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In this double edition of the Weekly Round-up, AWAVA brings you news from the sector and from AWAVA Headquarters. We are delighted to announce that Tara Ashford has joined the team as Administrative Assistant. A passionate and committed youth advocate, Tara comes to AWAVA from the social justice sector. Welcome Tara!

The last two weeks have seen work from a number of different sectors of the community tackling violence against women. The diverse programs come from sources like Tasmania Police, the Western Region Health Centre, community and traditional leaders, political leaders, as well as academics and researchers around the world. The variety of different strategies and participants highlights the fact that all sectors of the community have a responsibility to prevent and eliminate violence against women. The Personal Safety Survey results were also released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics providing a stark reminder of the sheer scale of violence against women in Australia.

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The 16 days of Activism continue to be marked and celebrated across Australia and around the world. The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is a global campaign to  raise awareness about violence against women and its impact on women’s physical, psychological, social and spiritual well-being.  As AWAVA believes, human rights cannot be universal without human rights for women. “The 2013 16 Days Campaign advocates for awareness and action on the multi-faceted intersections of gender-based violence and militarism, while highlighting the connection between the struggle for economic and social rights and ending gender-based violence”. Women’s Health in the North has created a fantastic tool kit to assist organisations and individuals to participate in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign (16 Days Campaign). For further details, please follow the link

Around the Country

• In Victoria, “record numbers of domestic violence order applications and an all-time high in  breaches of orders are drowning the Magistrates Court and family violence services“
• In NSW, Simon Gittany has been found guilty of murdering his fiancée Lisa Harnum. Louise Taylor writes that the trial should be “a wake up call for abusive men“
• Moo Baulch, Project Manager at Domestic Violence NSW, writes “We must stop judging and blaming victims when they struggle to leave and instead offer them support. We must stand up as active bystanders when we witness abuse”
• In Sydney, Sex workers have rallied at the Opera House “in protest against what they call the legal discrimination and human rights abuses they face“
• “Australian women and girls with disabilities are twice as likely as women and girls without disabilities to experience violence throughout their lives, yet this has remained largely outside public debate”, write Elizabeth Broderick and Graeme Innes
• Podcasts and Transcripts are now available from the National Symposium -Stop the Violence: Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls with Disabilities
• More than half of the women seeking accommodation from the Salvation Army are facing domestic or family violence according to a new report

Around the World

• The WHO reports that “violence against women interacts with the HIV epidemic in many ways, all to the detriment of women”
• Walter North, the US Ambassador to the Solomon Islands, writes “No nation can be truly free and independent when its women are wounded, shamed, and abused“
• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is calling for renewed efforts to end violence against women
• Women in Syria are increasingly the targets of violent abuse and torture by government forces and armed groups. Some 6,000 women have been raped since the start of the conflict in March 2011
• In Zimbabwe, Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development minister, Oppah Muchinguri notes “most married women in Zimbabwe have experienced marital rape at the hands of their spouses, greatly exposing them to HIV and AIDS”
• UNFPA has launched the Regional Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-based Violence in the Arab States Region for 2014-2017
• In the UK, London Mayor Boris Johnson Mayor has launched a “revised pan-London Strategy on Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in November 2013 to build upon the success of his previous strategy and make sure that London continues to take a global lead in preventing and eliminating VAWG”

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only

(AWAVA members with the Hon. Prime Minister and Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash at the White Ribbon Breakfast, 19 November)

Today, 25 November, is the International day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. 25 November has been marked by women’s and anti-violence activists as a day focused on the elimination of violence since 1981. 25 November also starts 16 Days of Activism on ending violence against women and girls. AWAVA is delighted to receive a message from Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women on this important day. The Minister reminds us that “violence and sexual assault against women is totally unacceptable. Sadly, statistics tell us that one in three Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, and almost one in five have experienced sexual violence. The Coalition Government understands that in order to prevent violence against women and their children, attitudes around gender equality and violence need to change”. AWAVA Thanks the Minister for her vision, leadership, and commitment to responding to and preventing violence against women and their children. Finally, AWAVA Chair, Julie Oberin writes that today is an opportunity to celebrate how far we have come, to acknowledge what else needs to be done, and to renew our efforts and reaffirm our commitment.

Around the Country

• The Alice Springs Domestic and Family Violence Outreach Service has won an Australian Crime and Violence Prevention Award for its work keeping families safe
• In NSW, The controversial foetal rights bill known as Zoe’s Law was passed in the  lower house of the Parliament on 21 November, 2013
• Reforms to homicide laws in Victoria were introduced in 2005 to improve legal responses to women who kill abusive intimate partners. A new discussion paper by DVRCV and Monash University, Justice or Judgement? The impact of Victorian homicide law reforms on responses to women who kill intimate partners, examines whether the reforms are working as intended.
• “A startling snapshot of Victorian young people struggling with drug and alcohol  problems has shown girls are suffering much higher rates of abuse, neglect,  violence and self-harm than boys“
• In Victoria, Police is shocked by the massive rise in family violence
• Centre for Non-Violence chief executive and AWAVA Executive Committee Member, Margaret Augerinos says that the common denominator is gender equality-“Where gender inequality exists you often have violence against women and children”
  
• The Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault has published its paper “Engaging men in sexual assault prevention“
• Tracking Equity– the report released by the COAG Reform Council reveals that despite being highly educated, women and girls are being left behind their male counterparts in the workforce in Australia

Around the World

• Sayeed Aleemullah Shah, Tari project co-ordinator for Medecins Sans  Frontieres, writes that the “epidemic of family violence in PNG requires a co-ordinated response“
• UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says that “it is a glaring omission that ending violence against women was not included in the Millennium Development Goals” and urges  all UN Member States to make ending violence against women and girls a priority in the new development framework
• UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says “This International Day to End Violence  against Women is an opportunity for all people to recommit to preventing and halting  all forms of violence against women and girls“
• In the UK, Women’s groups Imkaan and The Project are marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women with Purple Butterflies
• In the UK it is being reported that the Metropolitan Police Service is “significantly under-recording rape offences according to new evidence presented to MPs“
• Also in the UK, four groups (Co-ordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA), Imkaan, Rape Crisis England & Wales, Respect and Women’s Aid England) have come together to create a “robust and well co-ordinated framework” to align existing service standards and accreditation frameworks and those under development

 Get Involved

• Natasha Stott Despoja AM, Chair of  Foundation to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children and Ken Lay, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, will be speaking at the National Press Club of Australia on November 26th. More information and registration details can be found here

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only

Last week AWAVA amplified the concerns of its member organisations and joined Community Legal Centres and other community sector organisations to write to NSW Minister Pru Goward about potential issues with child protection changes in the State. Read the open letter to the Minister here, the letter signed by various community groups argues that the proposed reforms could disproportionately affect vulnerable and disadvantaged people. AWAVA also joined its Sister National Women’s Alliance, Equality Rights Alliance (ERA), for the ERA workshop and strategy session on housing and gendered well-being

(Equality Rights Alliance- Housing Policy Working Group)

Around the Country

• “Australia shares the worldwide disgrace of horrific violence against women at  the hands of men, according to the Governor-General, Quentin Bryce”.
• The Coalition Government has released the terms of reference for its long-promised review of child care and  early childhood learning
• Women with disability who live in institutions are often victims of violence and sexual abuse. Disability Discrimination Commissioner Graeme Innes says we must work hard to stop the violence against all women
• Community health, legal and women’s centres fear plans to make adoption easier  in NSW will raise the risk of creating a new generation of children who are  ”stolen” from their parents
• A newly released Verizon Foundation and More magazine survey finds that Domestic Abuse has long term health impacts
• “Pink taxis driven by women and available only to female passengers could be on  Melbourne’s streets soon”.
• In the case of Adriana Donato, the Supreme Court heard that the murder was planned for weeks by her ex-boyfriend using Google searches
• Six soldiers have been booted for their part in the so-called ‘Jedi Council’, an informal ring that  shared offensive material including vision of secretly filmed sex  acts
• This report by the Australian Institute of Family Studies finds that the “rates of women in prison with sexual victimisation histories far exceed those of women in the general community“
• In NSW, A Sydney man who murdered his wife’s lover in a so-called honour killing has  lost an appeal against his conviction
• Conducted by the Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS), ” a startling snapshot of Victorian young people struggling with drug and alcohol  problems has shown girls are suffering much higher rates of abuse, neglect,  violence and self-harm than boys“

Around the World

• Plan International raises concerns for women and adolescent girls in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan
• A project in the USA looks to protect women from violence, by ensuring the well-being of their pets
• In this article, the author argues that the problem with anti-rape underwear is that this “modern-day chastity belt is yet another product of a society that blames victims rather than rapists“
• Laura Bates, Founder of the Everyday Sexism Project, argues that “Death and rape threats against women continue to proliferate on some of the world’s most popular social-media sites. The perpetrators must not be allowed to think they have the right to continue”
• In response to four cinemas in Sweden pledging to rate films based on whether they pass what is known as the “Bechdel test,” a means of evaluating gender bias in film , this article argues that “the major issue with the Bechdel test is that it only demands small modifications to the narrative events in the movies we watch, and doesn’t ask for any deep, structural changes“
• Actor Jennifer Lawrence has spoken out against the “disgusting” culture of viewing young women as sex objects
• The Editorial Board of the Feminists@Law Journal have released a response to the LSE Event “Is Rape Different?”

 Get Involved

• AWAVA member organization Domestic Violence NSW is searching for volunteers in the run up to Christmas to help assist in sorting and packing all the wonderful donations for women and children who have been affected by domestic and family violence. Email [email protected] for more details
• Natasha Stott Despoja AM, Chair of  Foundation to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children and Ken Lay, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, will be speaking at the National Press Club of Australia on November 26th. More information and registration details can be found here

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only

As the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women approaches on 25 November, AWAVA reaffirms its commitment to preventing and eliminating all forms of violence against women and their children. By resolution 54/134 of 17 December 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and invited governments, international organizations and NGOs to organize activities designed to raise public awareness of the problem on that day. Activists and Advocates have marked 25 November as a day against violence since 1981. This date came from the brutal assassination in 1960, of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reminds uss “we must fundamentally challenge the culture of discrimination that allows violence to continue“.

Around the Country

• In this podcast, AWAVA Advisory Group member organisation Women with Disabilities Australia’s president Karen Swift discusses the Stop the Violence Project at the Stop the Violence Project’s National Symposium on violence prevention and responses for women and girls with disabilities
• This article in The Australian tells the stories of 2 victim/survivors of child marriage
• The Zonta Club of Hervey Bay will walk on 9th November to raise awareness to end violence against women
• Susie O’Brien says that men must stop killing women and that “not only are women overwhelmingly the victims of violence, but men are the vast majority of perpetrators. And when it comes to family violence, charges are only laid in one in three cases”
• This article on the Why didn’t you ask report states that the report found there is room for improvement for the experiences of women attending court in relation to family violence. The report was released by the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre
• In this article, Governor-General Quentin Bryce says “the violence against women hasn’t stopped, so the stories must be retold“

Around the World

• The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has condemned the practice of forced sterilisation for women living with HIV
• In Africa, laws around Rape within Marriage remain problematic with “efforts to criminalize marital rape” remaining “controversial, and the results have been mixed”
• This report says more men in Africa are becoming engaged through Men to Men programs to stop rape and violence against women
• The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Professor Rashida Manjoo, has called on Sudan to stop threatening women with flogging saying “stressing the practice amounts to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment that goes against international law”
• In New Zealand, the “Roast Busters” story continues, with companies pulling their ads from a radio show that was seen to support rape culture
• In East Timor, domestic violence laws are failing to eliminate violence against women
• This article from Ottawa, Canada says that older women are the most vulnerable and face increased barriers to escaping domestic and family violence
• This Op Ed from the UK asks Why is Justice for Survivors of Violence Trivialised ?

Get involved

• On 25 November, International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) presents I am a Girl to mark the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence
• Women’s Information, Support, and Housing in the North (WISHIN are holding their annual WISHIN Women’s Car Sleepout this year in partnership with  Womens Mental Health Network Victoria. This will be a violence prevention event during the 16 days of Eliminating Violence Against Women and the White Ribbon Campaign. For more information, follow the link
• The  NSW Women’s Rights Network are screening the film Half the Sky (2012) on 11 November inspired by the novel of the same name by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn. The film follows celebrity activists across ten countries to recount the stories of inspiring and brave individuals.  From these stories we hear the solutions that are being created through health care, education, and economic empowerment for women and girls.

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only

In this double edition of the weekly round up, AWAVA brings you news of its activities around the country. On 22 October, AWAVA Chairperson and Program Manager met Ms Natasha Stott Despoja AM, Chairperson of the Foundation to Prevent Violence against women and their Children. It was a great opportunity to discuss the issue, potential collaborations, and how we can all work together to prevent and eliminate violence. On 25 October, AWAVA partnered with its sister national women’s alliance, the Equality Rights Alliance to Reclaim the Night. AWAVA and Equality Rights Alliance marched and stood in solidarity, remembering survivors and victims of sexual violence and abuse whilst reaffirming both alliances’ commitment to equality and equity for all women.

Around The Nation

• This excellent article from Natasha Stott Despoja counts the cost of violence against women in Australia
• In Victoria, new draft laws around Rape still do not hold perpetrators fully accountable
• This opinion piece looks at the neglect of sexual assault victims who have a disability
• The NSW Government has released the Exposure Draft legislation regarding the reform of the partial defence of provocation – Crimes Amendment (Provocation) Bill 2013 for comment by 14 November 2013. Kate Fitz-Gibbon has written on the issue in the Sydney Morning Herald, arguing “”changing provocation law could legitimise lethal acts of domestic violence“”.
  
  

Around the World

• This great letter titled Son, it’s OK if you don’t get laid tonight is a message from a mother to a son, spelling out what he can do to end rape culture (note: some explicit language)
• Revenge Porn and what is being done in the USA to make it illegal
• Rape Fantasy Stories are becoming more and more prominent on th self-published e-book market
• India has refused to co-sponsor a UN Resolution to end early/child marriage
• Back to Maryville USA and critics ask whether the Anonymous campaign has helped or hindered the case
• This story from Uganda looks at the links between VAW and HIV infection, and the SASA! approach

Get Involved!

Stoning and Violence Against Women

Learn more about ‘Stoning’ and what you can do to try and end this practice by clicking here

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only

This week AWAVA met with Senator the Hon. Michaelia Cash, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women. It was an incomparable opportunity for AWAVA’s Chairperson and Program Manager to meet the Minister and discuss our achievements, current work, and future directions. We are thrilled to report that the Minister shares our commitment to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and their children. We thank the Minister for her vision and expertise and look forward to working with her!

Around the Nation

• In this article, the very real issue of Forced Marriage in Australia is looked at
• The CFMEU joins the fight against domestic and family violence
• The Sydney Morning Herald says that Malala offers an example to the world in her fight for education for girls
• There are calls in Victoria to change laws that suppress the identities of perpetrators of domestic and family violence
• In Ballarat (Vic) police and Aboriginal communities are working together to end family violence
• This excellent article from Ken Lay, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police  says violence against women is a “bloke’s issue“

Around the World

• The UN, in partnership with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, launched “Voices Against Violence” – a new education curriculum focussed on preventing violence against women and girls
• In Nigeria, there are renewed commitments from the government to end violence against women, particularly sexual violence in areas of conflict. But the UN says that Nigeria is ranked as one of the lowest in the world for gender equality and gender violence
• Still in Nigeria, there are calls for more to be done to end early and forced marriage
• More on FGM/C, and the UN reports on progress being made in Ethiopia
• Supermodel and Campaigner Waris Dirie says that FGM is pure violence against women and girls
• This story from the USA looks at the parallels between Indian and Western (USA) cultures of victim blaming
• The US Government shut-down has the potential to severely hamper the prosecution of rape cases, as “Rape Kits” may no longer be available, along with counselling and other services for victims. Funding to other services assisting victims/survivors of violence is also having an impact
• Still in the USA, world-renowned hackers Anoymous have posted this video in response a young woman’s rape and lack of systemic support and action – read more about the Maryville case here
• In Yemen, women are striving to be recognised as equals in law – which may prove to be  a hard task, particularly with attitudes prevailing among law enforcement that women who report domestic violence are ‘indecent’ and that it is ’caused by the women misbehaving.’
• Concerns are being raised for the progress of women in Afghanistan as the transition from International to Afghan forces is made in 2014
• Viral Rape is increasingly becoming a ‘thing’ and a ‘trend’ in the USA – and no doubt in other parts of the world
• From India, this essay looks at Popular Mythologies and Their Implications for VAW
• This report from the Asian Tribune says that changing notions of masculinity is the key to prevent violence against women
• The International Committee of the Red Cross says more needs to be done to stop Rape as a Weapon of War
• Many of you would have read Emily Yoffe’s piece which says that by women drinking more they are leaving themselves vulnerable to attack, and should not get drunk in order to avoid being raped. This unapologetic article in reply tells Emily Yoffe, and reminds readers, that rape is the fault of the rapists, and never the victim

**Articles published do not necessarily reflect the views of AWAVA and are included as items of interest only