Leading  Issues Journal  

22-24 MARCH 2004   PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA 

On 9 January 04, discussion on the Feminist-Agenda email discussion list http://www.feministagenda.org.au/specialEvents.htm  resulted in a suggestion from one of its members that one or two women be nominated from each State to form a delegation to go to Canberra and have a meeting with Mark Latham and Jenny Macklin.  "It was felt that the systematic political silencing of women and women’s groups since 1996, particularly emergency services, had gone too far. Being an election year, it was a timely opportunity for Australian women to break the silence."

On 22 March 04, four Australian feminists, all members of the f-agenda email discussion list, descended on Parliament House, Canberra to begin three days of intensive lobbying on behalf of Australian women.

The following link is to a detailed report of the action sponsored by f-agenda members and carried out under the chosen name WomenAustralia.  

Action by Australian Feminists

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The Health Costs of Violence Report by Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth)

Disturbing research released on 16 June 2004 indicates that intimate partner violence constitutes almost nine per cent of the total disease burden in women up to the age of 45 years.

“This is a ground breaking study and the results are shocking,” Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), Dr Rob Moodie said.

The study, The Health Costs of Violence: Measuring the Burden of Disease Caused by Intimate Partner Violence, found that this form of violence is responsible for more ill-health and premature death among Victorian women under the age of 45 than any other well known risk factors including high blood pressure, obesity and smoking.

Dr Moodie said intimate partner violence is very common, has severe and persistent effects on women’s physical and mental health and carries with it an enormous cost in terms of premature death and disability.

“Direct health consequences for women exposed to violence include depression, anxiety and phobias, suicide attempts, chronic pain syndromes, psychosomatic disorders, physical injury, gastrointestinal disorders, irritable bowel syndrome and a variety of reproductive consequences,” Dr Moodie said.

Associate Professor Theo Vos, who undertook the research said the data also suggests that intimate partner violence is associated with drug use and risky levels of smoking and alcohol use.

“Sixty per cent of the health problems associated with intimate partner violence are mental disorders and another 15% is due to greater abuse of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs,” Associate Professor Vos said.

The study is the first in the world to estimate the health consequences of intimate partner violence using the ‘burden of disease’ methodology developed by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The WHO itself released a World Report on Violence and Health in 2002, which aimed ‘to challenge the secrecy, taboos and feelings of inevitability that surround violent behaviour, and to encourage debate that will increase our understanding of this hugely complex phenomenon’.

The report found that intimate partner violence contributes more than twice the disease burden of illicit drugs which is the next highest risk factor affecting the health of women aged between 15 and 44.

“This report not only gives us an insight into the effects of violence on women’s lives – it prompts the hard questions about how we inform, educate and change the behaviour that leads to partner violence,” Dr Moodie said.

Acting Premier John Thwaites, who attended the launch of the report said the Victorian Government has been actively involved in combating violence against women and this is articulated in the Women’s Safety Strategy.

The Minister for Health Bronwyn Pike said the burden of disease associated with this violence must be understood as a significant public health issue. 

“The results of this study show the whole community needs to be involved in the effort to prevent domestic violence”, Ms Pike said.

Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said police see the enormous impact of domestic violence on women, children, men, families and communities and they were committed to helping develop better support systems.

"Victoria Police is working with government and other agencies to offer better access to services, help and support to people before tragedy strikes. Police members have also undergone education and training on how to deal with incidents of family violence and we have appointed Family Violence Officers."

Dr Moodie said support for those affected is crucial, but the scale of the problem demands that there needs to be more focus on addressing the root causes.

“We need community education campaigns, improved economic opportunities for women and strategies to foster greater respect between men and women,” he said.

The Health Costs of Violence Report assessed the health impact of intimate partner violence for Victorian women in relation to its prevalence, the health problems it causes and its contribution to the total disease burden in women. 

It is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in Victorian women aged 15-44,

To view the Key findings see:  The Health Costs of Violence Report

To view the Report, The Health Costs of Violence see the Pdf file link below:

 The Health Costs of Violence

File size: 407Kb  You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this pdf file.
Download Acrobat Reader

Source: VicHealth

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Major Conference 'Stop Violence Against Women!' by Amnesty International

As part of a global strategy to stop violence against women, Amnesty International hosted a high level, 3-day conference on 4th -6th June 2004 at the Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle, WA.

The conference, 'Stop Violence Against Women!' examined how a human rights perspective can add new approaches to addressing violence against women, in policy and in practice.

The conference brought together a range of local and international participants from women's support agencies, the legal profession, judiciaries and the police, politics, government, and academia to discuss innovations in addressing violence against women in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Violence against women is the most common and widespread of human rights abuses.  It takes many forms, including domestic/family violence, sexual assault, institutional violence, sexual harassment, homophobia, sexism, and the trafficking and forced prostitution of women.

To view the Conference Papers see: Stop Violence Against Women Conference

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Domestic Violence by Senator Natasha Stott Despoja

In the 2004 Federal Budget, the government announced an additional $5.1 million in 2003-04 and $1.6 million in 2004-05 for the national campaign for the elimination of violence against women.  Senator Stott Despoja in an Adjournment Debate on 16 June 2004 raised the issues surrounding the launch of the recent domestic violence media campaign in relation to the way in which it was developed, postponed and changed. 

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Frances Hesselbein

Frances Hesselbein is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Leader-to-Leader Institute, USA and former chief executive of Girl Scouts of the USA.  In this edition Frances Hesselbein features in CLW's Interviews with Leaders.  Two of her articles which were published in the Leader to Leader Institute's award-winning quarterly journal that offers cutting-edge thinking on leadership, management, and strategy written by today's top thought leaders from the private, public, and social sectors, has been published here.

The Art of Listening

The Campaign for Leadership

NBC NEWS' MEET THE PRESS 

Interview with US Secretary Colin Powell, Department of State; Senator Joseph Biden, D-DE, Ranking Member, Foreign Relations Committee; Senator John McCain, R-AZ, Armed Services Committee

On Sunday 16 May 2004, NBC News' Meet the Press featured interviews with 

• Secretary Colin Powell, Department of State

• Democrat Senator Joseph Biden, D-DE, Ranking Member, Foreign Relations Committee

• Republican Senator John McCain, R-AZ, Armed Services Committee. 

• Former Wartime Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara from 36 years ago

The Moderator was Tim Russert from NBC News.

This interview covers several pertinent issues with key US politicians who evaluate the deteriorating situation in Iraq, the US government's rationale and management of the whole affair , what could be done by the  government to salvage the situation and the significance of Iraq in the context of the upcoming US election.

"Moderator Tim Russert: ... In February of 2003, you put your enormous personal reputation on the line before the United Nations and said that you had solid sources for the case against Saddam Hussein. It now appears that an agent called Curveball had misled the CIA by suggesting that Saddam had trucks and trains that were delivering biological and chemical weapons. How concerned are you that some of the information you shared with the world is now inaccurate and discredited?

Secretary Colin Powell: I'm very concerned. When I made that presentation in February 2003, it was based on the best information that the Central Intelligence Agency made available to me. We studied it carefully; we looked at the sourcing in the case of the mobile trucks and trains. There was multiple sourcing for that. Unfortunately, that multiple sourcing over time has turned out to be not accurate. And so I'm deeply disappointed. But I'm also comfortable that at the time that I made the presentation, it reflected the collective judgment, the sound judgment of the intelligence community. But it turned out that the sourcing was inaccurate and wrong and in some cases, deliberately misleading. And for that, I am disappointed and I regret it."

The interview with Colin Powell covers the following issues:

• Allegations of abuse of Iraqui prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in contradiction to the Geneva Convention

• Following the chain of accountability up to see if there was anybody above the soldiers who were responsible for ordering the inhumane treatment of the Iraqui prisoners

• Helping establish the Iraqi interim government or cutting and running

•  Miscalculated being greeted as liberators, miscalculated the number of troops needed, miscalculated the extent of weapons of mass destruction

• Why the silence from the Arab world about the beheading of Mr. Berg? 

• Staking his personal credibility before the United Nations when laying out the case against Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction 

 The later part of the interview with Joseph Biden and John McCain features their views to the following issues:

• What should we do in Iraq? 

• Eroding national and international support 

• What serious errors were made?

• What specifically must President Bush do "to turn this thing around"?

• Should President Bush reach out to Russian President Putin, French President Chirac, German Chancellor Schroeder, and meet with them? Will they offer support?

• Eighty-two percent of Iraquis want the US out. What happens if the elected Iraqis say, "We don't want you here?" 

• With Fallujah being controlled by Saddam's military, can Iraq get to a stage where there is democracy?

• The damage done by the treatment of Iraqi prisoners -  How high up does the scandal go?  Is it plausible that National Guardsmen and Reservists would undertake this kind of activity without being instructed? 

• Has President Bush bet his presidency on the outcome of the war in Iraq?

To view the interview see: Interview with Colin Powell