Nov 25 - Dec 10
The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international
campaign originating from the first Women's Global Leadership
Institute sponsored by the Center for Women's Global Leadership in
1991. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates
including November 29, International Women Human Rights Defenders
Day, December 1, World AIDS Day, and December 6, which marks the
Anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. The 16 Days Campaign has been
used as an organizing strategy by individuals and groups around the
world to call for the elimination of all forms of violence against
women. Over 3,400 organizations in approximately 164 countries
have participated in the 16 Days Campaign since 1991!
UNIFEM Australia is hosting an online
discussion,
Gender Equality Online with the Australian NGO CEDAW delegates
to discuss the concluding comments. It will be spread over a week
from Dec. 3rd - 10th.
Domestic
violence and sexual assault continue to be the most common form of
violence experienced by women.
The ABS
Personal Safety Survey (2006) showed that:
-
In any year, nearly half a million Australian women experience physical or sexual violence.
-
One in three Australian women have experienced physical violence, but only one in five report the violence.
-
One in five Australian women has experienced sexual violence.
-
About 90 per cent of women who are sexually assaulted do not access crisis support, legal help or services. (For detailed Statistics see: OFW Fact Sheet)
As
part of CLW's involvement in the 16 Days of Activism against Gender
Violence, CLW is
focusing attention on the Gillard Government's plan to target
violence against women and their children
in Australia. As The Commonwealth
announced that it would refer Time for Action to COAG since many of
the recommendations requiring cooperation between all levels
Below is a brief chronology of where we are at in relation to the Gillard government's efforts with links to the key documents.
Chronology of National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
9 August 2010:
Draft National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children released. This is a 12 year strategy to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault, deliver greater justice for victims, and improve support services.
For more info see Draft National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children
View the
proposed
National Plan to Reduce
Violence against Women and their Children
April
2009:
The Federal
Government released its response, Immediate Government Actions,
supporting the direction and focus of
Time for Action. The
Government announced that it would invest $42 million immediately to
address urgent recommendations. These included the establishment of
a new national domestic violence and sexual assault telephone and
online crisis service, the implementation of respectful
relationships programs in schools and other youth settings, and the
development of a social marketing campaign targeted at young people
and parents.
The Federal
Government also announced that it would refer
Time for Action to COAG
as many of the recommendations required cooperation between all
levels of government. Both
Time for Action and the Government’s response,
Immediate Government Actions,
laid the groundwork for the National Plan.
The
Commonwealth has since worked closely with State and Territory
Governments to develop a
National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children.
May 2008:
The Federal
Government set up the National Council to Reduce Violence against
Women and their Children in May 2008 to advise on measures to reduce
the incidence and impact of violence against women and their
children. The National Council was asked to develop an
evidence-based plan for reducing violence, based on community
consultation, assessing existing Australian and international
research, investigating the effectiveness of legal systems, and
commissioning research on the economic costs of violence.
The
11-member council, led by Ms Libby Lloyd AM (Chair) and Ms Heather
Nancarrow (Deputy Chair), consulted with more than 2,000 Australians
in every State and Territory, conducted roundtable expert
discussions, interviewed victims and perpetrators of violence, and
reviewed more than 350 written submissions.
The Council
presented its recommendations to government in
Time for Action:
The National Council’s plan
for
Comments:
As you will note, the comments below reflect frustrations about the
situation and the inadequacies of current attempts to address
violence against women and children. Please join in this activism
to contribute your concerns and ideas for policy makers to take into
consideration before the National Plan to reduce Violence against
Women and their Children is finalised.
Incoming government must act
to end violence against women - Amnesty International
The release of the proposed
National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children
(2010 to 2022) is a positive move for all Australians. However, the
most important step has yet to be taken – the incoming Federal
Government must ensure that the plan is immediately delivered, with
the cooperation of all State and Territory Governments.
“While the plan, as it stands,
is a promising blueprint to address some forms of violence against
women, it’s disappointing that the plan didn’t make it through the
Council of Australian Governments’ process, ready to be implemented,
in the first term of the current government,” said Hannah Harborow,
Amnesty International Australia campaign coordinator.
Gender-based violence is
endemic in
The proposed plan addresses
domestic violence and sexual assault, but Amnesty International has
called for a plan that addresses all forms of violence against
women. This would include sexual harassment; trafficking; forced
prostitution; and traditional practices, such as female genital
mutilation, that are harmful to women and girls.
The proposed plan covers the
three key areas necessary to comprehensively address domestic
violence and sexual assault: the prevention of violence; the
provision of services for women fleeing violence; and the
prosecution of offenders, with standardised justice system responses
toward gender-based violence.
Amnesty International welcomes
the proposal to involve all governments, at all levels and across a
range of portfolios, as well as the women’s sector and the wider
community. The plan takes a holistic approach and works on improving
collaboration between all services that assist women who have
experienced violence.
It is also positive that the
plan includes targets; indicators of change to show progress;
regular periods of review and evaluation; and is supported by a
pledge of additional funding.
“The incoming Federal
Government must adopt a National Plan that goes beyond the piecemeal
approach we have seen in the past, and must implement a long-term
strategy to address the root causes of violence against women,” said
Hannah Harborow.
(1) Australian Bureau of
Statistics (2005) ABS's Personal Safety Survey
(2) KPMG (2009) The Cost of
Violence against Women and their Children, Commonwealth of
I am
an Aboriginal women and my thoughts and experience about domestic
and family violence may strike a nerve with some of our people
but if the government is serious about looking at protecting
children from the abuse of witnessing and also being physically,
emotionally and sexually abused than it is time for us to talk about
the lack of responsibility, the silence, the continued acceptance of
letting perpetrators live in communities and continue abusing women
and children. Not to mention sending perpetrators into low security
detention centres who get day and weekend home time. The non
offending partner/parent needs to make a choice - do they chose to
protect the child and make the offender accountable or do they
choose to remain with the partner because this is what their
parents, grandparents, aunts and sisters have done.
The
government did an extensive investigation into the sexual abuse and
violence in Aboriginal communities in NSW, spent god knows how much
money, published a fancy report and did nothing. What is violence
against women and children marches achieving? Why not put a refuge
on every street corner, keep splashing tax payers money on protecting
victims - that clearly don't work. All government players, and
survivors need to come together to talk about the TRUTH.
What is
happening in some communities will continue until the truth is told,
the justice system really works with perpetrators, strong community
capacity building and support is given so that some women who are
protecting these perpetrators (and yes there are women who are
perpetrators as well) are made to take responsibility for their
actions.
PLEASE tell
Julia if she values the future Australians of this Nation than she
needs to have some really serious discussions with her ministers and
law makers, government agencies who work with victims and it is not
just one generation it is 3 and 4 generations of violence and abuse
that victims have experienced. Sure Aboriginal people have had a
very sad experience from past government policies and interventions
but when are we going to say hey we can't change what happened but
for the sake of our children we must take responsibility and protect
future generations from these crimes.
When will a
magistrate take a stand and say, you (perpetrator) will take
responsibility for your crime, you will undertake a very intensive
perpetrator program to address your violence along with a strong
respected council of Aboriginal Elders who will enforce an agreed
Aboriginal Lore that will pass a sentence eg, the perpetrator must
leave the community for a selected period and will only return if
they are willing to come before the Elders council and can
demonstrate they have the right to return.
Victims
compensation must involve provision for intensive
counselling/therapy for the victims and the non offending partners.
These are just some of my thoughts on this very serious and urgent needs of victims.
Anonymous (posted 2/11/10)
The following discussion ensued after my questions to this person:
I am wondering if you have had a look at the National Plan and if you can give me your opinion of the pages 4-6 which is specifically aimed at indigenous communities.
I did read
the National Plan and it is impressive, however the one thing that
stood out for me was under the Principles that guide the National
Plan - "Sustainable change must be built on community
participation by men and women taking responsibility for the
problems and solutions" I agree totally with this, the
question is HOW? There is so much data, research, information on the
WHY, HOW MUCH VIOLENCE, and the cost to the victims, to the family,
community, the nation and human kind. Governments know they must
change current laws (English) that were bought out with the "first
boat people" who practise violence by allowing men to beat women
with a rod no bigger than his thumb. If he could pass the rod
through his wedding ring than he had the right to beat her and this
as you know was were the term 'rule of thumb' comes from.
I am sick of
the past- the policies of white
Who can take
responsibility? Have we got any Elders who will stand up and be
willing to work with Government and Law Makers to bring White mans
law and Aboriginal Lore together to debate in Parliament what will
be the consequence for committing the crime of violence against
women and children. Look what happens in other countries if they
break the drug laws. A man will do more time in this country for
stealing a car than sexually assaulting a child or bashing a
women.
I am sick of
seeing women and young girls with permanent physical scars and
mental health problems from violence. I am sick of seeing the eyes
of children who you know they have been abused. I am sick of some
old people who take on the Honour of being called an Elder when they
are known perpetrators.
The
Government has made a very big commitment and I read that Kevin Rudd
had made a commitment with Hillary Clinton today that violence
against women and children will also be an international response.
I continue to
have hope that this crime against humanity will be addressed. The
biggest challenge is to acknowledge that violence must stop, we have
victims who will suffer for the rest of their lives, who have never
seen a war zone but suffer as if they have lived in war since the
day they were born and sadly some will experience violence till the
day they die or are murdered or end up mentally and physically sick
from covering the pain with drugs and alcohol as some are in this
country. We have young people who glorify violence on Facebook and
upload violent events from mobile phones on Ytube. Violence with our
young people has become a culture of acceptance even a source of
entertainment. Give our youth hope for a better life, make Education
and Training mandatory and delivery education to Aboriginal young
people in culturally appropriate ways. Violence is being accepted
and passed on to the next generation.
We will
always need Police, Child Protection Agencies as violence will never
be totally eliminated from society but this Government has to make
this the number one priority. Or they will be trying to find money
to build more hospitals, more mental health services, more juvenile
detention centres, more drug and alcohol rehabs, more homeless
shelters and have more shame for such a pandemic on their hands.
Government
needs to find a way to engage with community members who will take
responsibility for the problem and help their people to find
solutions.
LISTEN PLEASE
to the front-line workers who work and live in communities. What do
the policy makers and the ministers really know about what is
happening in these war zones?
Barriers
to taking responsibility for and breaking the silence on domestic
and Family Violence are:
·
A culture of acceptance, it
happened to my mother, my aunties, my cousins, my friends so
violence is my lot in life.
·
No one believes the women anyway,
as they usually are seen to be at fault.
·
Some women fear if they tell
family or relatives of the perpetrators actions that they will get
blamed for causing the person to use violence. For example if a
perpetrator forces sexual advances on a women or young girl and she
tells that perpetrators partner or family, she will be blamed for
his actions. Therefore women and young girls will remain silent and
the perpetrator has access to them when ever he wants. He will also
use this silence to his advantage to obtain sexual access to the
women’s children (male and female) and to any of the women’s
extended family.
·
Perpetrators also gain sexual and
physical force into the lives of very vulnerable families. For
example women and children who are not in a permanent relationship,
maybe the partner/father is in jail, maybe the mother is young,
maybe the home is a party house where other young people meet and
use alcohol and drugs. Maybe the woman is not in a relationship at
all and she is an alcoholic, a perpetrator will look for women in
these situations.
·
There are also well known serial
sexual assault offenders, and paedophiles that use all types of ways
to gain access to women and children. They can have stashes of
alcohol, drugs, cigarettes and food that women can obtain for sexual
trade offs and in some cases for sexual access to their children.
These women are usually childhood victims of sexual abuse (even the
same perpetrator who is now after her children) and she has never
had the opportunity to receive counselling for her childhood trauma
so she pours alcohol and drugs on her pain and the cycle of abuse
continues.
·
Violence both physical and sexual
can be fuelled by access to alcohol. Drugs and pornography. Even
young male perpetrators of sexual assault will seek out vulnerable
young boys whose parents are drinking or not even at home, they are
at the pub gambling.
·
There is NOTHING to do on these
communities for young people, let alone other community members who
have been welfare dependent all of their adult lives.
·
At least when CDEP was happening
the men had a purpose, they took pride in their community and there
seemed to be less property damage.
·
There has been years of government
intervention with a lot of Aboriginal communities with no real
reduction in children at risk. In fact some areas of NSW have the
highest rates of children in Out of Home care Placements now than
there ever was during the ‘Stolen generations’.
·
Young people have no real positive
role models as they witness violence against women and men in their
communities almost weekly. Young girls can often engage in very
violent physical assaults with each other which is almost always
captured on a mobile phone and uploaded to face book. Young men will
also engage in similar violent activities.
·
There seems to be very few Elders
who have the power to challenge violence against women and children
and to address other crime that young people are participating in.
What can
we do about violence against women and children?
Community
need to identify what their problems are
-
What they see as the barriers to addressing violence.
-
Who is able to take responsibility and take leadership on this serious matter?
-
What role will young people play?
-
What role will Aboriginal Christian Ministers play?
-
Who will challenge the current laws on sentencing violent offenders?
-
Who in Aboriginal Communities will stand up and take responsibility for the safety, protection and wellbeing of victims of violence and elect the RIGHT people to talk to law makers about a partnership with White law and Aboriginal Lore to take the right action with offenders. (Being mindful always that just because there are Elders in these communities it does not always mean they have earned the right to be respected).
-
Who on these communities will say no to alcohol and drugs coming into the communities?
Anonymous (posted 8/11/10)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Albury Wodonga Community Network Inc (AWCNI)
auspices Betty’s Place domestic violence service in Albury Wodonga.
We have between 225 – 240 women per year (2009/10 = 231) and
approximately 300 children per year as clients. With a grant
of $553,000 this gave us $2394.00 to spend on each women. If
you count the children that is $1041.00 per person that Betty’s
Place has to case manage each person.
Last year BP fulfilled over 315% of its service specifications
(contracted numbers of clients).
We are contracted for approximately 70 women per year – What do
we do with the rest?
As women we work our butts off and do the job, driving ourselves
into the ground and probably don’t giving the client the best
service possible.
We house them, get them to doctors, lawyers, housing
authorities, childcare, health care, mental health, social security,
banking, and the list goes on and on and on.
We fund brokerage for the women to attend activity groups, and the
children’s activity groups.
We run a group called WISE (women independently seeking empowerment)
as these women have often spent a lifetime of being abused,
verbally, physically, culturally, spiritually, financially,
etc.
It can take use 2 years to get them up to scratch from the broken
wreck most families are in. Many don’t have their own bank
account, that is not fun to set up these days, most
don’t have a mobile phone, more often than not all of their
papers like birth certificates, social security documents,
medicare, etc. have been retained by the perpetrator.
What do we want from
you?
1.
We are damned sick of the talk, talk, talk, planning,
planning, planning – it goes no where near the clients – so stop
it and give the services that are currently on the ground
appropriate funding!
2.
We are sick of the above bureaucratic planners telling us what
is best for the clients – most of us have been victims; we feel
it, know it; understand it- cut layers of bureaucrats and give us
their pay
3.
Our clients constantly get screwed in the courts because we cannot
get them proper legal advice, have you ever tried to get a
decent lawyer through legal aid, the bad guys have all the
good lawyers, they can pay them heaps – fund domestic
violence services brokerage to employ a decent lawyer.
4.
Stop the media rubbish that our services are poorly run,
not performing, don’t do the job properly, have no
clients, are expensive or whatever else you can think up – its
not true and helps no one – send a bureaucrat or politician to spend
a week with us. We do an amazing job, are professional,
caring and fight hard for clients right. We are bloody
brilliant!!!
5.
Homes – a large proportion of homelessness is caused by lack of
housing, the rest is caused by people who are damaged or don’t
have the skills to live in a home/house/unit – no matter what you do
they never will be able to look after themselves unassisted – get
over it and supply services that can, with a minimum support,
keep these people housed for life. AND BUILD NEW HOMES – HOUSING HAS
BEEN STRIPPED BARE FOR 30 years.
6.
Pull the police into line – the force has many perpetrators who are
officer and who give women such a hard time, when she fights
back guess who gets charged, every blooming time – make the
states set up specialist DV units in all major centres across the
country. One DV police officer per 150,000 people is a joke
without laughter!
Anyway, we have had our say, where will it get us - nowhere.
I just cleaned out my office last month and took a trailer load of
reports going back to 1975 to the tip. What has changed –
absolutely nothing.
But I guess the current system keeps researchers and policy makers
employed.
My
comment is that until all people of all genders, ages and
backgrounds have a revelation that we are all valuable, precious and
worthy of love, acceptance and forgiveness, there will continue to
be violence against not just women and children, but anyone who sick
individuals may deem as “weak”.
But how
is this to happen?
If you
use fear tactics, it will not work. It will drive it underground or
behind closed doors.
The
only way I rose above my victim status – feeling I was a worthless
individual, was by the revelation of John 3:16
Now,
there’s a man who loved. We need more of those!
As a
mother of teenage sons, I am thankful my sons have:
-
The role model of a wonderful father;
-
A happy and united family life;
-
The love of a mother;
-
Good teachers at their High School that reinforce the home life tenement that we are all precious and valuable as individuals.
I know
we don’t live in an ideal world, but at least in our little family,
we are trying to exhibit love, acceptance and forgiveness over
rejection, addiction, envy, unforgiveness, shame, guilt, self-pity
and the value of looking after the human body, soul and spirit. We
don’t always succeed-once a month I usually blow my stack about
something!
And
when I do, I ask their forgiveness, they give it and we move on to
better times.
We must
be careful with the outcome of abuse when it turns into the fruit of
self-pity.
The
meditation and cry of “People don’t know what I’ve been through” can
turn into an unforgiving spirit that festers into self-pity.
This
cycle is almost as wretched as the violence that brought on the
suffering in the first place. It’s definitely a no-win game.
My
prayer for those abused by their captors ( in the Latin sense of the
word –a person who holds another captive) is that they can break
free and be delivered by the power of Jesus Christ who has overcome
the grave, sin, and gives new life by the power of the Holy Spirit,
that there will be a way out and they will be protected and brought
into a place of healing, restoration, forgiveness and wholeness.
As a
society, we should make provision for these people with confidential
homes that are accessible in the community or sometimes, remove the
person and family if required, from the community if they request
it.
Counselling, employment and accommodation can all contribute to
helping the mental and physical needs for a new life, but the
churches of
I know
my opinion is not de rigeur in this post-modern world we live. You
may even laugh at it.
Long-term needs of sexual violence survivors
The Australian Government’s sexual violence policies and initiatives focus on the immediate aftermath of disclosure, with dedicated rape crisis centres and phone counselling. While additional first-response services are always welcome, the assumptions under-pinning the Government’s approach are based on a short-term vision that does not take into account the needs of the significant number of women who do not disclose, or disclose at a much later date.
With most survivors not disclosing sexual violence for at least ten years, existing Government policies and initiatives do not address the health and social issues which may be ongoing and exacerbated by life events years later. With this gap in mind, the Australian Women’s Coalition advocates for a comprehensive model for responding to the needs of sexual assault survivors over the longer term. The new model is based on clinical and research evidence that sexual violence manifests in physical, psychological and social harm that has implications well beyond the initial trauma stages at which services are presently targeted. Legal reform aimed at changing cultural attitudes and reducing retraumatisation is also proposed.
The Australian Women’s Coalition (AWC) Inc is a national collective of 18 women’s organisations working collaboratively to advance the status of women. Details of the AWC’s model for the long-term care of survivors can be found on the AWC website www.awcaus.org.au
Australian Women’s Coalition (AWC)
16 Days:
Sex Discrimination Commissioner reiterates call for National Plan
(Release 28 Nov 10)
As we enter the 16 Days
Campaign tomorrow, Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth
Broderick has reiterated her call to the Australian Government to
further their leadership in addressing violence against women in
“The Government has made
significant contributions to address violence against women, but we
are still waiting for the release of the National Plan” said
Commissioner Broderick.
In its twentieth year, the 16
Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international
campaign that is held every year from the International Day for the
Elimination of Violence Against Women, 25 November, to International
Human Rights Day, 10 December.
“Many women in
The 16 Days Campaign draws
attention at a local, national and global level to the different
forms of violence that women face. It also highlights violence
against women as a human rights violation, symbolised by the
International Days on which the campaign begins and ends.
“This period is an opportunity
for Australians to stand up against violence against women in all
its forms, whether it be rape, sexual harassment, sexual assault,
domestic violence or other acts,” said Commissioner Broderick. “As
members of the communities we live in - men and women, boys and
girls – we must all think about what we can do to stop this violence
which is occurring in our homes, our families, our workplaces and
our educational institutions.”
Commissioner Broderick said the
government still had a powerful and important role to play.
“As I did in my Gender Equality
Blueprint, I again call for the government to show its leadership in
this area and take action by releasing, implementing and adequately
funding the National Plan,” the Commissioner said. “I also call for
a suitable independent body to be charged with monitoring and
evaluating the effectiveness of the National Plan.”
Commissioner Broderick also
said services that respond to the needs of women and girls who have
experienced violence should be adequately funded as an urgent
priority.
She also repeated her call upon
the Australian Government to invite the UN Special Rapporteur on
Violence Against Women to visit
To End
Violence against Women, We Must All Join Together (24 Nov 10,
UN Women)
Message from Under-Secretary-General and UN Women
Executive Director Michelle Bachelet on the occasion of the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
We join with the millions of women and men, community groups,
women’s rights networks, government partners, parliamentarians,
health workers and teachers who have made 25 November — the
International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women — a
day to come together and renew our common commitment to ending the
global pandemic of violence against women.
Worldwide, women and girls continue to suffer violence inside and
outside of their homes, often at the hands of intimate partners or
persons of trust. Gender-based violence, particularly sexual
violence, has also become a troubling and persistent feature in
situations of armed conflict. Stopping violations of women’s human
rights is a moral imperative and one which we must come together to
combat. The impact of such a scourge on society — psychological,
physical, and economic — cannot be overstated. Addressing this
persistent violation can also reverse the economic impact of
significantly lower productivity and higher health care costs —
funds drained away on a preventable problem.
The Secretary-General’s Campaign UNiTE to End Violence against
Women has given new impetus to efforts to end violence against
women. More than 130 countries now have laws against domestic
violence, but more needs to be done to enforce them and counter
impunity. More men and men’s organizations are joining in the
campaign to end violence against women and girls, but we need to
combat attitudes and behaviours that permit or even encourage this
violence. We need services so that the millions of women and girls
who survive abuse every year can recover and secure justice. We must
hold perpetrators to account. We must intensify prevention efforts,
so that someday we will no longer need to meet on 25 November and
call for ending violence against women.
Joining in the efforts to stop violence is everybody’s
responsibility. Governments, private enterprises, civil society
groups, communities and individual citizens can all make essential
contributions. Men and boys must be active in encouraging respect
for women and zero tolerance for violence. Cultural and religious
leaders can send clear messages about the value of a world free of
violence against women.
As we come together to end violence, a core part of our
responsibility must be providing enough resources. So far, this
investment has been inadequate. Last year, the UN Trust Fund to End
Violence against Women met only 3 percent of the requests it
received for programmes vital to progress. The fund has a US$100
million annual funding goal that we can all strive to reach. These
funds will go to governments, civil society groups and UN agencies
at the forefront of advocacy and innovation to end violence against
women and girls.
Step by step, we can work together towards the day when all women
live free from violence and realize their full potential as powerful
agents for thriving, peaceful societies.