Violence Against Women Bulletin - September 1998
Information Bulletin - September 1998: Volume 2, Issue 3
News from the NSW Council on Violence Against Women
Council Action Plan 1998-1999
The finishing touches have been added to the Council Action Plan for 1998/99. Much of Council work, such as the development and implementation of the State-wide community education campaign, is ongoing from the previous year. One area of new work is research. Chaired by Dr Moira Carmody, a new sub-committee of Council will be looking at ways to facilitate research in area of violence against women.
Changes at the Council
Ms Robyn Henderson, Director-General of the Department for Women, has joined the Council. Ms Henderson will also be the new Chair of the State-wide Campaigns Sub-committee.
Council Position on Perpetrator Programs for Violent Men in the Context of Domestic Violence
In their Action Plan 1997/98, the Council members identified perpetrator programs as an area where they could progress work on an issue that has been of interest to people for some time. Specifically, the Council identified the need for research and policy advice on the issue of perpetrator programs for men who were violent in the context of domestic violence.
In April this year, the Council released an interim position paper on perpetrator programs to initiate and encourage discussion and debate. While the Council includes representatives of a number of Government Departments, as well as community members, the position paper is the position of the NSW Council on Violence Against Women and is not intended as the NSW Government position.
The sub-committee of Council responsible for developing and implementing the consultation process, also contacted peak organisations to invite them to discuss issues raised in the interim position paper.
These consultations have been completed. Eleven organisations accepted the invitation to make verbal submissions. The Council has also received 130 written submissions which have been collated and summarised.
The sub-committee will formulate a final Council position paper based on these consultations and a review of the literature. This paper will be provided to the Attorney General and the Minister for Women as advice.
Audit Sub-committee
Council had intended to audit the recommendations from four reports published in the early 1990s. The reports are:
- NSW Domestic Violence Strategic Plan;
- dubay jahli: Aboriginal Women and the Law Report;
- Reclaiming Our Rights: Access to existing police legal and support services for women with disabilities or who are deaf or hearing impaired who are subjected to violence; and
- Out of the Blue: A Police survey of violence and harassment against gay men and lesbians.
Since their release, the reports have provided valuable information and direction to Government and non-Government services, guiding the development of a number of key initiatives.
Some fundamental issues have arisen from the auditing process. Many of the report recommendations are no longer appropriate as major changes have occurred within Government agencies and the original recommendations were of a highly specific nature.
Simultaneously, a comprehensive listing of current government achievements, in relation to violence against women, was developed by the Department of Women (DFW).
Due to the existing work of DFW, and the substantial difficulties with the audit process, it was decided not to proceed with the Council audit.
State Management Group
Co-ordination of information provision strategies project or Information: making it work for you.
Jenny Mothoneos has been seconded from CEIDA (Centre for Education and Information on Drugs and Alcohol), NSW Health, to investigate the feasibility of co-ordinating Government produced information on violence against women. The project evolved from three issues.
Firstly, until recently, the Department for Women has produced several booklets and a pamphlet relating to violence against women: Women and Rape, Going to Court, Domestic Violence: you don’t have to put up with it and Domestic Violence: you can do something about it. When first produced, there were few publications available State-wide that provided information on issues of violence against women. The Department for Women will no longer be publishing these resources.
Secondly, a number of other Government agencies now produce and distribute information on issues related to violence against women. To date, there has not been a co-ordinating strategy to guide the development or distribution of such material.
Thirdly, under the NSW Strategy to Reduce Violence Against Women, information strategies will now be co-ordinated by the State Management Group and the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit. The State Management Group comprises representatives from the Government agencies funding and supporting the implementation of the Strategy.
The information provision strategies recommended by the study will inform the State Management Group’s decision making process on the production of publications.
The project has three stages:
- An audit of printed information resources on violence against women currently provided across the State
- An analysis of the information needs of stakeholders including Government and non-Government agencies and women.
- The development of a strategic framework, informed by the first two information gathering stages. The strategic framework will include recommendations of funding requirements needed to address State-wide information needs in a co-ordinated way.
For further information about the feasibility study contact Jenny Mothoneos, Project Officer, by phone (02) 9228 7494 or email:jenny_mothoneos@agd.nsw.gov.au.
Funding for Local Domestic Violence Committees
As announced by the Minister for Women on Stop Domestic Violence Day 1998, the availability of funding for Local Domestic Violence Committees is guaranteed for the next two financial years. Each eligible committee will receive $600 per annum. Letters and funding application forms for 1998/9 are being distributed by the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit.
Local Domestic Violence Committees from across the State used last year’s funding for a range of community education activities and resources including billboards; information pamphlets and cards detailing local services.
Local Domestic Violence Committees wishing to apply for funding can contact Ann Christie at the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit on (02) 9228 7899.
What’s On, What’s New
NSW Health Sexual Assault Services Data review.
NSW Health provides counselling, through a range of services, to women who have experienced sexual assault. These services include mental health services; alcohol and other drug services; community health; and a network of 50 specialist Sexual Assault Services.
The Sexual Assault Services collect data on all presentations across the State. This data collection has just been reviewed and revised. A new system of data collection was put into place from 1 July 1998.
The new system contains expanded categories of information to be collected. More extensive information will now be collected on areas such as the cultural background of clients and the range of special needs related to different disabilities.
Building on the changing picture that is being developed about the nature of sexual assault, the new system also provides more specific categories for such items as the relationship between the victim and assailants. For the first time, data will specifically identify when the assailant is from a specific professional/occupational group. Those that can now be identified include school teacher, tertiary teacher, public or private doctor, other health worker, religious leader, police officer or carer. This reflects the growing body of knowledge about abuse by professionals and will allow NSW Health to measure trends.
More specific information will also be gathered on places of assault. This will assist in planning and community education.
The changes also allow NSW Health to further monitor the responsiveness of service delivery at the initial point of contact. A record will now be kept of the time between a victim being referred to the service and being seen by a counsellor. The time between requests for medical examinations and their provision will also be measured.
The categories of data collection have been designed to parallel those used in the Community Health Information Data (CHID) project, a national data base being developed for implementation in community health over coming years.
According to previous data, NSW Health Sexual Assault Services provided counselling to 1,750 women who had recent experiences of sexual assault in 1996/97 out of a total of 1,920 adults. Additionally 1,153 women who had experienced childhood sexual assault were seen by the same services in the same period. This is a small increase on 1995/96 when 1,852 adults were seen. In 1994/95 1,654 adults presented to Sexual Assault Services. Publication of an analysis of the full data from Sexual Assault Services over the past three years is anticipated in the next few months.
For more information contact Jo Spangaro, Senior Policy Analyst, Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence, NSW Health on (02) 9391 9317.
Reclaim the Night 20th Anniversary of the community protesting about sexual violence against women and children.
Hands Off! Our Bodies are Ours! is the theme for this year’s Reclaim the Night, to be held on or around Friday, 30 October 1998. Across the State, community groups will hold Reclaim the Night marches and other activities. Look out for events in your local area.
This year also celebrates the 20th anniversary of Reclaim the Night. On Friday 30 October 1998, in the CBD of Sydney, the 20 year old traditional Reclaim the Night march will kick-off from Hyde Park at 7:00pm. For more information, contact the Sydney-based collective on (02) 9699 8602.
Imagine a week without violence…….YWCA Week Without Violence 1998
In October each year, the YWCA holds an international Week Without Violence. Each day has a theme, with organisations and community groups being encouraged to hold activities across the country. The themes for this year are:
Sunday 25 October Reconciling Our Past
Monday 26 October Speaking Out Against Suicide
Tuesday 27 October Eliminating Violence Against Men
Wednesday 28 October Eliminating Racism and Crimes of Bigotry
Thursday 29 October Protecting Our Young People
Friday 30 October Eliminating Violence Against Women
Saturday 31 October Party for Peace
This year the YWCA is holding their Week Without Violence campaign in the days leading up to Reclaim the Night. For information about the YWCA Week Without Violence contact Helen McDonald Ph: (02) 9285 6211.
Partnerships Update
Partnerships Against Domestic Violence is a Commonwealth three year initiative to address domestic violence. The Office of the Status of Women (OSW) is the agency leading the implementation of Partnerships. In August, a representative from OSW presented an overview of the range of activities occurring under Partnerships, to a number of NSW domestic violence peak organisations.
Menindee and Broken Hill will be the sites of the NSW project funded under Partnerships. This project provides funding for two workers to provide casework services to women experiencing domestic violence in rural areas.
Regional Action Plan Launches
Regional Action Plans for most areas are now available. Some Regional Reference Groups, the regional committees supporting the work of each Regional Violence Prevention Specialist, have chosen to launch their Regional Action Plan. Others are choosing to launch projects described within their Regional Action Plan. Launches to date have included:
- Greater Murray;
- Hunter;
- Central Coast;
- New England;
- Illawarra;
- Central Sydney; and
- Macquarie.
The Premier announced the completion of Regional Action Plans across the State at the Hunter launch in Maitland on 21 July, 1998. Launching the plans, Premier Bob Carr said they were a good example of work carried out at a local level, with communities actively contributing to the development of violence prevention plans for their region.
For information about the Regional Action Plan and projects for your region, contact the relevant Regional Violence Prevention Specialist listed on the back page of this bulletin.
Regional Action Plan Project Updates
There are 95 projects described in the 16 Regional Action Plans produced so far. Three projects include the following events:
New resource for Aboriginal Women on family violence
In the two regions of Wentworth and Western Sydney, the Regional Violence Prevention Specialists have joined forces with women from local Aboriginal communities. Their aim is to produce a resource that provides information to Aboriginal women in a culturally relevant way.
Dr Andrew Refshauge, Minister for Health and Aboriginal Affairs, will launch the resource on Wednesday 30 September 1998.
For further information, contact Rugmini Venkatraman on (02) 9633 0717or Anoop Johar on (02) 4732 1322.
Homeless Women’s Speakout in Sydney’s Inner City
In South Eastern Sydney, partnerships are also flourishing. Robyn Edwards, Regional Violence Prevention Specialist for that region, will be holding a homeless women’s speakout against violence in collaboration with the YWCA on 26 October 1998. On that night, the YWCA have agreed to provide full use of their cafe to homeless women for a night of food and entertainment. Jeannie Lewis will be performing. Reverend Dorothy McRae-McMahon, Chair of the NSW Council on Violence Against Women, will be speaking.
The experience of violence by homeless women is a priority issue in the South Eastern Sydney Regional Action Plan. Robyn hopes the night will draw attention to the dangers facing homeless women and the prevention work planned. “We want to build upon the work of the Down and Out in Sydney report”, says Robyn. “Every homeless women in the study had suffered from violence and one in two women had been raped”.
Robyn also met with the Sydney City Reclaim the Night Collective, City Rail and the Department for Women, to discuss strategies drawing attention to women’s experience of rail travel. Cheekily titled Women Reclaiming the Train, this collaborative project will be run in conjunction with the Reclaim the Night march in Sydney and will include a stall with badges, t-shirts, posters and data collection of women’s experience of train travel.
Regional Violence Prevention Specialists (RVPS) Contact List
Regional Specialist | Area Health Region | Location | Phone |
| Punita Boardman | Northern Sydney | Manly | (02) 9976 8020 |
| Judy Duggan | Far West | Bourke | (02) 6872 1795 |
| Robyn Edwards | South Eastern Sydney | Zetland | (02) 9382 8145 |
| Di Furniss | Northern Rivers | Lismore | (02) 6620 2401 |
| Lilian Gomez | South Western Sydney | Liverpool | (02) 9821 8527 |
| Cathy Hastings | New England | Tamworth | (02) 6768 2814 |
| Denise Henry | Illawarra | Wollongong East | (02) 4226 8143 |
| Anoop Johar | Wentworth | Penrith | (02) 4732 1322 |
| Helen Kay | Mid Western | Orange | (02) 6361 6925 |
| Karen MacLean | Greater Murray | Albury | (02) 6058 1850 |
| Jillian Meyers-Brittain | Hunter | Newcastle | (02) 4929 0921 |
| Matina Mottee | Central Sydney | Burwood | (02) 9715 0448 |
| Liz Mulder | Macquarie | Coonabarabran | (02) 6842 6447 |
| Chris Smith | Central Coast | Gosford | (02) 4320 2575 |
| Rugmini Venkatraman | Western Sydney | Parramatta | (02) 9633 0717 |
| Mary Willis | Mid North Coast | Taree | (02) 6551 1507 |
| Tashe Wise | Southern | Queanbeyan | (02) 6298 9966 |
The Violence Against Women Specialist Unit is based in the Crime Prevention Division of the NSW Attorney General’s Department. It is one of the central initiatives in the NSW Strategy To Reduce Violence Against Women.
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 about the Bulletin contact the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit.
The NSW Strategy to Reduce Violence Against Women is funded by NSW Attorney General’s Department, NSW Department of Community Services, NSW Health and the NSW Police Service in partnership with the Department for Women.
ISSN 1328-437
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