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AWAVA strongly opposes the proposed amendments to the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999, in particular to establish the Cashless Debit Card (CDC) as an ongoing program.

We recommend that the Australian Government:
1. Abandon the cashless debit cards legislation;
2. Establish a voluntary opt-in framework for welfare management; and
3. Apply an intersectional gender lens to social security policy.

Download our submission here  

Throughout the last year, AWAVA has made 11 policy submissions and reports detailing the measures needed to reduce and end violence against women, all of which include relevant budget considerations detailed in this submission. Most of the recommendations contained in our pre-budget submission 2019-20 are yet to be implemented.
 
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Family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV) are human rights violations that are gendered in their nature where the majority of the perpetrators are men and the majority of the victims/survivors are women.
 
In this submission, AWAVA is presenting evidence-based recommendations to the National Inquiry and identifying policy directions for the development of the Second National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.
 

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In this submission we discuss the increase in prevalence and intensity of several types of sexual and gender-based violence inflicted on women and their children during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as providing the analysis of the government response in relation to domestic and family violence.

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AWAVA has made a submission to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Bill 2019

Women and men engage in migration differently and have different experiences of migration as they resist and/or comply with gender norms. Migration system creates different outcomes for women and men through visa types, eligibility and other requirements. The temporary and dependent nature of many visas are putting women and girls at risk of violence, sexual exploitation and trafficking. Within Australian migration policy responses to those forms of violence are highly dependent on visa status as well as participation in the criminal proceedings.

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In this submission we articulate our support for the views of the Commission on the importance of taking a human-rights approach to technology with freedom from technology-facilitated violence, harassment and exploitation at its core.

Technology-facilitated abuse in its all manifestations is driven by an intention to harass, stalk, groom, monitor, conduct surveillance on, location-track, threaten, humiliate, impersonate and/or isolate a person. In gender-based violence against women, it can be understood as another tool used by perpetrators to hold power and control over a victim/survivor. Sexual and gender-based violence against women is a gross violation of human rights in all its manifestations.

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AWAVA has made a submission to the Retirement income review.

In this submission we wish to draw the attention to the structural barriers that impact diverse groups of women to establish their financial independence and stability, impacts of feminisation of poverty and impacts of domestic and family violence. We argue that without embedding an intersectional gender lens in social policy, equitable outcomes for women in their diversity will not be achieved.

Download our submission here