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Safe Access Zones in Australia

Australian Women Against Violence Alliance has partnered with Marie Stopes Australia and the University of Queensland (UQ) Pro Bono Centre to produce a paper on Safe Access Zones in Australia.

Safe access zones function in all jurisdictions in Australia with the exception of South Australia and Western Australia. With the move to legislate safe access zones in two remaining states, this report is crucial to our understanding of the efficacy of safe access zones with regard to sexual and reproductive rights and choices.

Read AWAVA’s Summary paper here:

Read the full paper here:

Survey on the standards of service provision for victims/survivors of gender-based violence

You can pre-view the survey questions by downloading this file.

The survey can be filled out here.

Thinking of engaging with the Select Committee inquiry into family law?

AWAVA’s position

Along with Fair Agenda and over 100 peak bodies and practitioners, we opposed the establishment of the inquiry. We made a joint statement calling for immediate action to make family law safer, separate from this unnecessary and harmful inquiry.

Now that the inquiry is going ahead against our advice, we are reluctantly engaging with it for two reasons: First, because we know the inquiry was set up to give a platform for those who seek to discredit victims/survivors and prioritise “parents’ rights” to have access to children over safety, and we need to counter these damaging narratives. Second, we are engaging with the inquiry in support of victims/survivors who may wish to participate.

Suggested Draft Text for Submissions

AWAVA has prepared suggested draft text and references to assist organisations writing submissions to the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System. It is drawn from AWAVA’s (ongoing) drafting of our own submission but does NOT represent finalised text for citation or attribution to AWAVA. It is text that you might like to use in preparing your own submission, which will then be attributed to you or your organisation.

AWAVA has an extension for our submission to 31 January 2020. If you are planning to make a submission we encourage you to seek a submission too, by emailing the Committee secretariat at [email protected]

We encourage you to adapt the text to suit your own work and if possible to include de-identified case studies and details drawing on your practice or experience. We do NOT encourage you to reproduce this whole text verbatim as your submission. It is a resource, not a template. Submissions will be more persuasive and influential if they are different and draw from different sources of knowledge, testimonies etc.

Where possible, please tie recommendations you make to recommendations that appear in existing reports/reviews etc. This is to reinforce the message that this inquiry was not necessary and that Government already has information at hand to guide much-needed urgent reforms to the system.

Download the draft suggested text for submissions here

Safeguards and protocols

Partly as a result of AWAVA’s and others’ advocacy, on 25 November the Senate agreed to a motion calling on the Government to: put in place “the essential safeguards being called for by women’s safety experts to protect witnesses during the conduct of the inquiry, including rules about giving evidence in confidence or remotely, ensuring safe access to hearing venues, and media protocols”, “not [hold] hearings until such safeguards and support for survivors of violence are implemented,” and ensure “adequate specialist and domestic family violence services are available to respond to additional demand resulting from the inquiry.”

You can read the full motion here (on p65). Further advocacy will be required to ensure all the relevant safeguards are put in place. You can read a news article on the motion here.

The Committee has published protocols in relation to submissions and hearings. You can read them here.

Submissions

AWAVA will make a submission to try to counter some of the misinformation that is being perpetuated through the inquiry process, and to reiterate our calls for action to make the system safer drawing on the recommendations of previous reviews and inquiries.

We know that some people and organisations in our network are also thinking of making a submission; we recommend using the suggested draft text for submissions.

It is important that the inquiry consider the perspectives of victims/survivors and the organisations working to support them. However, we understand that some people and organisations may not be in a position to engage with the inquiry.

Submissions close on 18 December (AWAVA has asked for this to be extended but at this stage the deadline stands). Information about making a submission is available here.

*** Update (29 Nov): AWAVA has been given an extension for our submission until 31 January 2020, and the Committee Secretariat has said they will consider other requests for extensions. You can email the Committee Secretariat to ask for an extension via [email protected] ***

Key steps AWAVA is taking:

– write to the Committee Secretariat to ask for essential safeguards be put in place for victims/survivors [done – see above on safeguards]

– writing our own submission drawing on input from our Advisory Group [in progress]

– compiling resources to inform people and organisations wishing to engage with the inquiry [see resources below; more in progress]

Resources for organisations

Here are some suggestions about preparing a submission:

1. You may wish to open your submission with reference to support for the joint statement opposing the inquiry;

2. You may then wish to turn your mind to the terms of reference of the inquiry (any or all of these that you feel you want to address). We will have a draft out soon from which you might like to refer or draw, but we would encourage you to explain your own reasons for your position. Remember that you are allowed to address “any related matters”, so if you have points to make that don’t seem to fit neatly into any of the other terms of reference that’s OK.

3. You may wish to tie any of your recommendations to those which have been previously made by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in its Review of the Family Law System, the Social Policy and Legal Affairs Parliamentary Inquiry into a Better Family Law System to support and protect those affected by Family Violence or others. This act of tying new recommendations to existing recommendations will further make the point that the inquiry itself was unnecessary in the first place, and efforts, time and resources should have instead been put into responding to the existing recommendation before the government to put safety first in family law.

Resources:

AWAVA / Fair Agenda Joint Statement

Safety First in Family Law plan (Women’s Legal Services Australia)

AWAVA, NATSIWA and Harmony Alliance submission to the first stage of the ALRC review

AWAVA’s submission in response to the ALRC review discussion paper

Resources for individuals

We are asking the committee to make sure that victims/survivors have access to free counselling and other support, in recognition that engaging with this inquiry may be retraumatising and distressing, as well as potentially posing safety and legal risks. Some general services are listed below.

Individual people giving evidence or making submissions need to be aware that there are laws restricting people from making details about their family law cases public.

This includes Section 121 of the Family Law Act which “restricts the publication of any accounts of any proceedings, or parts of any proceedings, or lists of proceedings (subject to permissible exceptions) under the Act that identify the parties or others involved in the case. The restriction applies to publication, or other dissemination, to the public or a section of the public, and can apply to disclosures online as well as through the media. Breaches of section 121 are offences punishable by imprisonment of up to one year.” (Source: Federal Register of Legislation)

We are asking for the committee to make sure that free legal advice is available for people who wish to give evidence or make submissions to the inquiry, so that you can do so in compliance with Australian law. We will keep you updated about advice or other resources that are made available.

Help and support

If you, a child, or another person is in immediate danger, call 000.

Helplines & websites

These organisations offer 24/7 telephone support and counselling services, and online chat, for specific community

groups and for people in specific situations.

1800 RESPECT
The national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service. 24/7 phone and online services.
ph: 1800 737 732

Australian state and territory contact details for specialist sexual assault and domestic and family violence support services can be found at 1800 Respect services and support website.

KIDS HELPLINE

Kids Helpline is a counselling service for Australian children and young people aged between 5 and 25 years. 24/7 phone and online services.

ph: 1800 55 1800

MENS LINE
Professional support and information service for Australian men. 24/7 phone and online services.

ph: 1300 78 99 78

MEN’S REFERRAL SERVICE (MRS)

MRS provides anonymous and confidential telephone counselling, information and referrals to men to help them take action to stop using violent and controlling behaviour.

ph: 1300 766 491

NAPCAN

Go to the Urgent Help section of the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) website for contact details of agencies which assist with reporting child abuse and neglect.

Help and support details here have been compiled using Our Watch‘s help and support page (any errors remain our own).

Report on Outcomes from the National Women’s Alliances and Disabled People’s Organisations Australia Workshop

In October 2018, AWAVA, alongside the other National Women’s Alliances and Disabled People’s Organisations, participated in a one-day workshop hosted by Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA).

You can find out more about the outcomes of the workshop in this report:

Primary Prevention Survey

AWAVA’s Primary Prevention Survey has closed. Thank you to everyone who responded. We are now analysing the results and expect to release a report by the end of May.

AWAVA is conducting a survey of primary prevention activities across Australia. This survey is led by AWAVA’s Violence Prevention Working Group.

Click here to take the survey.

What is the survey about?

This survey maps activities across Australia that are working to build respectful relationships and increase gender equality so that violence against women doesn’t happen. This is called ‘primary prevention’ of violence against women.

Who should complete it?

Any organisations, services or activities that work to build respectful relationships and/or increase gender equality are in scope.

This includes activities that have the specific purpose of preventing violence against women such as Respectful Relationships programs in schools, but it also includes activities to promote gender equality more broadly. For example, an organisation advocating for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s economic empowerment would be considered as doing primary prevention work, even if violence against women was not a major focus of their work.

How long will it take?

The survey is in two parts. Part 1, about your organisation and activities, will take 10-30 minutes to complete. The optional Part 2, about opportunities, constraints and enablers for your work, will also take 10-30 minutes.

Click here to take the survey.

Is it anonymous?

For Part 1, you can choose to remain anonymous, or you can agree to share your information on a public register to increase your agency’s availability to the public and to allied organisations.

For Part 2, all answers will be kept anonymous.

All information collected by the survey will be managed in accordance with WESNET’s Privacy Policy.

What will be the outcomes?

We will produce a report on the survey’s findings which can be used in policy and practice advocacy. All participants will be provided with a copy of the report. We will also create a searchable online register of activities where survey respondents agree to make their information public.

Why you should participate:–

Sharing information about your initiative will help you and others to create relationships and partnerships with people working in primary prevention
Sharing information about your initiative will enable you and others to learn more about primary prevention activities occurring across Australia
Having a more comprehensive picture of prevention initiatives across Australia will help everyone to design and implement evidence-based prevention activities in a coordinated way
Having a more comprehensive picture of prevention initiatives will support everyone to promote the importance of prevention to policy-makers and advocate for better resourcing
Your response will help us to identify potential gaps in prevention initiatives to highlight the need for additional and specific resources

Click here to take the survey.

Download a Word document version of the survey:

Please share this information with your networks:

Download sample e-mail text here
Survey landing page: www.awava.org.au/prevention-survey
Direct link to the survey: https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4710095/AWAVA-Primary-Prevention-Survey

Share this survey on social media!

Download a social media-friendly image to post about the survey here
Download sample posts for Facebook and Twitter here

Download a flyer about the survey here:

For more information or to get in touch
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (02) 6175 9924

Position Paper on the Development of the Fourth Action Plan

AWAVA offers a comprehensive structure that policy-makers might find useful in conceptualising the priority areas for the Fourth Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children, and working towards a second National Plan. We offer a framework for addressing violence against women and their children holistically by taking intersectional approaches to end violence against women, addressing violence against diverse groups of women and their children, addressing different types of violence against women, strengthening systems and services, and improving coordination and governance. For all the efforts to be sustainable and successful, long-term funding is required.

Download the full Position Paper here

Submission on the situation of women human rights defenders

AWAVA has made a submission in response to the consultation held by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders with a focus on women human rights defenders.

We focused on the emerging trends of technology-facilitated abuse of women, as well as the backlash against mainstreaming gender equality.

Download our submission here

Prevalent and Preventable Conference-Easy English Report

In September 2016, Our Watch and AWAVA held a three day conference on preventing violence against women. With the help of SCOPE, we produced this Easy English version of the conference report.’

To access please click on the links below:

Prevalent & Preventable Conference 2016 – Easy English report in pdf

Prevenlent & Preventable Conference 2016-Print only (for screen readers)

2017

14 December Weekly Round-up

At the recent Council of Australian Governments meeting (COAG), Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull responded to a campaign by more than 200 organisations (including AWAVA) by committing another year of federal funding to the National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness (NPAH). The $117 million funding extension is expected to help around 85,000 people who are homeless or are facing homelessness in Australia. Many domestic and family violence services and sexual assault services depend on NPAH funding, and the extension will allow these organisations to continue their work. The Council to Homeless Persons together with homelessness organisations and their peak bodies requested a 5 year extension to secure jobs and ensure the continued provision of services to those in need.

Nationally, the number of women and children accessing homelessness services due to domestic violence is increasing, bringing into question the repercussions of short-term funding. It is hoped that a review of policy and funding will enable organisations, advocates and service providers to plan for and look beyond single year timeframes.

In national politics, the Federal Opposition has expressed disappointment over Finance Minister Mathias Cormann’s statement that mandated domestic violence leave would be “another cost on the nation’s economy”. Last week the Prime Minister said that domestic violence leave would be reconsidered after the Fair Work Commission’s ruling, which is expected next year.
Columnist Andrew P Street has also expressed frustration over some politicians’ indifference to issues of violence against women. Read his commentary here.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced a proposed new federal offence making it a crime to breach personal protection injunctions issued by federal family courts.
In Brisbane, Micah Projects’ Brisbane Domestic Violence Service has organised the “Resound Voices of Experience”, a group of survivors who share their stories to inform and influence the public and lawmakers about domestic violence.
In Tasmania, 12 year old Kobe Bennette has received the Tasmanian Human Rights Youth Award for standing up for his rights and the rights of children through the production of an audio book, a collection of personal narratives about his experiences of violence at the hands of his father.
The ANROWS ASPIRE Project has launched a report on promoting community-led responses to violence against immigrant and refugee women in metropolitan and regional Australia. It has found that social isolation, threats of deportation, and language barriers are key issues facing migrant women in Tasmania.
In the Northern territory, ABC sports commentator and anti-violence campaigner Charlie King and former North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency lawyer Jared Sharp have won the NT Human Right Awards and the Individual Youth Award King was recognised for his No More campaign and Sharp for his expose of the abuse of minors in the Don Dale youth detention centre.

In New Zealand, the Ministry of Social Development has rejected the introduction of a clause in employees’ contracts granting 10 days leave to staff affected by domestic violence.
In Scotland, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to work on the ratification and implementation of the Istanbul Convention which will provide survivors of domestic violence the right to access specialist services.
In Kenya, violence against women persists due to several factors including deep–seated cultural practices, the stigma associated with it and the lack of media infrastructure.
In Nepal, 271 cases of violence against women have been recorded during the 16 day of activism against gendered violence, including the murder of women who were accused of witchcraft, polygamy and trafficking.
The United States Navy has invested $150,000 in a 6 month pilot project to test the effectiveness of LiveSafe, an phone app aimed at curbing sexual assault against service-women and -men.
Also in the United States, Erin Chloe has written about the widespread use of rape in film-making, both as fictional events and at times as real life sexual assaults against women. (This article contains information that readers might find distressing. For help and support please call 1800RESPECT.)

Support, Help and Empowerment Inc (SHE), with funding from Partners in Recovery Tasmania has recently published “Supporting Individuals Experiencing Family Violence: A guide for Mental Health Professionals”, a resource designed to guide mental health professionals in responding to the needs of clients who have been subjected to family violence.

1800RESPECT has developed a digital Escape Bag Checklist and Technology and Safety videos. An online tool designed to help women flea an unsafe home environment. Download the1800RESPECT Frontline Workers Toolkit Please visit 1800RESPECT.org.au for more information.
The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) has opened a new online Graduate Certificate program in Domestic Violence which is designed for frontline workers, policy developers and professionals that will provide them with specialised skills and knowledge on how to better respond to cases of domestic violence.
The International Organization for Migration, United Nations Information Centre Canberra and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cordially invite you to celebrate International Migrants Day with a free screening of the new Australian documentary Constance on the Edgeon Thursday, 15 December 2016. Click here to register.
The UN Women National Committee Australia invites everyone to the celebration of the 2017 International Women’s Day events in March happening simultaneously in 6 major cities around the country. For more information click here.
The University of Melbourne has created a website called ‘NotTheOnlyOne’where women can anonymously read and share stories about experiencing family and domestic violence.

This site is being archived soon. Visit wesnet.org.au for more information.