US rapper, Tyler-the-Creator has been in Australia this week giving concerts; his song lyrics promote violence against women, so should we really be giving him a platform to do this? We can't excuse songs about rape, genital mutilation, raping corpses and burying bodies, as 'entertainment' or 'free speech'. A resolution in the Philippines was filed [...]
The power of collective lobbying and advocacy last week made two great impacts - pressuring Facebook to review its policies and training to include gender-based hate speech in their moderating of online material; and, in Australia, much-needed amendments were made to NSW's compensation to victims of violence against women. In other news...a busy week around the country! AWAVA added our [...]
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 7th 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
It's fitting that today's International Women's Day's theme is "A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women” as over 6,000 members of civil society are gathered in New York for the 57th Session of the Commission for the Status of Women (CSW57) to focus on the elimination and prevention of violence against [...]
“We need to keep our promise to women and children who are victims or survivors of any form of violence against women, to end that violence. Globally, nationally, locally we must take responsibility, each and every one us, and commit to speaking out against violence and changing attitudes and behaviour that allow it to continue [...]
AWAVA is delighted with Minister Collins' announcement yesterday (12 February 2013) that the funding for the National Women’s Alliances will be continued for a further three years until 2016. The renewed funding follows key recommendations from the independent review of the Alliances commissioned by the Government in late 2012. AWAVA looks forward to working with all [...]
T0day, 6 February, is International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and a day to celebrate the progress made to end its practice worldwide. In Australia Last year Prime Minister Gillard announced a National Summit and Legal Review as part of the Federal Government's response to addressing FGM following police in NSW [...]