25 November was the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Day 1 of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign encouraging people around the world to take action to raise awareness and prevent violence against women and girls. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to open their campaign urges global action to increase resources and promote solutions to ending violence against women. As the 16 Days of Activism campaign draws to a close it has been encouraging to see the wide ranging support for action from around Australia and the world.  

In Australia we have seen a range of events and strategies from diverse communities and organisations, from official government events such as the Victorian Government launch of its’ 10 Year Plan for Change to local council events in Alice Springs and concerts organised by university students in Perth. Domestic Violence NSW has created targeted graphics to enable people to see how they can help end violence against women, and the Aboriginal Women’s Consultation Network and Indigenous Women’s Legal Program of WLS have released a statement in support of the campaign.  The National Tertiary Education Union launched their 16 Days of Activism in support of workers facing domestic and family violence, A-League footballers have taken a stand, and Common Grace has launched 16 Days of Prayer, offering prayers, and providing information to educate their community about domestic violence as well as prayers.

A snapshot of international events in the 16 Days of Activism campaign includes the video released by the US ambassador to Turkey to raise awareness of violence against women, a rickshaw campaign Enough, Together We Can End Violence against Women and Girls in Pakistan, a statement by the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, a memorandum of understanding committing to solving the gender-related issues in Bangladesh and a flashmob in the middle of Belize City. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is encouraging everyone to speak out to ensure girls and young women are treated equally, while Kabelo Chabalala, founder of South Africa’s Young Men Movement, encourages young men to make it 365 days of activism for the fight against abuse of women, and feminists in Mexico and Guatemala use the concept of ‘feminicide’ to draw attention to state complicity in the killings of women.

For more information see the official 16 Days of Acitivism campaign and the United Nations UNiTE to End Violence against Women  campaign and activism toolkit.

Other news this fortnight

Australia

Victoria police to be trained in dealing with family violence, youth crime

Sydney Morning Herald, 4/12/16
“Hundreds of police will be specially trained to tackle family violence as part of a recruitment of nearly 2800 extra officers in Victoria.”

Desperation is rife among Australia’s indigenous peoples
Deutsche Welle, 4/12/16
“Indigenous peoples are still doing poorly in wealthy Australia, as a new government report shows. And suicide and self-harm are becoming more and more prevalent.”

‘This is a New Frontier’: The Global Movement Working to Make Courts Feminist
Broadly, 30/11/16
“An international project is re-writing key judicial decisions through a feminist lens, with a view to transforming the justice system for women.”

Domestic violence counsellors call for more services for men
ABC News, 30/11/16
“Regional counsellors are calling for services that target perpetrators of domestic and family violence to achieve long-term change.”

Private Sector Commits to Financial Inclusion
Probono Australia, 30/11/16
“The so-called trailblazers are a group of 12 organisations across business, government, academia and civil society that publicly released their financial inclusion action plans (FIAPs) detailing the steps that they would take to support people experiencing financial exclusion, particularly women.”

Seeing Ms Dhu: how photographs argue for human rights
The Conversation, 29/11/16
“Ms Dhu was a 22-year-old Yamatji woman who died in custody in the South Hedland Police Station in August 2014. Arrested for unpaid fines, she was already suffering from pneumonia and septicaemia caused by a broken rib, inflicted by her partner some months earlier. She became very ill overnight and died.”

A woman in charge: Susan Kiefel to become chief justice of the High Court
The Conversation, 29/11/16
“It has taken a little over a century, but for the first time a woman will preside as chief justice of Australia’s High Court. The announcement that justice Susan Kiefel will replace Robert French on his retirement from the court marks an important milestone in Australia’s constitutional history.”

Why we need to educate journalists about Aboriginal women’s experience of family violence
The Conversation, 25/11/16
“If violence against women is a national priority, and Aboriginal women are disproportionately affected, then the experiences of Aboriginal women need to be valued, made visible and reported on appropriately.”

International

Texas will require burial or cremation of aborted fetal remains
The Age, 1/12/16
“he US state of Texas approved new rules this week requiring health care facilities that perform abortions to bury the fetal remains instead of disposing of them in a sanitary landfill like other forms of biological medical waste, ending months of contentious debate and dismaying abortion rights groups.”

Say enough to violence against women
Aljazeera, (opinion piece by Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International), 25/11/16
“Social norms which encourage violence against women need to be confronted and changed.”

Ending violence against women and girls: If not today, when?
The Huffington Post, (opinion piece by Bianca Jagger), 25/11/16
“Ninety-nine years after women achieved State Voting Rights in 1917 in USA and 88 years after the 1928 Equal Franchise Act that granted women the right to vote in the UK, we have yet to achieve gender equality. Misogyny and insidious gender bias pervade our society and we are facing a global pandemic of violence against women and girls. It is unconscionable that rape, sexual assault, trafficking, FGM, forced marriage, and all forms of physical and sexual violence and discrimination are still prevalent.”

Telling Women to Hide Domestic Violence Behind Make-Up?
Human Rights Watch, (article by Rothna Begum), 28/11/16
“‘We hope these beauty tips will help you carry on with your daily life,’ said a make-up artist on the morning show Sabahiyat on Morocco’s state television last Wednesday. But this was no typical make-up advice: She was teaching women how to cover up bruises from domestic violence. It was, to say the least, a misguided attempt to commemorate International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, November 25.”

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