received by Stephen Smith, Minister for Defence – read the media release here
• Pressure is now being put on NRL sponsors to make a difference in ending violence against women
• The WA draft mental health bill has some “”appalling elements around forced sterilisation of women”” says Tricia Malowney in this online opinion piece
• The Sydney Morning Herald reports on UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women’s round-table held in Sydney
• and the Minister for the Status of Women announces National Plan Community Action Grant to the AFL for work preventing violence against women

And Internationally…

• Disturbing news from Uzbekistan, where women are being sterilised without their consent or knowledge on a regular basis
• Read here about the media’s influence on rape culture in Canada and the USA
• Proposed changes to data collection of Family Violence has caused controversy in New Zealand
• and in Zambia, there are calls at the Gender Justice and Local Government summit to take further steps to end violence against women

New Survey

Have Your Say!

Women’s Major Group, supported by UN Women, is Collecting Women’s Voices gathering the views and gender perspectives on sustainability and what that means for women around the world through the Rio+20 gender survey.

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Upcoming Events

As always, AWAVA supports our Friends & Supporters events in the community – click on any of the events below to be directed to more info and registration details:

• NEW!!   the Women’s Legal Centre ACT presents the Women and Justice Forum 16 May
• NEW!!   Australia’s CEO Challenge and Minter Ellison are offering Specialist Training by Stephen Page on Family Law changes and their potential impacts on 14 and 15 May, in Brisbane
• NEW!!   IWDA are screening The Lady, a film about the life of Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi around Australia on 27 and 30 April

Still time to register:

• Griffith University Domestic Violence Symposium on 3 May
• Violence Against Women Conference – Queensland on 7,8, 9 August 2012, in Brisbane www.violenceagainstwomenqld.com.au
• The Australian Women’s Coalition is calling young women between 18 – 30 years who live, study or work in Auburn, Bankstown, Liverpool or Coffs Harbour NSW, or in Canberra, ACT to be a part of SHOUT!  A series of three free workshops will run in each location, complemented by an online network of support and skills-sharing and a local network of participants and AWC member organisations. The workshops will culminate in community events on Harmony Day next year, 21 March 2013. Find out more here
• Dont forget the Association of Women Educators conference being held in July 2012 – for details and registration click here
• Preventing and responding to violence against women: Issues, challenges and best practice to be held in Adelaide (South Australia) on 15 June 2012
• The No To Violence conference will be held in November 2012
• The 7th Womens Health Conference will be held in Sydney in 2013

We hope you all had a nice, relaxing and safe mini-break over the long weekend, and it’s another short week, and another short round-up!  Don’t forget there are plenty of events happening around the country, with new listings all the time – scroll to the end of this post for more details

Around the Nation

• The Victorian Women’s Trust has posted a summary of its Storming Against Violence week of action here
• Rhonda Cumberland says that forced marriage is a hidden problem in Australia that must be addressed
• The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Dr Rashida Manjoo, attended the first roundtables in Sydney, including one for immigrant and refugee women; and spoke at the reception held by UN Women on 10 April.  The UN Special Rapporteur’s study tour continues until 20 April

And Internationally

• In the UK experts warn against criminalising forced marriage
• And finally, Eve Ensler calls on us all to DANCE to end Violence Against Women

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AWAVA have  been busy supporting our local and international sisters in a number of campaigns to end Violence Against Women. Click on the links below to see the petitions AWAVA have signed, and to add your signature!

• Change.org campaign urges the NRL to impose a one season ban on players convicted of violence against women.  This petition only takes 3 minutes to read and complete and could make a measurable difference, not just in the NRL, but in organisations generally
• Many of you will have read about Amina Filali, the 16 year old Morrocan girl who killed herself after being forced to marry her rapist. If you haven’t already, click here to sign the petition to pressure the Morrocan government to change the law that allows this to happen
• Click here to join the call to protect workers who experience Domestic and Family Violence

Dont’ Forget!

Upcoming Events

There is still time to register for these events

• NEW!!! Griffith University Domestic Violence Symposium on 3 May

• The Australian Women’s Coalition is calling young women between 18 – 30 years who live, study or work in Auburn, Bankstown, Liverpool or Coffs Harbour NSW, or in Canberra, ACT to be a part of SHOUT!  A series of three free workshops will run in each location, complemented by an online network of support and skills-sharing and a local network of participants and AWC member organisations. The workshops will culminate in community events on Harmony Day next year, 21 March 2013. Find out more here

• Dont forget the Association of Women Educators conference being held in July 2012 – for details and registration click here
• Preventing and responding to violence against women: Issues, challenges and best practice to be held in Adelaide (South Australia) on 15 June 2012
• The No To Violence conference will be held in November 2012
• The 7th Womens Health Conference will be held in Sydney in 2013

A short week for most of us this week, so only a short round-up!  Not much has crossed our desks in relation to local news, but there is plenty happening in other parts of the world

Around the Country

• Victims of forced marriage speak out as Attorney General Nicola Roxon promises changes to make coercion into marriage a serious crime
• The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Dr Rashida Manjoo, starts her Study Tour of Australia on 10 April until 20 April, starting in Sydney

Internationally

• There are calls in Zimbabwe to take action to halve gender based violence by 2015
• A new book takes a look at the Unfinished Revolution and what more needs to be done around the world to end Violence Against Women
• In the USA Honour Violence and Honour Killings are becoming more prevalent
• Changes to gun laws in Canada have outraged women’s groups
• In Pakistan a new report has been released on the socio-economic cost of Violence against Women
• The US held a roundtable on violence against women with disabilities: Forgotten Sisters: Violence Against Women With Disabilities, Human Rights, and Complex Identity Status

This week there have been some very interesting new reports released, so make sure you read all the way to the bottom of this post so you don’t miss out! But in brief news around the country:

• The Victorian Women’s Trust calls on the Premier to act on violence
• In Tasmania, the Police Union raises concerns over budget cuts to Specialist Domestic Violence Units
• The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo, will be in Australia for a study tour from 10-20 April, see our post from earlier in the week here

and Internationally:

• In China, there are calls to broaden the definition of domestic violence to include domestic partners and ex-spouses
• Michelle Bachelet says violence against women is one of her top priorities
• The Age reports on findings of a recent visit by Rashida Manjoo to our neighbour, PNG, – read the full story here
• A new tool using crowd-sourcing technology is tracking violence against women in Syria
• A new report shows continuing high levels of violence against women in Afghanistan

New Reports and Research

New Reports and Research

• Women’s Health Goulburn North East have released The Way He Tells It a in-depth report into the effects and causes of increased violence against women following a natural disaster
• The AIC has released a report into People Trafficking – read this media release for more details

Upcoming events

and dont forget – there is still time to register for these events:

• International Symposium on VAW on 15 June, in Adelaide
• International Women’s Conference also in June, 14-15 June, in Cairns
• Association of Women Educators National Conference, 3-5 July, also in Cairns
• Responses to Men’s Domestic and Family Violence hosted by No To Violence, 14-15 November,in Melbourne
• 7th Women’s Health Conference in 2013, 7-10 May, in Sydney

This week in Violence Against Women news:

• Minister Collins announces new funding for victims of trafficking
• Mary Crooks, Executive Director of the Victorian Women’s Trust says keeping quiet about violence against women is to condone it
• ARPA (Australian Review of Public Affairs) asks empowering victims of domestic violence: could anti-discrimination laws play a role?
• Women’s Health Victoria will be speaking at the Global Launch in London of a campaign dedicated to reducing domestic violence worldwide – read the media release here
• and Victoria announces a new taskforce aimed at reducing sexual violence

Internationally

• the UK’s Home Office releases it’s updated action plan to reduce violence against women and girls
• Special Rapporteur on VAW, Rashida Manjoo, says the Solomon Islands must act to end Violence Against Women
• In Afghanistan, girl scout groups are taking steps to prevent forced marriages

My Short Skirt

On March 21 it was World Poetry Day, and to celebrate this we thought we would share with you an excerpt from the Vagina Monologues, which we think is close enough to a poem to count 😉

My Short Skirt
(from The Vagina Monologues)

My short skirt
is not an invitation
a provocation
an indication
that I want it
or give it
or that I hook

My short skirt
is not begging for it
it does not want you
to rip it off me
or pull it down.

My short skirt
is not a legal reason
for raping me
although it has been before
it will not hold up
in the new court.

My short skirt, believe it or not
has nothing to do with you.

My short skirt
is about discovering
the power of my lower calves
about cool autumn air traveling
up my inner thighs
about allowing everything I see
or pass or feel to live inside.

My short skirt is not proof
that I am stupid
or undecided
or a malleable little girl.

My short skirt is my defiance
I will not let you make me afraid
My short skirt is not showing off
this is who I am
before you made me cover it
or tone it down.
Get used to it.

My short skirt is happiness
I can feel myself on the ground.
I am here. I am hot.

My short skirt is a liberation
flag in the women™s army
I declare these streets, any streets
my vagina™s country.

My short skirt
is turquoise water
with swimming colored fish
a summery festival
in the starry dark
a bird calling
a train arriving in a foreign town
my short skirt is a wild spin
a full breath
a tango dip
my short skirt is
initiation
appreciation
excitation.

But mainly my short skirt
and everything under it
is Mine.
Mine.
Mine.

Eve Ensler, 2001

Welcome to another weekly round-up! Some interesting and diverse articles have crossed our virtual desks this week, and here are a few that we thought might interest you.

Around the Nation

• New funds have been announced for increased security in refuges and specialist services
• In Canberra, school students discuss respectful relationships
• Minister Collins also unveiled the National Action Plan to Empower and Protect Women and Girls in Conflict Zones – you can read more about this in Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick’s, opinion piece here
• Australia’s Global Ambassador for Women and Girls spoke out against violence against women inFiji last week
• The Age continues its series on Violence Against Women, and takes a look at behaviour change programs and tells one man’s story as he goes through the process of change

Internationally:

• In Alberta, a new survey has been conducted on men’s attitude to violence against women
• The Age takes a look at a growing movement Project Unbreakable which encourages survivors of sexual assault to share their stories
• 75 activists from around Africa climb Mt Kilimanjaro to raise awareness and end Violence Against Women
• At the end of this month, Botswana will release its comprehensive data on gender based violence
• Also during March, the Southern African Development Community Gender Unit will host a regional conference on Gender Based Violence
• Jennifer Prestholdt takes a look at the Amina Filali case in Morroco (the young woman forced to marry her rapist) and Morroco’s penal code

Upcoming Events!

• Register for the 20th Annual Kingsley Laffer Lecture here on 19 March
• Flinders University are holding an International Symposium on Preventing and Responding to Violence Against Women, on 15 June
• The Association of Women Educators conference is on again in July 2012 – learn more and register here
• The Violence Against Women Queensland Conference: An inconvenient reality on 7-9 August 2012, will be taking early bird registrations from 1 April

Funding Opportunities

• In Victoria, expressions of interest for Reducing Violence Against Women and Children grants are now open

A busy and focused couple of weeks for women right around the world, with the 2nd World Shelter Conference having just concluded, CSW56 in full swing and organisations and individuals preparing for, and celebrating International Women’s Day.

News on gender-based violence against women continues to appear in the media daily, so here is just a snippet of what has crossed our virtual desks this week

Around the Nation:

• Police and other services report a surge in reports of Family Violence in Victoria – as The Age reports here
• The Age has also started a series of articles examining the causes of Violence Against Women
• The National Times says that Domestic Violence is our Biggest Law and Order Issue

Around the World

• In Ireland, a new report reveals an average of 8 calls per hour from women experiencing violence over the new year period
• In the UK, new laws will allow women to ask police about any history of violence their partners may have
• Heather Barr reflects on the ever-changing situation for women in Afghanistan

And some of the media attention that the 2nd World Conference of Women’s Shelters received:

• The Daily Star noted safe shelters save lives
• The Bahamas Weekly quoted Melanne Verveer as saying violence against women and girls is amongst the world’s greatest challenges

IWD also drew lots of attention from the Media – a few articles that caught our eye:

• In Pakistan, rape continues to be used as a tool to oppress women
• Still in Pakistan, and an awareness-raising event as part of the We Can All End Violence Against Women campaign was held in Islamabad
• At home, Elizabeth Broderick asks us to think about rural women living with violence
• And Penny Williams talks about women making a difference in the Pacific region
• Khady Koita looked at putting a universal end to female genital mutiliation

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Reports and Publications

• DVRC has released this report into filicide and the link to Domestic Violence