AWAVA’s response to the Draft Years 3–10 Australian Curriculum: Civics and Citizenship was submitted in July 2013. The Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) welcomes the development of the Australian Curriculum and is pleased to have the opportunity to comment on the draft Australian Curriculum, Civics and Citizenship: Years 3-10.
AWAVA’s submission to the Health Insurance Amendment (Medicare Funding for Certain Types of Abortion) Bill 2013, on Medicare Funding for Sex Selective Abortions was forwarded to the Senate Inquiry Committee in April 2013. AWAVA’s submission is endorsed by the Equality Rights Alliance.
AWAVA’s response to the Senate Inquiry on Involuntary or Coerced Sterilisation of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Australia, submitted in April 2013, formally endorsed the extremely comprehensive submission from AWAVA’s member organisation, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA)’s ‘Dehumanised: The Forced Sterilisation of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Australia’.
Read both here:
Dehumanised: The Forced Sterilisation of Women and Girls with Disabilities in Australia
AWAVA’s response to the draft Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum was submitted in April 2013, AWAVA supports the inclusion of the ‘role of power in relationships’ in the Healthy Relationships and Sexuality section of the curriculum and the references to exploring gender, gender roles and gender stereotypes.
To further enhance the development of the HPE curriculum and its implementation, AWAVA recommends three key focus areas:
Read our submission below:
AWAVA’s Federal Pre-Budget Submission_2013-14 emphasizes the need for an increased investment in, and focus on, primary prevention to address violence against women, continued focus on the National Plan and four project proposals to assist with the National Plan implementation .
1: National Media Framework in Support of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
2: No Fear – Violence Prevention Program for Primary Schools
3: Community Leaders: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women Against Violence Against Women
4: Additional crisis refuge, shelter or crisis beds with additional support workers and additional sexual assault counsellors and advocates to respond to increased demand from prevention and awareness-raising activities
AWAVA continues to lobby for the inclusion of the status of being a victim/survivor of domestic or family violence as an additional protected attribute and supports an express protection for victims of domestic violence covering all areas of public life. The consolidation of federal discrimination laws into a single act is an opportune time to include such a protected attribute. Protections are needed to assist women who have experienced/are experiencing domestic violence or sexual violence to reduce further social and financial disadvantage.
AWAVA’s submission to the inquiry was supported by three of the issues-based Commonwealth-funded National Women’s Alliances: AWAVA, Equality Rights Alliance (ERA) and economicsecurity4women (eS4W) and fully or partially endorsed by 32 members and/or Friends & Supporters of AWAVA.
AWAVA joined several of our Advisory Group member organisations in writing to the Attorney-General on 21 June in support of including domestic violence as a ground of discrimination in the consolidated Commonwealth Anti-Discrimination Laws.
In January 2012, AWAVA formally endorsed and supported the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse (ADFVC) submission to the Attorney-General’s Department.
AWAVA firmly agrees with providing an express protection for victims of domestic violence. The fact that women endure discrimination in the workplace, or in securing accommodation or services, as a consequence of experiencing, or having experienced domestic violence is unacceptable.
AWAVA endorsed the Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse (ADFVC) submission on the consolidation of the anti-discrimination laws on 1 February 2012.
AWAVA strongly advocates for an express protection to be included in the consolidated Act for women who encounter discrimination in the workplace, or in securing accommodation or services, as a consequence of experiencing, or having experienced domestic violence.
The protections proposed by ADFVC would assist women who have experienced/are experiencing domestic violence and reduce further social and financial disadvantage.
Read the Endoresement of ADFVC Anti Discrimination Law Submission
AWAVA submitted two Pre Budget Submissions to Treasury, one in collaboration with the Equality Rights Alliance; both emphasised strengthening the focus and investment in addressing violence against women. AWAVA was disappointed that the 2012-13 budget announcements and Women’s Statement included no new commitments.
Although AWAVA is very supportive of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, the plan is only effective if it is properly funded, implemented and monitored.
Chair of AWAVA, Julie Oberin’s comments on the 2012-13 Federal Budget below:
“Federal Budget decisions were made on applying the Government’s core values of ‘protecting the most vulnerable in our community and the frontline services Australian families rely on’ and prioritising spending to ‘people most in need.’ Women and children that are experiencing violence, and the services that support them, are noticeably missing. This group is arguably one of Australia’s most vulnerable, but it seems that they are one of the costs to the Government achieving a surplus. We have to remember that there was no funding announced with the National Plan for Reducing Violence Against Women and their Children and that the $86 million sometimes referred to, includes initiatives from as far back as April 2009.
We have repeatedly raised our concerns that the safety of women and children must not be compromised and it must be recognised that increasing awareness and prevention activities for violence against women will increase demand for services. We do not want to see a situation where women and children are turned away from services unable to cope with the numbers seeking help. There is already a current turn away rate for shelter beds and specialist support, and waiting lists for sexual assault counselling. One in two people who request immediate accommodation are turned away each night due to high demand and under-resourcing. The Australian Government needs to invest in refuge, shelter and crisis housing and support services, alongside investment in primary prevention, to address this gap.
AWAVA wants to see real commitment from the Australian Government, which means investing properly in vital services for women and their children and in meaningful, not ad-hoc, primary prevention activities. If we are serious about addressing the root causes of violence against women and girls, gender and social equality needs to be embedded across every part of society including the national curriculum and in pre and in-service teacher-training.”