Violence Against Women Bulletin - Autumn 2006
Information Bulletin - Autumn 2006: Volume 10, Issue 1
Celebrating Culture in Bourke
Family Law & Domestic Violence
Gender Violence in Africa
Keeping All the Family Safe from Violence
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Celebrating Culture in Bourke
This alcohol, drug and violence free festival, held from 16 to 23 October 2005, aimed to build bridges between individuals, families and communities, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal.
Young people from the Bourke ‘Healthy Youths, Future Leaders’ group helped plan and coordinate the festival, which was officially opened by the event’s Ambassador, Aboriginal actor, singer, writer and producer, Leah Purcell.
The festival started with a parade, where many children played handmade drums and held plaques with tribal group names, banners and the Aboriginal flags. A sea of t-shirts with the message, “Violence Breaks Families, Be Good To Yours and Keep Bourke Strong”led the parade to the festival site.
Libby Carney, Senior Regional Strategies Officer, Violence Prevention, said it was inspiring to see the Bourke community taking a stance on violence against women and children.
“The events leading up to the festival were an important capacity building exercise that brought back a sense of real community pride,” said Ms Carney.
“The Yaamma Festival allowed people to challenge their perceptions and come together to celebrate a culture that seems to have lain dormant for too long.”
A festival highlight was the unveiling of what is acknowledged by the Guinness Book of Records as ‘Australia’s Longest Mural’. Children from around Australia
sent lengths of painted calico to be sewn together for the mural which represented the theme of the festival – Spirit, Soul, Heart, Mind and Body.
The Yaamma Coordinating Committee has already started on preparations for this year’s festival, to be held from 20-24 September 2006.
Family Law & Domestic Violence
Serious concern from women and children’s services, lawyers, court officers, police and community groups about proposed changes to family law led to the Changes in Family Law and its Impact on Victims of Domestic Violence Forum in December 2005.
Women and advocates expressed grave concerns about the erosion of children’s best interests in the changes, said Senior Regional Strategies Officer, Violence Prevention, Matina Mottee.
“The changes advocate a parent’s right to share equally in their children. This promotes the rights of a nonresidential parent, rather than giving priority to children’s best interests,” said Ms Mottee.
Another concern is that the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Bill 2005 does not include domestic violence in the Principles underpinning the factors to be taken into account in determining residence and contact.
“Having this factor enshrined as a key Principle in the Bill is absolutely critical, as judicial officers rely on these principles to guide their decisions.
“The proposed changes may have a severe impact on victims and could expose children and women to further violence,” said Ms Mottee.
Women’s Legal Services Australia and other networks are continuing to advocate for amendments to the Bill, which is being debated in Federal Parliament.
For more information, contact Ms Matina Mottee by phone (02) 9745 8448 or emailMatina.mottee@community.nsw.gov.au or contact Women’s Legal Services. The Forum was video taped.
Gender Violence in Africa
Senior Regional Strategies Officer, Violence Prevention for the Illawarra region, Carina Hickling is currently on leave to take up an international posting to stop genderbased violence in Uganda.
Here she tells readers of the VAW Information Bulletin about her work.
Working with violence against women issues here in Uganda I found that women in the International Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, are on one level facing the prospect of being raped or abducted by a soldier or militia, and also ‘walking on egg shells’ at home where they are consistently being abused by husbands, brothers and other males in the family.
I recognise this violence so well from my work with the VAW Unit. Seeing it being played out on a different continent with vastly different resources yet having exactly the same meaning and result is evidence that genderbased violence is a truly global problem. The same power tactics are used around the world, affecting and limiting women’s and girl’s potential to live full lives.
For many women in Uganda, Australia and much of the world, genderbased violence is not an isolated act, but arises from and becomes part of the context of our lives. Uganda is, as are most countries in Africa, severely affected by AIDS. Surprisingly, only now is it becoming clear to policy makers that women, especially young girls, are particularly vulnerable to contracting AIDS through rape.
Research is starting to make connections between rape and safe sex, showing that when a woman is raped, her negotiating power for safer sex in the future is greatly diminished. Despite a rhetorical commitment to women’s rights, the Ugandan government has failed in any meaningful way to criminalise, condemn, or prosecute violence against women in the home. To date, the Ugandan government has ignored the role of violence, particularly marital rape, in exposing women to HIV infection.
The custom of a husband’s family paying a ‘bride prize’ to the wife’s family means that wives are seen as commodities and therefore husbands have a right to sexual satisfaction from their wives – even if the husband is HIV positive. It is also common practice for Ugandan men to take a second wife, or girlfriend. In a country where the HIV prevalence is between six and 18 per cent, this can be a death sentence for the wife.
Unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortions are something that adds to the situation of genderbased violence, especially among young women and girls. Studies have linked abuse to unwanted pregnancies, especially among adolescent females.
Keeping All the Family Safe from Violence
A number of studies have found a strong correlation between the abuse of pets, child abuse and domestic violence. A 2004 survey conducted by the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit in the Nepean area found 67 per cent of women said their partners had used their animals as a way of hurting and controlling them. Fiftyseven per cent of those surveyed reported that their ability to leave was affected by concerns they had for the safety of their pets.
The survey was part of the Safe Spot project in the Blue Mountains, Penrith and Hawkesbury, established in 2004. The project aims to improve service responses by helping families escape violence with their pets.
A number of strategies have been developed including a partnership with the RSPCA. The Safe Beds for Pets program provides affordable shelter and safe beds for the pets belonging to women escaping domestic violence.
Senior Regional Strategy Officer, Violence Prevention and Safe Spot Project Manager, Anoop Johar, said the project was vital in helping women leave violent domestic situations.
“We can’t ignore community research that tells us pets are a significant concern for women when considering leaving abusive relationships,” said Ms Johar.
“The more confident women feel that their pets will be okay, the less likely they will be to stay in abusive relationships.”
RSPCA Chief Veterinarian, Dr Mark Lowrie, said pets rely on people for protection but because perpetrators of violence usually attack those who are most vulnerable or defenceless, they often target family pets because they know it will add to the distress of their human victim.
Pamphlets and posters promoting the Safe Spot project were officially launched by Bernie Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of the RSPCA, during 16 Days of Activism to Stop Violence Against Women.
For more information or resources, phone Anoop Johar on (02) 4729 8236.
The Violence Against Woman Specialist Unit and Regional Violence Prevention Specialists are central elements in the NSW Strategy To Reduce Violence Against Women which is a NSW intergovernmental strategy funded by: The NSW Attorney General’s Department, NSW Department of Community Services, NSW Health, NSW Police, NSW Department of Housing and in partnership with the NSW Office for Women and NSW Department of Education and Training.
This bulletin is for anyone interested in the prevention of violence against women and is intended to inform people about the NSW Strategy To Reduce Violence Against Women and its implementation. For more information contact the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit. ISSN 1328-4371
Click here to download the PDF version of the Autumn 2006 Bulletin>>
 | To view a PDF document, you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat on your computer. If you do not have a copy of Adobe Acrobat, you can download a copy for free from the Adobe site. |
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