2022 October Budget

The recent National Press Club speech by Social Services Minister the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, along with this federal government’s first Budget, provided the government with the opportunity to deliver tangible and well-funded support to back the new National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children. Pleasingly, in her speech, Minister Rishworth reiterated gender inequality and rigid gender roles as key drivers of men’s violence against women, children and the LGBTQIA community. She also highlighted perpetrator accountability, the separate First Nations plan, the role of business and workplaces, and the measurements of success. It was a good restating of the Plan’s key features, but detailed few new initiatives.

In a similar vein, the October Budget delivered on key election commitments - such as the 500 new frontline domestic and family violence workers - and announced some welcome new elements to the existing women’s safety funding package, but there was little in the way of new funding, instead noting that existing funding commitments would be either continued, better targeted or reallocated. It is expected that the yet-to-be-released first action plans will provide more detail on the funding breakdown. 

Tabled along with the Budget papers was the Women’s Budget Statement (WBS). The new government made an election commitment to gender responsive budgeting and, while not there yet, the first Albanese WBS signals a good start. It offers up sound data and genuine analysis of the status of Australia women, and commits the government to further supporting policy-makers and decision-makers to consider how policies can improve the lives of women.

AWAVA will continue its close watching brief on the commitments by governments - federal and state - to ending violence against women, with a particular interest in ensuring women’s safety is prioritised, and that policies and programs are co-designed and delivered by women’s specialist services.

Around the Country

• Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth tells the National Press Club of government's pledge to end domestic violence within 'one generation'.

• Micaela Cronin has been announced as the inaugural Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence Commissioner.

• A recent Four Corners investigation into the deaths of 315 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women has revealed flaws in the way police deal with domestic violence.

• Domestic violence advocates are raising concerns at a New South Wales upper house inquiry into coercive control laws, saying that the state is rushing to add an untested new criminal offence which may not best protect victim survivors. 

• The Country Fire Authority faces a landmark legal case in the Supreme Court over allegations its officers subjected a 17-year-old volunteer to appalling brutality, including duct-taping the girl to the bullbar of a fire truck and a series of degrading assaults at a station near Bendigo, Victoria.

• The lawyer for a woman at the centre of the Hawthorn cultural safety review says his client will not participate in the AFL's investigation, citing concerns about its lack of independence and respect for First Nations participants and his client "refusing to consent to the silencing tactics of the AFL".

• Critical upgrades have been made to 45 courthouses across metropolitan and regional NSW, as part of a $9 million investment to create safe spaces for vulnerable witnesses.

• The Respect@Work portal has been launched, bringing together a comprehensive set of resources for employers and workers including best-practice guides, training programs, workplace-assessment tools, information, videos and advice.

• A Queensland woman who was raped, physically assaulted and subject to financial abuse by her partner, killed herself after being wrongly identified as a perpetrator of domestic violence by police, a coronial study has found.

• Listen to ABC Radio National where peak body for First Nations children, National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care, says the evidence does not support the Opposition’s claims of widespread child sexual abuse in Indigenous communities.

Around the World

• The UN has observed that a surge in disinformation, online bullying and hate speech, particularly against women journalists, is contributing to the stifling of media workers around the globe.

• In the US, the attack targeting Speaker Nancy Pelosi at her home is highlighting the real-world risk of violence stemming from the online vitriol targeting women in politics.

• Read the Statement by Vice President Kamala Harris on Iran Protests and the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

• Read the Address by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide in South Africa. Meanwhile, Civil society has called Ramaphosa and the government out - saying little or nothing has been done. From April to June this year, more than 800 women and close to 250 children have been killed in South Africa.

• New Zealand is suspending its bilateral Human Rights Dialogue with Iran as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta announce New Zealand's response to anti-regime protests crackdown in Iran.

• In the UK, a landmark inquest into the death of Jessica Laverack has concluded that the “underlying cause of her illness [was] domestic abuse”.

• After a 10 year delay, the Istanbul convention to combat violence against women has been integrated into UK law, but the government has opted out of the section that aims to protect migrant women and those without UK citizenship.

• In Singapore more people are making police reports on family violence, with a total of 5,190 reports filed in 2021, up from 5,134 in 2020. In response, all neighbourhood police centres now have specially appointed officers who deal specifically with family violence.

• Panama is the 21st country to ratify ILO Convention No. 190 which aims to eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work. (Australia has not ratified.)

• Tokyo’s metropolitan government began issuing partnership certificates to same-sex couples who live and work in the capital, a move that’s been long-awaited in a country that still does not allow equal marriage.

• In 2014 the Swedish government adopted the world’s first explicitly feminist foreign policy, but Sweden’s new government has announced that they will abandon it.

• Women in cities across the Balkans have been protesting for their rights, and for significant legislative and governmental change, since late September.

• The profound political and humanitarian crisis in Haiti has had a disproportionate impact on women and girls, say organisations representing refugees, female merchants, women, as well as the United Nations and the human rights sector.

• Ela Bhatt - the ‘gentle revolutionary’; a pioneer in women’s empowerment and founder of the more than 1 million-strong Self-Employed Women’s Association trade union in India; Gandhian practitioner of non-violence and self-reliance - has died.

• WHO/Europe scales up interventions to respond to gender-based violence amid ongoing refugee crisis in Republic of Moldova.

Research and Publications

• The Monash Gender and Family Violence has announced two new PhD scholarships as part of Professor Marie Segrave's ARC funded Future Fellowship, Domestic and Family Violence and border-related harm. There is no set topic: applicants can propose projects that broadly engage with borders, migration, gendered violence and/or exploitation. The last date to apply is 16 November 2022.

• CEDA report Double Jeopardy: The economic and social costs of keeping women behind bars outlines the clear need to reform the imprisonment of women in Australia, seeking to highlight key issues and emphasising the urgent need to reduce rates of female imprisonment through a nationally consistent approach. 

• Monash University surveyed 3,002 victim-survivors who worked in Australia while experiencing domestic and family violence and has released From workplace sabotage to embedded supports: examining the impact of domestic and family violence across Australian workplaces.

• The Summer Foundation, with the support of People with Disabilities Australia, conducted research into people with disability’s experience of the NDIS and has released its report Getting the NDIS back on track – A survey of people with disability.

• A Deloitte report Breaking the norm: Unleashing Australia’s Economic Potential finds that more flexible ideas around gender could lead to an additional $128 billion each year for Australia’s economy and 461,000 additional full time employees.

• A new database, created by Princeton University and the Anti-Defamation League, found that women who are public officials were targeted at a higher frequency than others, totaling 42.5% of incidents. The project is designed to track threats to politicians, starting at the local level.

• The Center for American Progress has issued a fact sheet Weak Gun Laws Are Harmful to Women and Survivors of Domestic Violence.

• An Irish survey found that domestic abuse claims by women in family courts are often dismissed as ‘irrelevant’.

• American Heart Association researchers found exposure to domestic violence was associated with at least a 34 percent higher risk for cardiovascular events and 30 percent increased risk of death.

• Transformative change to tackle predatory police officers explores how predatory police officers and police culture can transform across England and Wales to better support and protect women.

Resources and Guidelines

• Engender Equality have published Breaking the Trap, Working with Clients Experiencing Coercive Control, a downloadable workbook designed for workers who are supporting people who have been impacted by coercive control.

• Our Watch has developed new tools to support schools in promoting gender equality and creating an Australia free from violence.

• The international Sexual Violence Research Initiative has published Shared Global Research Priorities for the Intersections between Violence against Children and Violence against Women to help to advance the field in a more structured way and to monitor progress against initial evidence gaps.

• Queensland Advocacy for Inclusion has a new specialist program providing legal help to Queenslanders with disability in natural disasters.

• Women's Legal Service WA recently co-designed and produced community education posters aimed at debunking myths commonly used by perpetrators to prevent women leaving an abusive relationship. The posters also feature a QR code linking to the Centre for Women's Safety and Wellbeing's Support and Services Directory.

• Say It Out Loud has published the LGBTQ+ Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Toolkit, written specifically by and for people from sexuality and gender diverse communities (LGBTQ+ people)

• Our Watch’s Men in focus practice guide offers practical strategies on engaging with men and boys on masculinities, such focusing on building empathy and motivation and fostering self-awareness.

• The Handbook on Gender, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Disasters provides practical guidance to policymakers, response staff of the Disaster Management Centre and community groups to plan, coordinate, implement, monitor, and evaluate essential actions for a gender equitable disaster response. The handbook was created by the Disaster Management Centre, Sri Lanka with the financial support of the Australian Government.

• Harmony Alliance has developed a 2016 Census and Settlement Database brief to provide an understanding on migrant and refugee women's diversity in Australia and identify some of the challenges they face with a focus on the impact of English proficiency.

• Safe and Equal and the Expert Advisory Panel have developed a series of resources and templates to support other services and organisations in their engagement with survivor advocates. Safe and Equal has also released an issues paper, seeking to define and explore different sources of lived experience which inform the work of the family violence sector.

• As part of the Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) LEAD project, WWDA has developed a fact sheet to support women, girls, feminine identifying, and non-binary people with disability in understanding, applying for and navigating the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

• The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has uploaded a website article Family, domestic and sexual violence containing facts and data, drawing from a range of statistics and research.

• Harmony Alliance has developed a grant writing guide which includes the steps to prepare grant proposals, what a proposal should consist of, and a practical example. 

• The Victorian Women’s Trust has launched Rural Women Online for women living and working in rural and remote Victoria. The program is designed to provide online help with computers, phones, and the internet, and is also a place to learn new digital skills, find a nearby workshop, access technical support, and sign up to be mentored.

• Our Watch and Senior Rights Victoria have produced a new resource for practitioners seeking to build their knowledge and practice on preventing violence against older women.

Media

• The National Indigenous Times writes Tired and in mourning, Cassius Turvey’s’ family is making Australia face its racism reality.

• Watch ABC News video Why a referendum for a First Nations Voice to parliament is so important.

• Crikey reports Many female prisoners are abuse victims, yet female incarceration is growing.

• Listen to SBS The Too Hard Basket - the effect of family violence on communities recovering from natural disasters.

• The ABC reports Staying safe after escaping domestic violence can be a decades-long fight.

• The Conversation writes This Melbourne Cup, alcohol and sport collide. We need to watch out for domestic violence.

• The ABC asks Having an IUD inserted can be excruciatingly painful. Why aren't women being warned or given stronger pain relief?

• The Guardian profiles Filsan Abdi I resigned over war crimes against women and girls in Ethiopia. I want justice.

• Ms Magazine writes ‘Where Is Nancy?’: How Threats Against Women in Power Are Tied to Threats Against Democracy.

• Open Democracy reports Hamangaí: Brazil’s Indigenous women find their power after colonial abuse.

• The World Economic Forum says To tackle violence against women, we need to alleviate poverty.

• Forbes Magazine spoke to Ashoka Fellow Hera Hussain, founder of Chayn, to gain insights about the role technology can play, as well as its limitations, in providing healing & well-being to survivors of abuse.

• The Washington Post writes This group has a shocking concussion rate. It’s not football players.

• The Guardian reports Experts fear rising global ‘incel’ culture could provoke terrorism.

• The Irish Times asks ‘Parental alienation’: Child abuse, or a pseudoscientific tool to silence domestic violence victims?

Surveys, submissions and grants

• Have you experienced tech-facilitated coercive control? Has a partner abused you using text messages or Facebook? Have they tracked you using GPS tracking apps? If you have experienced this type of abuse and sought safety and justice support, researchers from Monash, RMIT and WESNET would like to speak to you. Contact: [email protected]
  
• Have you listened to a true crime podcast? A QUT study is looking for participants for a research project focused on women’s experiences listening to true crime podcasts. If you are an adult (18+) woman who has listened to a true crime podcast, a QUT researcher would like to speak to you about participating in a diary study. For more information click here.
• The National Council of Single Mothers and Their Children are conducting a Separated Women's Financial Safety Survey, which looks at single mothers’ post-separation finances, including how money might be used by their ex-partner to control or abuse.
• The Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre has launched a new survey examining the prevention of sexual harassment in Australian workplaces. The survey is open to all people aged 15 and over who have experienced or witnessed sexual harassment, and participants can go in a draw to win shopping vouchers.
• The Australian government has asked myGov users to participate in a survey designed to improve understanding on how to improve myGov.
• Harmony Alliance, Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) and National Ethnic Disability Alliance (NEDA) are conducting a survey on the experiences of women, girls, women identifying, and non-binary people with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. The survey asks questions about your experiences with health care and disability support services in Australia and is available in Arabic, English, Mandarin, Nepali, Spanish, Swahili.
  
• The Australian Government is inviting feedback on the Consultation Draft of the National Principles to Address Coercive Control. An online survey is open until 11 November 2022.
• The Australian Senate has referred an inquiry into missing and murdered First Nations women and children to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 31 July 2023. The submission closing date is 11 November 2022.
  
• Harmony Alliance is consulting with women from migrant and refugee backgrounds on their experiences and views of digital and technology-facilitated abuse and the gendered impacts of digitalisation. Sessions are being held on 24 November 2022.
• The Australian Government’s Employment White Paper (the White Paper) will provide a roadmap for Australia to build a bigger, better-trained and more productive workforce – to boost incomes and living standards and create more opportunities for more Australians. Comments are now invited on the terms of reference, closing on 30 November 2022.
• The Inquiry into Workforce Australia Employment Services is calling for submissions relating to ParentsNext, closing 30 November 2022.
• Now is the time to share your experience of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation with the Disability Royal Commission. Submissions close on 31 December 2022. Find more information on the DRC website.

Events

• The inaugural Safer Girls Safer Women symposium is being held on 10 November 2022 in Canberra to discuss the development of a national framework and best practice guidelines for sexual health, respectful relationships and consent education for women and girls with a disability.

• Women with Disabilities Australia (WWDA) has announced the WWDA National Online Leadership Summit will take place on 14-16 November 2022.

• The Gender Equality, Domestic Violence and Work Symposium is being held by the UTS Business School on 18 November, as both an in-person and online event. It is bringing together local and international speakers from academia, industry and trade unions to present new research and discuss a workplace agenda for addressing domestic violence.

• On Friday 18 November at the University of Melbourne and online, the Melbourne Social Equity Institute is hosting a one-day conference exploring migration, refugee studies and statelessness.

• The National Aboriginal Child Safety and Domestic Violence Summit 2023: Strong Families, Safer Children is being held on 29-31 March 2023 in Adelaide and will bring together guest speakers to stimulate new and innovative pathways to address the national issue of child safety, domestic and Aboriginal family violence across Australia.

Training and Further Education

• WESNET is offering Technology Safety Online Training for SADFV professionals, for dates and training descriptions please visit https://techsafety.org.au/training

• Our Watch is hosting two free training sessions for people who are new to the primary prevention of violence against women sector. The full-day training is on Tuesday 15 November and half-day training is on Thursday 17 November. Expressions of interest close on Monday 31 October.

• A free online course - Connectivity’s Concussion Short Course - has been designed in conjunction with the University of Tasmania to help further understanding of concussion including recognising the signs and symptoms, how to manage concussion, appreciate the pathways to recovery and how concussions can impact your everyday life.

• Harmony Alliance is collaborating with La Trobe University to support migrant and refugee women to start and further develop their careers through the Future Proof Career Development program. This free program will include educational, mentorship and networking resources.

• ACON has recently launched three online training modules: The Trans Vitality: Trans Affirming Practice eLearning; Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health ELearning, in collaboration with ASHM; and Recognise and Respond, in collaboration with the Black Dog Institute.

• The RACGP Family Violence GP Education Program assists GPs in developing skills and knowledge to respond to domestic and family violence. The program is open to all Victorian GPs and practice staff and offers two training pathway options – beginner and intermediate/advanced.
  

• RMIT’s Graduate Certificate in Domestic and Family Violence provides an exciting opportunity for current and future family violence practitioners, with subjects in gendered violence, responding to family violence, primary prevention of violence against women and specialist case coordination and management. The program is offered online and part-time to support work/life/study balance. Applications can be made online here, or for more information, visit the Program Overview.

• Harmony Alliance has developed a free online course on 'Financial Literacy for Women' available in English, Arabic, Dari, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, Nepalese, Punjabi, Hazaragi, Thai, Karen, and Korean.

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