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A short (but sweet!) round-up this week to get your working week started.

News around the country

• A Melbourne adult inpatient facility announces a new women’s only section to provide women with a safe and secure environment while receiving treatment
• Still in Victoria, a new app has been launched that the Centre Against Sexual Assault believe will lower the barriers for reporting sexual assault
• There are calls in the Northern Territory for the introduction of a domestic violence death review process
• Meanwhile, in Victoria, advocates are lobbying to have funding re-instated to continue the Victorian Systemic Review of Family Violence Deaths, read more in DVRCV’s Red Rally Round-up
• Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced a royal commission into child sex abuse that will probe organisations ranging from the Catholic Church and state authorities to the boy scouts and sports groups

Internationally

• UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, says more needs to be done to stop human trafficking in the Phillipines
• In the UK, despite Female Genital Mutilation laws being in place for 27 years, there have been no successful prosecutions

New Resource!

VicHealth local government actions guides for preventing violence against women

Upcoming Events

New!!

• Join the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) in Federation Square (Melbourne) on 23 November to launch their 16 days of activism campaign
• Domestic Violence Victoria and the Council to Homeless Persons present the Building best practice in a changing environment forum on 6 December in Melbourne
• Submit your abstracts for the Stand-Up! Eliminating All Forms of Violence Against CALD Women national conference, 28-30 April, Canberra, closing date 28 December

This Month:

• 20-21 November:  First National Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference
• 21-23 November: Standing Firm for change: a journey to justice  where community members, leaders, workers and policy makers will come together to confront the issues of family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and identify strategies to improve access to justice and systemic change for Aboriginal victims/survivors of family violence
• 23 November 2012:  Not1More/White Ribbon Day – White Ribbon Day activities in Melbourne include awareness-raising, White Ribbon Lunch, Walk Against Family Violence at 2pm, Not1more will be remembering victims of family violence and offering the opportunity for people to take the White Ribbon Oath in Federation Square, Melbourne
• 23 November:  Annual Silent Domestic Violence Memorial March, Perth
• 26-28 November 2012:  Pathways to Change Conference for practitioners and policy developers to explore practice responses to children and young people displaying Problem Sexualised Behaviour and Sexually Abusive Behaviour, Hobart.  Register by 1 November for the early bird discount.  Click here for Conference  programs details

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women Events

• 27 November: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide film screening, panel discussion and launch of Jacqui True’s book, The Political Economy of Violence against Women. at UNSW, 6-8pm, to register: http://ahrcentrehalfthesky.eventbrite.com.au.  The film screening is hosted by the Australian Human Rights Centre and  the film addresses the linked problems of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality.
• 6 December: The Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse are hosting a  symposium to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 days of activism against gender violence; Damned Lies and Statistics: Understanding Gender and Violence Symposium with Dr Michael Flood and Dr Jane Wangmann  will be held in Sydney

 Later

• 18- 20  February 2013 The National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC)’s inaugural Conference being held  in Canberra
• 21 March 2013: 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, . Find out more here
• 28-30 April 2013 – The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) will be holding a 2 day national conference: Stand Up!  Eliminating All Forms of Violence Against CALD Women, supported by AWAVA.  Put it in your diary!
• ‘Miss Representation’ Screening Tour: Women in Film & Television (WIFT) NSW are planning a series of screenings of ‘Miss Representation’ across Australia in 2012/13. If you are interested in hosting a screening of this film in partnership with WIFT NSW please email them

Internationally:

• 4-15 March 2013: 57th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW57), New York, priority theme: Eliminating and prevention all forms of violence against women and girls

Lots happening internationally this week, with articles from Africa, Central America and Afghanistan in this weeks’ round-up.

Around the Nation:

• Read this article on rape as a weapon of war, and what the law can do
• Read these thoughts from AWAVA Friend &  Supporter,Women’s Legal Services NSW, on the implementation of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children

Internationally:

• Watch the film-clip from Palestinian hip-hop artists DAM, which looks at the issue of  so-called honour-based violence against women (or ‘revenge’ violence)
• Marianne Mollmann from Amnesty International says Silence on Rape is the Biggest Obstacle to Prevention
• In Central America, women turned out in their thousands to raise awareness of, and protest against, violence against women
• UN Women announces $8 million of grants to local initiatives in 18 countries to end violence against women
• This article from Swaziland looks at the links between  HIV/AIDS and gender-based-violence
• This article from Afghanistan looks at the potential impact of a recent court case where local police were found guilty of raping a woman
• In Uganda, there are calls for the laws put in place to protect women from violence and to hold perpetrators to account, to be enforced to help end violence against women

CSW57 Preparations

The Report on the Expert Group Meeting on the Prevention of Violence against Women and Girls, in the lead up to CSW57 is now available – click here

Upcoming Events!

Still time!  Save $100 with an early bird registrations for the  National Rural Women’s Coalition inaugural conference in February 2013, Canberra closes 11 November, register now!

This Month:

• 13 November: Red Rose Rally Campaign for funding the Victorian Systemic Review of Family Violence Deaths, Melbourne
• 11-14 November: Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference, Melbourne
• 14-16 November: The No To Violence conference, Melbourne
• 16 November: Women’s Council WA will be holding training Lessons from Pippi Longstocking – How Children and Young People Resist Violence and Oppression, West Perth
• 16 November: Telling it like it isn’t – Violence, Resistance and the Power in Language,  Perth
• 20-21 November:  First National Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference
• 21-23 November: Standing Firm for change: a journey to justice  where community members, leaders, workers and policy makers will come together to confront the issues of family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and identify strategies to improve access to justice and systemic change for Aboriginal victims/survivors of family violence
• 23 November 2012:  Not1More/White Ribbon Day – White Ribbon Day activities in Melbourne include awareness-raising, White Ribbon Lunch, Walk Against Family Violence at 2pm, Not1more will be remembering victims of family violence and offering the opportunity for people to take the White Ribbon Oath in Federation Square, Melbourne
• 23 November:  Annual Silent Domestic Violence Memorial March, Perth
• 26-28 November 2012:  Pathways to Change Conference for practitioners and policy developers to explore practice responses to children and young people displaying Problem Sexualised Behaviour and Sexually Abusive Behaviour, Hobart.  Register by 1 November for the early bird discount.  Click here for Conference  programs details

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women Events

• 27 November: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide film screening, panel discussion and launch of Jacqui True’s book, The Political Economy of Violence against Women. at UNSW, 6-8pm, to register: http://ahrcentrehalfthesky.eventbrite.com.au.  The film screening is hosted by the Australian Human Rights Centre and  the film addresses the linked problems of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality.
• 6 December: The Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse are hosting a  symposium to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 days of activism against gender violence; Damned Lies and Statistics: Understanding Gender and Violence Symposium with Dr Michael Flood and Dr Jane Wangmann  will be held in Sydney

 Later

• Early Bird registration is open until 11 November for the National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC)’s inaugural Conference being held 18- 20  February 2013 in Canberra
• 21 March 2013: 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, . Find out more here
• Save the date: 28-30 April 2013 – The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) will be holding a 2 day national conference on the elimination of violence against culturally and linguistically diverse women, supported by AWAVA.  Put it in your diary!
• ‘Miss Representation’ Screening Tour: Women in Film & Television (WIFT) NSW are planning a series of screenings of ‘Miss Representation’ across Australia in 2012/13. If you are interested in hosting a screening of this film in partnership with WIFT NSW please email them

Internationally:

• 4-15 March 2013: 57th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW57), New York, priority theme: Eliminating and prevention all forms of violence against women and girls

Working without fear: Results of the sexual harassment national telephone survey 2012 was launched by Elizabeth Broderick, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, on 30 October.  The survey  shows that sexual harassment is not only widespread in Australian workplaces, but that progress in addressing it has stalled

œSexual harassment is unlawful and has no place in Australian workplaces, Ms Broderick said. œEradicating sexual harassment from our workplaces will require leadership and a genuine commitment from everyone “ government, employers, employer associations, unions and employees.

The facts:

• One in five (21%) people were sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years
• Sexual harassment affects more women than men: 25% of women and 16% of men were sexually harassed in the workplace in the past five years
• Nearly four out of five (79%) harassers were men
• Ninety per cent (90%) of women were harassed by a man
• One-third (33%) of women and less than one in ten (9%) men were sexually harassed in their lifetime
• More than half (51%) of bystanders (people who saw or became aware of sexual harassment) took action to prevent or reduce the harm of sexual harassment

Research from Monash University  has also found 57.3% of female journalists in Australia experience sexual harassment on the jobover twice the general workforce rate and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed its support of initiatives to increase awareness and reduce the incidence of sexual harassment in the workplace.  Also last week, Workplace Relations Minister, Bill Shorten commended employers that include paid domestic violence leave in their workplace agreements – Australia is setting a world standard.

Around the Nation

• This article in The Age highlights the importance of the right to domestic violence leave  for employees
• Women speak out on female genital mutilation/cutting in Australia on ABC News, warning:  this story contains graphic language and disturbing scenes, read the accompanying article  Breaking the silence  over genital mutilation horror
• A Sydney man who killed his wife of 28 years says it was an act of provocation, not murder when she asked for a divorce
• National Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes calls for the criminalisation of non-therapeutic and forced sterilisation without consent
• An 81-year-old South Australian man being prosecuted in a landmark case for raping his wife nearly half a century ago has died before his retrial. Australia’s highest court has made it clear that there is no such marital rape immunity in Australia from 1935

Internationally

• Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) applauds the leadership of the African Group for the draft UN resolution on female genital Mutilation (FGM), read the TrustLaw article for more information here and click here for the draft resolution
• Domestic abuse reports rise by 7% in a year in Scotland
• Shocking attitudes point to deep misogyny in Congo – nearly a third of men told researchers that women œsometimes want to be raped and that when a woman is raped she may enjoy it””; 75% agreed that “”A woman who does not dress decently is asking to be raped”” and 61% that “”women sometimes deserve to be beaten””
• At the 67th session of the General Assembly Special Rapporteur on violence against women, Rashida Manjoo, encouraged states Toward a UN Convention on Violence against Women: setting the stage for the Commission on the Status of Women 2013, read opening remarks by Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women

Get Involved!

• The Not Yours To Promise survey closing date has been extended until 16 November  – If you have had any experience with children in, or at risk of, a forced marriage, while the children were under 18, please contribute to the project by filling out this survey
• “”Have you ever expe­ri­enced unwanted con­tact from a part­ner or ex-partner via the phone or inter­net? Have you ever felt afraid because a part­ner or ex-partner has tracked you with your phone, harassed you on Face­book, or con­stantly sent you text messages?”” Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria want to know about your experiences.  If you are a woman living in Victoria and are aged over 18, please take part in the survey, which only takes around 15 minutes: http://smartsafe.org.au/
• Deadline for submitting written statements for CSW57 is 15 November.  You must have ECOSOC accreditations and make recommendations for more information: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/csw/NGO.html 

Upcoming Events

Still time!  Save $100 with an early bird registrations for the  National Rural Women’s Coalition inaugural conference in February 2013, Canberra closes 11 November, register now!

November

The ACT Women’s Services Network is holding its ˜Summer of Respect™, a summer-long anti-sexual violence campaign from last week’s Reclaim the Night until International Women™s Day on 8 March 2013

• 13 November: Red Rose Rally Campaign for funding the Victorian Systemic Review of Family Violence Deaths, Melbourne
• 11-14 November: Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference, Melbourne
• 14-16 November: The No To Violence conference, Melbourne
• 16 November: Women’s Council WA will be holding training Lessons from Pippi Longstocking – How Children and Young People Resist Violence and Oppression, West Perth
• 16 November: Telling it like it isn’t – Violence, Resistance and the Power in Language,  Perth
• 20-21 November:  First National Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference
• 21-23 November: Standing Firm for change: a journey to justice  where community members, leaders, workers and policy makers will come together to confront the issues of family violence in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and identify strategies to improve access to justice and systemic change for Aboriginal victims/survivors of family violence
• 23 November 2012:  Not1More/White Ribbon Day – White Ribbon Day activities in Melbourne include awareness-raising, White Ribbon Lunch, Walk Against Family Violence at 2pm, Not1more will be remembering victims of family violence and offering the opportunity for people to take the White Ribbon Oath in Federation Square, Melbourne
• 23 November:  Annual Silent Domestic Violence Memorial March, Perth
• 26-28 November 2012:  Pathways to Change Conference for practitioners and policy developers to explore practice responses to children and young people displaying Problem Sexualised Behaviour and Sexually Abusive Behaviour, Hobart.  Register by 1 November for the early bird discount.  Click here for Conference  programs details

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women Events

• 27 November: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide film screening, panel discussion and launch of Jacqui True’s book, The Political Economy of Violence against Women. at UNSW, 6-8pm, to register: http://ahrcentrehalfthesky.eventbrite.com.au.  The film screening is hosted by the Australian Human Rights Centre and  the film addresses the linked problems of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality.
• 6 December: The Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse are hosting a  symposium to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 days of activism against gender violence; Damned Lies and Statistics: Understanding Gender and Violence Symposium with Dr Michael Flood and Dr Jane Wangmann  will be held in Sydney

 Later

• Early Bird registration is open until 11 November for the National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC)’s inaugural Conference being held 18- 20  February 2013 in Canberra
• 21 March 2013: 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, . Find out more here
• Save the date: 28-30 April 2013 – The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) will be holding a 2 day national conference on the elimination of violence against culturally and linguistically diverse women, supported by AWAVA.  Put it in your diary!
• ‘Miss Representation’ Screening Tour: Women in Film & Television (WIFT) NSW are planning a series of screenings of ‘Miss Representation’ across Australia in 2012/13. If you are interested in hosting a screening of this film in partnership with WIFT NSW please email them

Internationally:

• 7-9 November, Vancouver: 2012 National Research Day conference hosted by the FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children (School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University), in partnership with the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC), the Canadian Observatory on the Justice System™s Response to Intimate Partner Violence, and the BC Society of Transition Houses
• 4-15 March 2013: 57th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW57), New York, priority theme: Eliminating and prevention all forms of violence against women and girls

Last week, publicly taking a stand against violence against women was the order of the day with Reclaim the Night Marches taking place across Australia.  Women and men turned up in support of public spaces being safe for everyone and to raise awareness of sexual violence and assault.

The impact of violence against women in the region was also a focus with a  televised discussion on violence against women on 24 October, (Praxis Discussion Series 2012) connecting with Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste.   Merilyn Tahi  raised that women in Vanuatu experience high levels of emotional abuse in their homes by their husbands and that  no culture or religion should endorse violence against women.  The discussion highlighted the need for targeted, sustained approaches to ending violence against women.

Around the Nation

• Reclaim the Night in Melbourne attracted thousands of marchers
• March to break the silence of violence in Canberra
• A Wagga domestic violence worker says it is important crimes against women are proactively campaigned against
• The violent death of a Sargun Ragi in Melbourne last month has prompted a rethink of the use of  restraining orders 
• Read this opinion piece by Katie O’Byrne on the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children

Internationally

• In Papua New Guinea, authorities have called on the Duchess of Cornwall to help  highlight the issue of domestic violence
• Shahira Amin takes a look at the escalating violence against women in post-revolution Egypt. Read more on this from columnist Paul Sheehan here
• This report takes a look at  Domestic and Family Violence in Nigeria
• Approaches to addressing abuse within families in Malaysia are discussed in this article
• This article in the UK Telegraph points out Society still struggles to act on violence against women
• The rhetoric of rape is the focus of: What’s in a name? The rhetoric of rape
• In the UK, breaking the code of silence around sexual assault is raised in this opinion piece following the Jimmy Savile sexual assault allegations
• The Galway Advertiser  reports on the Galway Rape Crisis Centre findings that 80% of sexual violence survivors knew their attackers

Get Involved!

• The Not Yours To Promise survey closing date has been extended until 16 November  – If you have had any experience with children in, or at risk of, a forced marriage, while the children were under 18, please contribute to the project by filling out this survey 

Upcoming Events

Get in quickly!  Save $100 with an early bird registrations for the  National Rural Women’s Coalition inaugural conference in February 2013, Canberra closes 11 November, register now!

November

• 11-14 November: Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference in Melbourne, November 2012
• 14-16 November: The No To Violence conference, Melbourne
• 16 November: Women’s Council WA will be holding training Lessons from Pippi Longstocking – How Children and Young People Resist Violence and Oppression
• 20-21 November: The First National Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference
• 23 November 2012:  Not1More/White Ribbon Day – White Ribbon Day activities in Melbourne include awareness-raising, White Ribbon Lunch, Walk Against Family Violence at 2pm, Not1more will be remembering victims of family violence and offering the opportunity for people to take the White Ribbon Oath in Federation Square, Melbourne
• 23 November:  Annual Silent Domestic Violence Memorial March, Perth
• 26-28 November 2012:  Pathways to Change Conference for practitioners and policy developers to explore practice responses to children and young people displaying Problem Sexualised Behaviour and Sexually Abusive Behaviour, Hobart.  Register by 1 November for the early bird discount.  Click here for Conference  programs details 

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women Events

• 27 November: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide film screening, panel discussion and launch of Jacqui True’s book, The Political Economy of Violence against Women. at UNSW, 6-8pm, to register: http://ahrcentrehalfthesky.eventbrite.com.au.  The film screening is hosted by the Australian Human Rights Centre and  the film addresses the linked problems of sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality.
• 6 December: The Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse are hosting a  symposium to mark International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the 16 days of activism against gender violence; Damned Lies and Statistics: Understanding Gender and Violence Symposium with Dr Michael Flood and Dr Jane Wangmann  will be held in Sydney

 Later

• Early Bird registration is open until 11 November for the National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC)’s inaugural Conference being held 18- 20  February 2013 in Canberra
• 21 March 2013: 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, . Find out more here
• Save the date: 28-30 April 2013 – The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) will be holding a 2 day national conference on the elimination of violence against culturally and linguistically diverse women, supported by AWAVA.  Put it in your diary!
• ‘Miss Representation’ Screening Tour: Women in Film & Television (WIFT) NSW are planning a series of screenings of ‘Miss Representation’ across Australia in 2012/13. If you are interested in hosting a screening of this film in partnership with WIFT NSW please email them

Internationally:

• 7-9 November, Vancouver: 2012 National Research Day conference hosted by the FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children (School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University), in partnership with the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC), the Canadian Observatory on the Justice System€™s Response to Intimate Partner Violence, and the BC Society of Transition Houses
• 4-15 March 2013: 57th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW57), New York, priority theme: Eliminating and prevention all forms of violence against women and girls

This week the Women’s Electoral Lobby celebrates its 40th anniversary – find 15 minutes in your day to watch this YouTube clip and remember some of the great achievements of this group of women.

Around the Nation

• Graeme Innes, National Disability Discrimination Commissioner has called for the criminalisation of forced sterilisation
• In Victoria, new Family Violence Prevention grants have been announced
• Senator Bill Heffernan speaks out against Female Genital Mutiliation
• Western Australia’s Sex Offender Register went live and public this week
• Watch this YouTube clip Talk About It – a National Women’s Safety Survey by students, for students and encourage participation
• AWAVA’s joint media release with ERA and eS4W Motion Passed Calling for Employer Recognition of Domestic Violence is an important step forward to challenging the view that domestic violence is a private issue, it’s a workplace issue, a community issue and a societal issue

Internationally

• Many of you will have heard about the young woman, Malala Yousufzai, who was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan for speaking out about her right to an education and trying to go to school – Australian singer/song-writer David Franj has dedicated this song to Malala and to raise awareness of the treatment of women and girls in Pakistan
• Islamabad – a new documentary focuses on survivors of forced marriage
• New Zealand has just hosted the 2012 World Safety Conference on community and family violence
• Watch this report on forced sterilisation of HIV-positive women in Kenya
• In Fiji, youth groups have highlighted domestic and sexual violence as a key concern in their submission to the Constitution Commission
• The United Nations has said Pervasive, Continued Violence Against Women is an appalling Human Rights Violation

Resources and Reports

New!

• From New Zealand: Preventing sexual revictimisation report and Voice of Experience a guide to involve family violence service users in organisations
• The ACT has released its Family Violence Intervention Program review

Get Involved!

• The Draft 5th Report by Australia on the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has been published on the Attorney General’s Department website  for public comment. The Department will be accepting comments and submissions at [email protected] and by post until 11 November 2012
• A Reminder that the Not Yours To Promise survey closes 26 October  – If you have had any experience with children in, or at risk of, a forced marriage, while the children were under 18, please contribute to the project by filling out this survey
• Kate Ravenscroft, a Friend & Supporter of AWAVA, is looking for support to assist with the costs of publication of We Will Not Go Quietly: A Zine for Survivors of Sexual Assault.  The zine is written by survivors of sexual assault, for survivors of sexual assault and provides the community with a resource for understanding what it means to survive sexual assault.You can provide a financial contribution via: POZIBLE or through PayPal (Just click on the DONATE link)

CSW57

Results of the online discussions held during July and August can be accessed here

Upcoming Events

NEW!!

• The ACT will launch its Summer of Respect campaign with Reclaim the Night Friday 26 October 
• Perth, Western Australia will hold a Reclaim the Night event also on 26 October 
• Still in Western Australia, the Women’s Council will be holding training Lessons from Pippi Longstocking – How Children and Young People Resist Violence and Oppression –16 November

October

• WESNET’s Safety Net Technology Safety Training is coming to Canberra 31 October and 1 November – click here for more information and to register

November

• The No To Violence conference is in November 2012
• Law Enforcement and Public Health Conference in Melbourne, November 2012
• The First National Sexual and Reproductive Health Conference will be held 20-21 November
• 23 November 2012:  Not1More/White Ribbon Day – White Ribbon Day activities in Melbourne include awareness-raising, White Ribbon Lunch, Walk Against Family Violence at 2pm, Not1more will be remembering victims of family violence and offering the opportunity for people to take the White Ribbon Oath in Federation Square, Melbourne
• 26-28 November 2012:  Pathways to Change Conference for practitioners and policy developers to explore practice responses to children and young people displaying Problem Sexualised Behaviour and Sexually Abusive Behaviour.  The conference is being held in Hobart, Tasmania, register now.
• The Annual Silent Domestic Violence Memorial March will be held Friday 23 November, Perth

Later

• Early Bird registrations are now open for the National Rural Women’s Coalition (NRWC)’s inaugural Conference being held 18- 20  February 2013 in Canberra
• 21 March 2013: 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, . Find out more here
• Save the date: 28-30 April 2013 – The Australian Migrant and Refugee Women’s Alliance (AMaRWA) will be holding a 2 day national conference on the elimination of violence against culturally and linguistically diverse women, supported by AWAVA.  Put it in your diary!
• ‘Miss Representation’ Screening Tour: Women in Film & Television (WIFT) NSW are planning a series of screenings of ‘Miss Representation’ across Australia in 2012/13. If you are interested in hosting a screening of this film in partnership with WIFT NSW please email them

Internationally:

• 7-9 November, Vancouver: 2012 National Research Day conference hosted by the FREDA Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children (School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University), in partnership with the Ending Violence Association of British Columbia (EVA BC), the Canadian Observatory on the Justice System€™s Response to Intimate Partner Violence, and the BC Society of Transition Houses
• 4-15 March 2013: 57th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW57), New York, priority theme: Eliminating and prevention all forms of violence against women and girls