AWAVA News Archives - Page 4 of 17

Weekly round-up* 17 May

This week AWAVA Chairperson, Julie Oberin, attended the inaugural International White Ribbon Conference: Global to Local: Preventing Men’s Violence against Women – Research, Policy and Practice in One Space. AWAVA also attended the Federal budget stakeholder lock-up on 14 May, see more below…

Federal Budget

The Women’s Budget Highlights 2013-14 can be accessed here – be sure to have a read through. You can read AWAVA’s notes on the preventing violence against women budget announcements and our media release Stronger, Smarter, Fairer…?

News from around Australia

Prof Donna Chung says that less than half of all incidents of male violence against women ever gets reported to the Police
Regularly featured writer, Clementine Ford, writes this piece on what Cleveland tells us about the cycle of abuse
Forced and Coerced Marriage is now a criminal offence, but understanding the nuances and the secrecy of marriage in many cultures is a hurdle yet to be overcome
In Victoria, a specialist police unit on the Mornington Peninsula is working to break the cycle of domestic and family violence
Still in Victoria, and Supreme Court judge Betty King laments the lack of success in ending violence against Aboriginal women
A new report from the Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council highlights the incredibly high incidence of sexual assault of women while they are in psychiatric care. You can sign this petition in support of action
Sad news of the passing of Sandra Egger, a champion for law reform, particularly for women, and domestic and sexual violence in NSW
This op-ed from The Conversation says that Australia has the opportunity to do more to end VAW in regions of conflict
And from the Minister’s Office, this media release announces funding for a new body to boost efforts to prevent violence against women

Around The World

In PNG a national day of mourning (haus krai) has been held over violence against women. See how Australia will be working with PNG in this media release from the PM’s office
An official in Hong Kong receives criticism from women’s groups, after advising young women to drink less in order to avoid being raped
In Saudi Arabia, a new campaign to end domestic violence has been initiated. This article says that women should “ask for real changes in the law itself”
This New Statesman article states: “This is not the persecution of old men. This is the prosecution of rapists”
This article from the USA states that forced marriage is a form of slavery
Read this interesting article on underage marriage in the Netherlands. Police in Amsterdam were “under fire for allegedly helping two young underage Muslims to marry in the Netherlands – so the bride could avoid being sent back to her family’s native Pakistan for a traditional arranged marriage to her cousin”
Activist Mallika Dutt says that the push for LGBT rights and acceptance can help stop violence against women
In Turkey, one group is doing all it can to raise awareness of, and to end violence against women
This report from the UN highlights the ongoing inequalities for women in Iraq
A new study finds that there has been a shift globally in attitudes to violence against women
In New Zealand 24/7 monitoring via GPS is being considered for domestic violence offenders
Representatives from 14 East Asian countries met in Beijing this week to discuss ending violence against women
And finally, the UN reviews efforts into ending human trafficking

Get Involved!

Take action to protect the right to compensation for victims of crime in NSW

Training Highlight

WESNET and the Women’s Council WA are bringing Safety Net training to Perth. This training on 10-11 June is ideal for those working with women experiencing violence and who need to understand how technology can be misused to perpetrate violence, book soon to avoid disappointment

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

Media Release: Stronger, Smarter, Fairer…? Review of 2013-14 Federal Budget

AWAVA comments on the 2013-14 Federal Budget announcements:

Julie Oberin, Chair of AWAVA, comments

“An ongoing budgetary commitment, clearly linked to the National Plan implementation, across the entire plan and its lifetime, is fundamental each year. This needs to be commensurate with the scale of the issue. The announcements in the 2013-14 budget for the Royal Commission reflect this and give a much-needed focus on child sexual assault, for which the Government should be congratulated, it needs to be acknowledged that similar funding levels are needed across all forms of violence against women and their children.”

“AWAVA are keen to work with, and to participate in the development of the Foundation
[to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children] so that it can draw upon and build on the existing primary prevention and early intervention knowledge base and work undertaken by the preventing violence against women’s sector. The National Plan requires continued, coordinated, partnerships and it is key that the new foundation develops on work already being progressed within the sector.”

Read AWAVA’s full media release here: AWAVA 2013-14 Budget Media Release

Budget Review 2013-14: Stronger, Smarter, Fairer…?

The budget announcements under personal safety of women and children (National Plan) for 2013-14 include $44 million:

$5.2 million over 5 years for the establishment and operation of the Foundation to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children
$7.6 million over 3 years to continue and extend DV-Alert training program
$28.5 million to June 2017 to continue and expand 1800RESPECT, enabling an increase in the number of counsellors for the service, translation of online materials and online community for workers to access specialist professional support
$3 million over 3 years to dedicated research stream on perpetrator interventions through the National Centre of Excellence to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children

Other funding announcements that relate or could potential have an impact on preventing violence against women and their children include:

$434.1 million over 4 years for the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. This includes $45 million to provide expert services to help support survivors
$0.5 million between 2012-13 in grants for advocacy, research, training, and service provision for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C)
$10.3 million over 4 years, for Community Legal Centres and $42 million over 2 years for Legal Assistance Services
$21.4 million, over 4 years to the Fair Work Commission to provide a legal remedy for victims of workplace bullying
$4.6 million over four years to establish the Andrew Fisher Applied Policy Institute for Ageing
Funding between 2012-2013 for sexual assault counselling in remote NT areas as part of the “mobile outreach services plus”
Major internet service providers (ISPs) will be required to block child abuse websites on the INTERPOL ‘worst of’ child abuse list

Read more in AWAVA’s full media release on the positives and areas to strengthen or focus on for addressing all forms of violence against women and girls: AWAVA 2013-14 Budget Media Release

Weekly round-up* 13 May

AWAVA’s Chair, Julie Oberin, presented on the Stopping Violence Against Women Before It Happens: A Practical Toolkit for Communities, and joined a National Women’s Alliance panel session, at the 7^th Australian Women’s Health Network (AWAVA member organisation) Conference, Gender Matters: Determining Women’s Health, last week.

AWAVA also announced our endorsement of AWHN’s 2012 Position Paper, Women and Health and Well-being, which recommends implementing and adequately funding the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and Their Children at both federal and state levels. AWAVA will be looking for the inclusion of much-needed additional investment in the National Plan and primary prevention activities in the budget announcements tomorrow. You can read the latest progress report on the National Plan later in the Round-up.

Around the country

Attorneys General from Australia, England, Wales, New Zealand and Canada have met in Auckland and committed to support prosecutions of sexual violence
Prime Minister Gillard will meet with Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister where she will discuss violence against women
49 local government, health and community organisations in the northern region of Melbourne joined together last Monday (6 May) to commit to actions to prevent violence against women, at an event organised by Women’s Health In the North
There are mixed views in NSW on the proposed changes to Victims of Crime Compensation see also the media release from Women’s Legal Services NSW and Community Legal Centres NSW
Still in NSW, and the launch of a new app for women experiencing domestic and family violence has been welcomed

Around the world

This article from the Hindustan Times says that under-reporting of rapes emboldens rapists
From the USA, more shocking statistics on rape in the military
Scotland Yard calls for assistance in catching and prosecuting those who carry out female genital mutiliation/cutting
In this article, from India, the writer says that VAW isn’t a women’s issue, but is everyone’s responsibility

Get Involved!

Have Your Say

Stop the Violence Project is looking for input from service providers, policy makers and representative organisations to improve service delivery for women and girls with disabilities, please complete the survey by 31 May
Norma’s Project is researching into sexual assault against older women, click on the link to see how you can get involved

National Plan Update

Progress report on the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-22

This is the first progress report in a series of progress reports to the Council of Australian Governments and the general public on efforts to reduce violence against women and their children. It details the actions taken and progress made by Commonwealth, state and territory governments and the non-government sector during the National Plan’s first two years of implementation, from 2010 – 2012.

** Articles posted on this website do not necessarily represent the views of AWAVA, and are published for interest only

First Progress Report on National Plan

The Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) have announced the online publication of the first Progress Report to the Council of Australian Governments on the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022.

Comments from FaHCSIA:

“This report is the first in a series of progress reports to the Council of Australian Governments and the general public on our efforts to reduce violence against women and their children. It details the actions taken and progress made by Commonwealth, state and territory governments and the non-government sector during the National Plan’s first two years of implementation, from 2010 – 2012.

The report shows that, although there is more to be done, we have made a significant amount of progress in the past two years. Your commitment to this work and your input to the development of this report are very much appreciated.

We look forward to continuing to work with you to build on these achievements”

Weekly Round-up* 5 May

Last week, AWAVA attended AMaRWA’s national Stand Up! Eliminating All Forms of Violence Against CALD Women conference, sponsoring three CALD women survivors of violence and their support workers to make sure that particularly marginalised women’s voices are heard by governments. We thank the survivors and their support workers for the valuable time and for sharing their experiences.

Candlelight vigils were held in the ACT, Queensland and Tasmania, to remember the victims of family and domestic violence. Tasmanian Minister, Cassy O’Connor, said the event, held each year on the first Wednesday in May, was “an important way of promoting awareness of the issue,” adding “It is a tragic toll and one that is wholly preventable”.

AWAVA’s Chair, Julie Oberin, participated in the National Plan Implementation Panel meeting back on 23-24 April, we hope to report back to you soon on the outcomes.

Around the country:

Less than half of Australian women who suffer violence at the hands of men report the assaults to police, a new study suggests
This Launceston Examiner report points out that a barrier to reporting sexual assault is that women are scared of how they will be treated by ‘the system’
New Reasearch shows women are put at high risk of violence in mixed-gender psychiatric wards in hospitals
Melissa Davey wants us to take a look at the violence in our own backyard
In Western Australia, recent changes to the Violence Restraining Order will come under scrutiny after Police prosecutors have asked the State Solicitor’s Office to appeal against a Supreme Court decision, which resulted in an offender being freed from prison on a technicality
Women’s Legal Services NSW welcomes the recommendations made in the NSW Parliamentary Select Committee into the partial defence of provocation
W omen’s use of violence is too often misunderstood, according to Centre for Non-Violence Chief Executive Officer, Margaret Augerinos

Internationally:

The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls says that Indian laws “do not go far enough“
In the UK, A Home Office minister has called for the law on female genital mutilation/cutting to be “properly enforced”
Karen Ingala Smith writes about male victims of domestic violence in the UK and the importance of not diverting the violence against women agenda
Also in the UK, Charities such as Shelter and businesses including Vodafone object to their Facebook adverts appear on pages about rape and violence
According to a British study, people can’t tell the difference between quotes from British “lad mags” and interviews with convicted rapists
[trigger warning]

Resources, Research and Reports

Technology Safety Tips click here for some great tips and fact sheets on Women and Technology Safety, from WESNETs SafetyNet Australia Project

Get Involved!

Have your say – AWAVA have developed a draft discussion paper on female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) for comment and input. Click here to read more detail and provide your feedback by 7 May

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

Weekly Round-up* 26 April

This week, AWAVA has been following reports on sexism. We have been following reports on why a focus on women politicians’ appearance fuels sexism; why women’s looks still count and how “”praising women’s looks is not necessarily a compliment but a reminder that they are not quite on the same level as men, whose worth is measured primarily by what they do””; and how gender inequality manifests itself in a myriad of ways: “”think of the sexist jokes passed off as humour, the rape apology sites on Facebook, the disparate numbers of men in positions of power“”.

Around The Nation

In this article, Cathy Humphries says we should be as shocked by domestic violence as we are at violence on our streets
The Age reports that women are at risk when attending court.
And as funding cuts are made to the Family Court system, many women will be forced to represent themselves against their perpetrators
The Age also says that increased Family and Domestic Violence reporting is an indication of changing community attitudes

Internationally

In Turkey, a digital monument dedicated to women killed by male violence highlights the extent of violence against women in that country
This article from the UK reports on family violence and rape prosecutions
In the UK, a television show takes on female genital mutilation/cutting

Research, Resources and Reports

The final report from the NSW Parliament on The partial defence of provocation is now available for download here

Get Involved!

New Survey

ABC is preparing an online tool for use in the election, and as part of the development they want to know which issues matter to Australians in this election. Complete this survey and nominate violence against women

Weekly Round-up* 22 April

Over 80% of women and girls worldwide face street harassment: catcalls, groping, sexual comments and public masturbation. Street harassment limits women and girls’ mobility and access to public spaces and is a form of violence against women and a human rights violation. Last week was International End Sexual Harassment Week – AWAVA joined in with tweeting to raise awareness. Read more about why this is so important.

In other news around the nation

The Commonwealth Government invites eligible organisations to apply for funding to deliver services such as counselling, support and case management to individuals and affected family members before, during and after their engagement with the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
In this article, Elizabeth Farrelly asks whether the rights of a culture outweigh the rights of it’s people

Internationally

A G8 Summit held in the UK has seen nations pledge to end sexual violence against women and girls in war zones
This Op-ed in the Huffington Post looks at how people conform to rape culture
In Europe, countries are being urged to ratify the Council of Europe convention on violence against women
In the UK, BBC drama Casualty runs a storyline on female genital mutilation/cutting to raise public awareness

Get Involved!

The Stop the Violence Project headed by Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) is undertaking research to build the evidence base to support future reform of the service system to better respond to the needs of women and girls with disabilities. The project is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) as part of the multi-layered approach to assisting women and girls with disabilities under the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. The research seeks information from mainstream and specialist prevention and response policy-making, representative and service provider organisations across domestic violence/sexual assault, disability services and other relevant service sectors including the criminal justice and victims support sectors in all states and territories, particularly in regards to their views and experience of policy and practice relevant to violence prevention and response for women and girls with disabilities. For more information or to participate in the project, please visit click here Survey responses close on Friday 31 May
Call for abstracts – Victims of Crime National Conference (VOCNC) 2013 26 and 27September, 2013 – The Victims of Crime National Conference 2013 will be hosted by Victim Support Service Inc in collaboration with the Office for Women. They are calling for abstracts, with a closing date of Friday 26 April 2013. Contributions from a wide range of professionals who have varied interests such as working with people who have experienced crime, victimology, law reform and trauma are being sought. Broad themes and other details for abstracts can be found here

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

Weekly Round-up* 22 March

Stark reminders this week that there is a way to go to change victim-blaming attitudes for violence against women offences, and still a need to challenge mainstream media reporting and broadcasting of violence against women, both at home and internationally. Greater focus on perpetrator behaviour is needed, with a recognition that it’s everyone’s responsibility to end this violence.

News from CSW

The Agreed Conclusions from CSW57 recognise the important role that the media can play by including the clause “…encourage the media to improve public awareness on violence against women and girls, to train those who work in the media…”

Read more about the international agreements in the advanced unedited version of the Agreed Conclusions
Minister Julie Collins’s media release underpins the importance of the Agreed Conclusions: Historic international agreement on preventing violence against women and girls
For more reading on the outcomes of CSW: CSW57 – Signed, Adopted, and Delivered; UN Commission on the Status of Women unmasks equality’s enemies; Ending Violence Against Women — Now the Real Work Starts

AWAVA will post more on the CSW57 outcomes, including a handy lobbying guide, in the next few weeks, keep an eye on the website.

Around the Nation

The Age reports on the scrapping of changes to anti-discrimination laws. Read AWAVA’s response to the announcement here and disappointment at the missed opportunity to provide much-need protection to domestic violence survivors and victims. AWAVA joined 96 organisations, including many AWAVA member organisations and supporters calling on the Government to pass the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill by June 2013
In an interview with a survivor of sexual abuse, John Laws asks the victim “was it your fault?“ – triggering a storm of complaints and tweets.
[WARNING: interview is very graphic in places]. If you want to remind radio broadcasters that they have a responsibility to end violence against women and girls, sign this petition
A new app aimed at assisting people to report sexual assault has been launched this week
Martin McKenzie-Murray says plainly and simply if you “touch a woman without her consent you are scum. Zero excuses. Pass the word”
The high-profile WA trial involving Tammy Kingdon and Troy Mercanti has commentators hoping more women will come forward to report abuse

Gender Equality in the Workplace Laws – Includes family and domestic violence reporting

The reporting requirements of employers under the new gender equality in the workplace laws “Gender Equality Indicator 4—availability and utility of employment” include terms, conditions and practices relating to flexible working arrangements for employees and toworking arrangements supporting employees with family or caring responsibilities. Matters that must be included in the report:

4.12 The existence of a policy or strategy to support employees who have or are experiencing family or domestic violence.

4.13 Measures, if any, to support employees who have or are experiencing family or domestic violence.

Internationally

Laurie Penny from the USA talks about the Steubenville rape, and rape culture in society [WARNING: some potentially offending language]. CNN were strongly crticised for their victim-blaming coverage of the rape convictions, if you want to register your dissatisfaction with the reporting, sign this petition
Ten women in New York take legal action against the city for failing to provide safe housing as they escape violence
In the UK, Teachers are beginning to be trained in recognising victims of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C)
India’s lower house approves tougher penalties for rapists

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

Protecting Domestic Violence as a Protected Attribute

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

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

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

AWAVA Call to Action

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

What we want you to do:

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

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

You can also:

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

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

Research, Resources and Reports

Get Involved!