Overturning of Roe v Wade

Much has been, and will continue to be, said about the United States Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs Wade and removing the constitutional right to an abortion. 

Bodily autonomy, agency and self-determination are fundamental tenets of human rights. Without control over our own bodies and ourselves, we are far less likely to be able to access broader legal, political and economic rights. Personal agency includes the right to marry a person of our choice; or the right to control over our own earnings and fertility; or the right to decide freely when and with whom to have sex.

AWAVA strongly opposes restrictions on access to safe abortions. There is clear evidence that limits on fertility control are associated with adverse outcomes for the health and wellbeing of women and children, especially those already socio-economically disadvantaged. This is also an evidentiary association between intimate partner violence and unintended childbearing.

It is AWAVA’s view that restricting safe abortion is not only an act of violence against women in itself, but that it perpetuates and can cause further acts of different forms of violence against women, as well as impacting detrimentally on economic and other freedoms over the life course. We stand with pro-choice activists in the United States, but also in Australia and globally. This serves as a solemn reminder that there are senior politicians and decision makers in Australia today who identify strongly as anti-abortion, and that we must always be vigilant.

Around the Country

• A coroner has called for urgent reforms to address the “inadequate response” of Queensland police to domestic violence, after investigating the deaths of a woman and her ex-partner.

• Confidentiality and a work environment that champions gender equity are essential to making employees who experience family violence feel they can ask for leave, according to businesses that offer domestic violence leave.

• 17 telco service providers, whose stakeholders comprise over 70% of Australia’s telecommunications consumers and the majority of the industry’s employees, have taken action against domestic and family violence (DFV).

• The Victorian government has announced more than $1.8 million for 12 initiatives through the Preventing Violence Through Sport Grants Program.

• Current and former female police officers in Queensland have detailed widespread misogynistic behaviour, sexist comments and sexual harassment by male colleagues, in submissions to a state inquiry focusing on problems with police culture.

• Rallies were being held across Australia this weekend in solidarity with US abortion rights, with thousands demanding access to free, safe and legal abortion.

• The architects of the first law to decriminalise abortion in Australia say the overturning of Roe v Wade in the US was a huge setback for reproductive rights, and further changes are needed at home to better enshrine access.

Around the World

• A landmark case on Tanzania’s discriminatory ban against students who are pregnant, married, or are mothers at the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights could impact the rights of girls across Africa.

• The Israel government has said it will grant work permits to LGBT Palestinians fleeing persecution in the West Bank, as well as those fleeing domestic violence.

• Hundreds of Sudanese women, dressed in white Toub, women’s national dress, have taken to the street in Omdurman city calling for an end to excessive violence against protesters and the restoration of a civil rule.

• Amid sharp rise in Gender-Based Violence, the UN Deputy Secretary-General Urges Comprehensive Investment and Support for Campaigns to Protect Women and Girls, at the “Commonwealth Says No More Violence against Women” side event of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kigali.

• The US Senate passed a bipartisan bill to address gun violence that amounts to the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades and will close the ‘boyfriend loophole’ which enabled non-domestic partners to evade provisions that prevented domestic abusers from owning a gun. 

• Although climate change threatens everyone, women and girls often suffer its harshest and most violent consequences, said UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

• The UNHCR has released Five Takeaways from the 2021 UNHCR Global Trends Report.

• The Republic of Ireland has released its strategy to address domestic, sexual and gender based violence called Zero Tolerance, built on the pillars of Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Policy Co-ordination, and including a new, standalone State agency with responsibility for domestic, sexual and gender based violence to be established by 1 January 2024.

• Survivors of forced sterilisation and coerced contraception from Canada, Peru and Indonesia will gather with academic researchers at a summit in Edmonton this summer to share stories, heal through art and ceremony, and set an agenda for change.

• In Egypt, a woman's gruesome murder and a sheikh blaming the victim reveal Egypt's problem with violence against women.

• In Scotland, victims' charities are calling for a review of a domestic abuse scheme that tells people if their partners have a history of offending. The Disclosure Scheme for Domestic Abuse Scotland (DSDAS) was launched in 2015 after the death of Clare Wood but domestic abuse charities say nothing has been done to evaluate whether the scheme has reduced abuse towards women.

• In Ireland, just six people have been convicted of coercive control since it became a criminal offence in early 2019. At the same time, changes to school curriculums to include topics like consent, domestic violence and coercive control are set to be introduced.

Research and Publications

• NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research describes the significant rise in incidents of domestic violence-related stalking and intimidation recorded in NSW over the 10 years to 2021 and their passage through the criminal justice system.

• The Wages and Ages: Mapping the Gender Pay Gap by Age data series is the first time WGEA data has been broken down by age. It shows that in 2021 at no age were more than 50% of women working full-time, yet higher paid management opportunities were almost exclusively reserved for full time workers. In all age groups, more than 90% of managers were working full-time.

• The Western Australian Parliament report Enough is enough: Sexual harassment against women in the FIFO mining industry found women have been subjected to "an appalling range of behaviours". Among its 24 recommendations, the report recommends reversing the onus of proof in sexual harassment complaints under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984, so often traumatised victims do not have the burden of proving the sexual harassment that put them at a disadvantage in the workplace.

• A new study explores how intimate partner violence influences custody decisions. The study included a sample of 190 mothers with at least one minor child, who filed for divorce between 2009 and 2013 in a large Central Illinois county. The women provided information about their divorce process and co-parenting relationships.

• A “vanishingly small” proportion of COVID-19 funding went to tackling violence against women and girls that spiralled during the pandemic, according to a UN Women report Government responses to COVID-19: Lessons on gender equality for a world in turmoil. The report found that just 0.0002% of $26.7 trillion of donor funding worldwide went towards ending gender-based violence that intensified during the first year of lockdowns, as victims remained trapped at home with their abusers.

• The International Peace Institute has published analysis Expanding Conceptions of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence among Military Peacekeepers.

• The Observer Research Foundation writes on Gender-based violence in private online spaces and of the need to have holistic user protection.

• Published in The Lancet Psychiatry, a new study is the first to show that intimate partner violence (IPV) is strongly associated with self-harm and suicidality in both men and women, and across all ages in England.

• A study just published in the European Journal of Population finds that Google searches are an effective tool to track and predict domestic violence, especially in times of crisis, such as the period that followed the COVID-19 outbreak.

• Ortiz-Prado, E., Villagran, P., Martinez-Abarca, A.L. et al. Female homicides and femicides in Ecuador: a nationwide ecological analysis from 2001 to 2017. BMC Women's Health 22, 260 (2022).

Resources and Guidelines

• The Essential Services Package (ESP) for Women and Girls Subject to Violence is a global guidance supporting national systems to respond to gender-based violence across four key sectors: health, social services, justice and police. The ESP guidelines include sector-specific modules for service provision, as well as a module on coordination, on implementation and a costing tool.
• 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).
• CARE has released guidelines relating to Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies.
• 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.
  

• The Victorian Women’s Trust has launched Here She Is! is a directory of woman and gender-diverse professionals for use by media, recruiters, event and conference organisers.

• Elder abuse awareness bookmarks and posters have been translated into 15 languages by the Australian Human Rights Commission to increase community awareness of the National Elder Abuse phone line. Additional languages will be rolled out this year.

• Violence against women increases at times of disaster. Gender and Disaster Australia have compiled some useful resources to ensure first responders consider violence against women as they set up and staff evacuation centres and work in communities impacted by disaster. Find the interactive webpage here.

Media

• The Guardian writes Abortion ruling highlights the war against women in America. Time to fight back, as well as Women must be allowed to defend abortion as a sex-based right.

• Latino Rebels say that Overturning ‘Roe v. Wade’ Is Disastrous for Latina Survivors of Gender-Based Violence.

• The Middle East Eye notes Roe v Wade: Muslim women say overturning of decision will hurt everyone.

• Writing about gun violence in the United States, The Guardian notes ‘An unspoken epidemic’: Homicide rate increase for Black women rivals that of Black men.

• KWTX writes “I can’t have one more baby with this man”: Some domestic violence victims see abortion as vital option that would be lost post-Roe.

• The Ohio Capital Journal writes Advocates: Domestic violence survivors’ safety at risk with anti-abortion messaging, action.

• FOX7 reports Some domestic violence victims see abortion as vital option that would be lost post-Roe.

• Patriot News writes Abortion-rights advocates worry about women’s autonomy, safety; but remain focused on future.

• CBS News reports How victims of domestic abuse are impacted by Roe v Wade overturn.

• The World Economic Forum reports Here’s how one woman is empowering domestic abuse survivors around the world.

• The Conversation asks Will closing the ‘boyfriend loophole’ in gun legislation save lives? Here’s what the research says.

• Arab News asks After incidents in Jordan, UAE and Egypt: Is violence against women on the rise?

• The Jerusalem Post notes Violence against women hits universities in Egypt and Jordan.

Calls for Submissions, Surveys, and EOIs

• The Australian Capital Territory government has released a consultation draft law to protect the rights of intersex people. If passed, the bill would ban deferrable medical interventions on children with intersex traits until they’re old enough to decide treatments for themselves. Feedback is invited via a questionnaire or email by 9 July 2022.
  
• In another Monash study, participants are sought for a study on young women's experiences of online gender-based violence. The survey is designed for anyone who identifies as a woman or non-binary, is aged between 18 to 25 years old and living in Australia.
• Do you work with or for young people? Have you used The Line educator and practitioner resources? If so, Our Watch would love to hear your feedback. The survey takes 15 minutes to complete and closes on 15 July 2022.
• Have you or a client have experienced tech-facilitated abuse or coercive control? Has a partner abused you using text messages or Facebook? Have they tracked you using GPS tracking apps? If you or a client of yours have experienced this type of abuse and sought safety and justice support, researchers from Monash, RMIT and WESNET would like to speak to you. For more information, please contact [email protected]

• The Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre is seeking survey participants for two areas of study: 1) Did you seek family violence support during the COVID19 lockdowns? If so, we want to hear about your experiences of accessing support remotely. Please complete our short anonymous online survey. 2) Do you work in the domestic and family violence perpetrator intervention space in Australia? We are seeking practitioners for a study on responding to intimate partner sexual violence in domestic and family violence perpetrator interventions. Complete the survey here.

• If you work in family violence or other related services, such as legal and family services in Victoria, the Australian Institute of Family Studies invites you to share your experiences of how your client service needs changed and how your services adapted to meet their needs during COVID-19. Take the survey: Future-proofing Safety Project Information Sheet (aifs.gov.au).
• The Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre Centre has launched a study on LGBTIQ+ family violence victim-survivors' experiences with Victoria's intervention order system. The focus of this study is on access to justice and safety outcomes. To complete the survey, click this link. Please feel free to share the survey widely.

• The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is inviting manuscripts for a special issue ‘Engaging Men and Boys in the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls’. Deadline for submission is 31 July 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

• Dr Anne Summers AO will be presenting her new research findings on domestic violence and its consequence in Australia today on 19 July 11:30am - 1:30pm AEST.
• A recording of the online launch of Our Watch and Women with Disabilities Victoria’s Changing the landscape: A national resource to prevent violence against women and girls with disabilities is available on the Our Watch website.
  
• Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre seminar series is presenting Forced Marriage as a Form of Family Violence in Victoria by Dr Shih Joo Tan (Siru) on 13 July 9.00 -10.00 am AEST.

• No to Violence Conference 2022: Shifting the Burden is on at the Adelaide Convention Centre from 1 to 4 August 2022.

• The AHURI National Homelessness Conference 2022 is being held in Canberra on 8 August 2022.

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

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

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