AWAVA joined with 61 other women’s organisations across Australia to call on COAG to take urgent steps to address violence against women. In an open letter to the Prime Minister, we called for robust funding for primary prevention initiatives and sustained and adequate resourcing for women’s specialist services.
Read our joint Letter to the Prime Minister here.
AWAVA Chair Julie Oberin participated in two Australian Government Sponsored Side-Events during the 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York! Watch the side events via the links below!
The Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations in association with Women’s Services Network
Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls in the Digital and Technological Age
Panel: Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women, Australia, Natasha Stott Despoja, Australia’s Ambassador for Women and Girls, Julie Oberin, Women’s Services Network (WESNET), Australian Women Against Violence Alliance, Australia, Cindy Southworth, National Network to End Domestic Violence, USA and Bandana Rana, Executive Chair, Saathi, Nepal.
The Permanent Mission of Australia to the United Nations in association with Our Watch
Where Does Change Come From? Driving Social Transformation to Prevent Violence Against Women
Panel: Ms Kate Wallace, Senior Adviser, Office for Women, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia) Dr Lara Fergus, Director of Policy and Evaluation, Our Watch Bafana Khumalo, Senior Programme Specialist and co-founder, Sonke Gender Justice, Julie Oberin, Women’s Services Network (WESNET), Australian Women Against Violence Alliance and Dr Giovanna Lauro, Deputy Director of International Programs, Promundo (US)
Attorney-General Senator the Hon. George Brandis and the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash have announced that current levels of Commonwealth funding of Legal Aid
Commissions, Community Legal Centres (except Environmental Defenders Offices) and
Indigenous legal assistance will continue for another two years. In their announcement, the Government acknowledge the crucial role ready access to legal assistance plays in protecting and supporting women and children experiencing violence.
This announcement comes after a protracted campaign from a number of directions hoping to persuade the Government to maintain funding to legal assistance. A PDF of the joint media release from the Attorney-General and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women is available here.
AWAVA will be hosting three parallel events during the 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (for a quick run-down of what the CSW is, check out this video).
This panel will be jointly hosted by AWAVA and WESNET at 4:30pm Downstairs, Salvation Army (221 East 52nd St, NY, NY)
Speakers:
Margaret Augerinos (AWAVA, WESNET)
Cindy Southworth (Vice President of Development and Innovation at the US National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV))
Julie Oberin (Chair of AWAVA and WESNET)
This panel will be hosted by AWAVA with WESNET, End Violence Against Women (UK), Imkaan, and Scottish Women’s Aid at 12:30pm at V Hall, Armenian Convention Center (630 2nd Ave, NY, NY)
Speakers:
Julie Oberin (Chair of AWAVA and WESNET)
Lesley Ann Foster (Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre)
Jackie Jones (President, European Women Lawyers Association, Chair, Wales Assembly of Women (WAW))
Lily Greenan (Scottish Women’s Aid)
Marai Larasi (Imkaan and End Violence Against Women Coalition)
Dr Vidya Sri (Harvard Kennedy School of Government)
And with Opening Remarks from Professor Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
This panel will be jointly hosted by AWAVA and WESNET at 12:30pm in the Hardin Room, Church Center United Nations (CCUN), 777 UN Plaza
Speakers:
Julie Oberin (Chair of AWAVA and WESNET)
Pauline Woodbridge (Coordinator, North Queensland Domestic & Family Violence Resource Service (NQDVRS), WESNET Member)
Margaret Augerinos (AWAVA, WESNET)
Check out this video of our Program Manager Sophie Hardefeldt giving you the run-down on next week’s CSW 59!
—-Transcript—-
The Australian Women Against Violence Alliance is excited to be travelling to New York City later this week for the 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.
But what is it?
The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the main global policymaking body that is dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women.
The Commission meets once a year in New York. This year it will be taking place from the 9th to the 20th of March.
Each year about 3,000 representatives from governments and NGOs converge on New York to discuss, advocate, and share ideas about how we can achieve gender equality throughout the world.
The Commission includes official negotiations between governments and parallel events where NGO representatives come together to share best practice models and ongoing action to address ender inequality.
The Commission’s outcomes document or ‘Agreed Conclusions’ is developed through negotiations between all Government Parties and is agreed by consensus.
The agreed conclusions are used by governments to strengthen domestic policies around gender equality. They can also be used by NGOs to advocate for policy or practise reform within their home countries.
Why is 2015 so important?
This year’s CSW is particularly important because it will be reviewing governments’ implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was developed at the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. The progressive and visionary document addresses diverse issues including:
20 years on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action is still the most comprehensive global policy and framework relating to gender equality and the realisation of women and girls’ human rights.
Over the next 2 weeks the Commission will review the implementation of th Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and look at the ongoing challenges to the realisation of gender equality.
How can you follow the action?
Even if you aren’t able to attend the Commission in New York, you can still follow the action from Australia.
The United Nations films some of the official proceedings and government events and you can watch them on their website webtv.un.org/
You can get updates from the United Nations CSW organising committee on Twitter using he handle @UN_CSW. You can also check out the official hashtag #CSW59.
AWAVA will also be sharing information throughout the event via Twitter and Facebook. Our Twitter handle is @AWAVA_women and you can find us on Facebook as The Australian Women Against Violence Alliance.
We’re excited to keep you in the loop about this amazing international event and can’t wait to hear your thoughts and reflections.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has released a new booklet featuring the stories from women around the world who have benefited from Australia’s foreign policy, economic diplomacy and aid programs.
PDF and Word versions of the booklet are available on the DFAT website.
The Royal Commission into Family Violence has officially begun in Victoria and a new website has been launched.
The Commission has asked that submissions not be sent until they have finalised their processes. We will share more details as they become available.
Terms of reference are now available here for the Senate Standing Committees of Community Affairs Inquiry into violence, abuse and neglect against people with disability in institutional and residential settings, including the gender and age related dimensions, and the particular situation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability, and culturally and linguistically diverse people with disability.
This Inquiry was referred to the Senate Standing Committees of Community Affairs on 11 February 2015, and more information about it can be found here.
AWAVA welcomes the fantastic news that the Australian Cross Disability Alliance has been formed with funding from the Australian Government to represent the voices of Australians with disability from all walks of life. This is an exciting development and we look forward engaging with their work.
The members of the Australian Cross Disability Alliance are:
For more information about the Australian Cross Disability Alliance, see their media release.
Women’s Legal Services NSW, the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, and WESNET have collaborated to release a survey about workers’ perspectives on technology-facilitated abuse. The survey is funded under the ACCAN Grants Scheme and is open to any worker in Australia who has direct contact with women and children who are experiencing or have experienced domestic violence. It aims to collect evidence about how technology is being used by perpetrators of domestic violence as a tool of abuse. The findings will be used to help shape policies and practices to keep women safe.
Women’s Legal Services NSW, the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria and WESNET are organisations dedicated to providing practical support to the domestic violence sector. Your responses to this survey will ensure that the resources they create will be informed directly by your experiences supporting women and children.
To complete the survey or to learn more, visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/smartsafesurvey?c=0f8e7f06c9