Weekly Round-Up

Welcome to AWAVA’s Weekly Round-Up. This week, thousands of women have joined Women’s March events in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The marches on 21 January in Australia were held in solidarity with large gatherings in the US and elsewhere, marking one year after massive marches across the globe were held in protest against the inauguration of US President Donald Trump. At AWAVA we continue to be heartened by the mobilisation against sexual assault and harassment as well as against systemic discrimination in all its forms.

Around the Country

• Jane Gilmore has investigated and explained the data on intimate partner violence as a way to counter the baseless myths about male victims of domestic violence.
• The ABC has produced a Fact File, based on the latest research in Australia, using geographical areas to reveal how the patterns of homelessness have changed over 15 years. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and single parents are over-represented in the numbers, with domestic and family violence the main reasons they seek help from homelessness services.
• In South Australia, domestic and family violence services, advocates and victims/survivors are calling on the major parties to commit urgently needed funding, as SA Police figures show that at least 35 people in the state, mostly women and children, have died as a result of domestic and family violence since mid-2010.
• A new report has shown that domestic violence has increased significantly in the East Kimberley since the introduction of the cashless welfare card, raising doubts about its success.
• In the Pilbara, Western Australia, groups such as the Pilbara Heavy Haulage Girls (PHHG) and Pilbara Motorcycle Sisters (PMS) are working to support women and prevent domestic violence.
• Dentistry students at James Cook University are being trained to respond to domestic violence in an Australia-first program.

• Juliet Williams of the University of California has reflected on the twenty years since America’s shock over Clinton-Lewinsky affair, arguing that public discussions on sexual harassment are changing.
• In the wake of the Larry Nassar cases, in which the former USA gymnastics team doctor was convicted of multiple sexual assaults as well as child exploitation material offences, Caroline Kitchener has written about the widespread impulse to doubt women’s expressions of pain. (Note: this article includes material that may be distressing to readers.)
• In Peru, Pope Francis has condemned violence against women and the ‘machismo’ culture in Latin America, but also stirred outrage when he accused victims of Chile’s most notorious child sex abuse priest of slander.
   

• ANROWS is funding research into young people’s attitudes on violence against women. The project will be led by Dr Karen Struthers of Griffith University, with Professor Clare Tilbury, as a collaboration between Griffith University, YFS Ltd in Queensland, and the Ruby Gaea Sexual Assault Service in the Northern Territory

• ANROWS and the Monash University Gender and Family Violence will host a public discussion of family violence and perpetrator accountability on 8 February. For more information and to RSVP, click here.
• ANROWS will host a workshop in Sydney on 23 February called Local Evidence to Action & Local Action as Evidence, which will discuss community based practice for the prevention of violence against women and their children. To find out more, click here.
• Inner City Legal Centre (ICLC) is holding a one-day event on LGBTIQ rights and the law on 9 March, including issues of domestic and family violence in LGBTIQ relationships and LGBTIQ issues in family law. For more information and to book, click here.

• ANROWS is asking workers, practitioners and policy makers in the violence against women sector to provide input on the development of the National Risk Assessment Principles. Learn more and complete the survey here.
• Researchers at Monash University are conducting a study on family violence information sharing. An overview is available here, and people interested in contributing can read the participant information here.
• The Women’s Centre for Health Matters is conducting a community consultation survey about ACT women’s sexual and reproductive health. For more information click here.
• Women’s Legal Service Victoria is conducting a survey to improve the training that it provides to community organisations. Complete the survey here
• WIRE women’s information service is conducting research to examine the best moments to work on financial capability and literacy with women who have been subjected to family violence. For more information on the project and to participate in focus groups, click here.
• Do you know someone with children who has recently finalised (or is soon to finalise) their separation? The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) is undertaking a new study into young people’s experiences of separation. AIFS would like to talk to young people aged 10-17 years and a parent about how young people’s needs are being met by family law system services. More information can be found here.
• Are you a teacher in Australia? Do you teach any aspects of sex education? If so, researchers at La Trobe University need your help! You’re invited to take part in a survey from that seeks to understand the impact of the recently released Australian Curriculum on your experiences of teaching sex education. To find out more and/or complete the survey, visit the project website here.

• DV-alert is offering specialised workshops for settlement services so that workers can learn to recognise the signs of domestic violence, respond appropriately and refer the case if necessary. For more information, visit the website here.
• The Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia is seeking Expressions of Interest from those who would like to join the FECCA's Women’s Advisory Committee. Please send a resume with a short supporting statement to alia@fecca.org.au by COB 31 January 2018. For more information about FECCA and the Women's Advisory Committee please click here.
• Chisholm TAFE in Victoria is offering a new Graduate Certificate course in family violence. Find out more here. 
• Stanford University is offering a free and introductory online course on International Women’s Health and Human Rights. Visit this website for more information.
• The March 2018 “The Future of Women’s Refuges” edition of Parity is now open for contributions. The central role and function of women’s refuges in meeting the crisis accommodation and support needs of women and children escaping domestic and family violence is at the heart of this edition of Parity; the fundamental question here being: What is the future for women’s refuges?  Contributions close 9 March 2018. Download the flyer here.
• The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is running an online Graduate Certificate Program in Domestic Violence which is designed for frontline workers, policy developers and professionals and is intended to provide them with specialised skills and knowledge on how to better respond to cases of domestic violence.