Prevention Of Violence Against Women
Contents:
Violence against women includes physical, emotional, verbal, psychological, sexual and financial abuse in current or past family, domestic or intimate relationships. The United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women states that “the term violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life”. Violence is defined in the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) World Report on Violence and Health as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, mal-development or deprivation.”
Violence against women is a breach of human rights and has health, social and economic consequences for women, their families and their community. A study by the Department of Human Services in Victoria, The Health Costs of Violence-Measuring the Burden of Disease Caused by Intimate Partner Violence (2009) found domestic violence to be a greater contributor to poor health outcomes than the more well known risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking and obesity.Women who have been exposed to violence have a greater risk of developing a range of health problems including stress, anxiety, depression, pain syndromes, phobias and somatic and medical symptoms (WHO, 2000). They report poorer physical health overall, are more likely to engage in practices that are harmful to their health and experience difficulties in accessing health services (WHO, 2000).
Violence against women, its causes and impacts are gendered. It contributes to women’s marginalisation and isolation and, while violence against women affects the lives of many different women, factors such as Aboriginality, age, sexuality, ethnicity and disability contribute to the risk of family violence. Women in these groups may also face barriers to appropriate support or services when they experience domestic or family violence.
But it has been shown that violence against women is a preventable problem, and that its impact can be reduced by “changing the factors that contribute to violence, whether they are attitudes, behaviours, institutions or social structures” (WHO, 2002).
The National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010-2022 was endorsed by all States and Territories on 15 February 2011. It is a single unified strategy that brings together government efforts to reduce violence against women. An ACT Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Strategy has been developed as part of the ACT Government’s commitment to the National Plan.
In the year 2009–10, ACT Policing reported dealing with 338 offences of sexual violence, and 3902 incidents related to family violence. In reported incidents of domestic violence in the ACT, 82 percent of victims are adult females (ACT Victims of Crime Coordinator, 2010). But very little research has been done into the experience of domestic violence for ACT women and this poses challenges for adequately responding to and planning for services for their needs.
WCHM is committed to the prevention of violence against women and to working with government and services to:- Better support women escaping violence
- Build a solid evidence base
- Establish the frameworks and approaches that will achieve the attitudinal and behavioural change that is necessary for preventing violence against women
WCHM will focus on collecting and collating local data, experiences and research to inform service responses to women experiencing violence, using that evidence to inform advocacy initiatives and policy input, changing community attitudes by working on the underlying causes which can lead to violence and informing initiatives which work with the population as a whole.
WCHM will do this by;- Collecting and disseminating evidence based on lived experience about the impact of violence on ACT women’s health, social and economic outcomes
- Researching the factors in the ACT that make women vulnerable to violence and the extent and types of violence that ACT women experience
- Advocating on the experiences and needs of ACT women who experience violence to Government and service providers
- Supporting women’s services and family and domestic violence support services in the ACT to ensure their services are accessible to all groups of women
- Working with under-researched groups, such as women with disabilities, older women, and CALD women and raise their awareness of options for escaping violence
- Identifying innovative approaches to preventing violence against women through the promotion of respectful and equal relationships in schools and workplaces
- Generating a sense of community awareness of and involvement in the prevention of all forms of violence against women
- Evidence based gendered analysis of the experiences of and issues and barriers for women and their children escaping violence in the ACT
- Increased knowledge about how ACT services can better meet the needs of women and their children escaping violence
- Development of specific strategies for building the capacity of more vulnerable groups of women escaping violence in the ACT to access appropriate support and services.
- Specific policy proposals developed and advocacy initiatives in place with a focus on:
- Promoting an understanding of gendered violence
- Changing community and cultural attitudes to prevent violence against women
Current WCHM Projects
Disability Awareness Training for Domestic Violence/Crisis Services
Domestic violence service providers are usually skilled at discussing sensitive issues surrounding violence and abuse, however, they are less likely to have significant experience assisting clients with disabilities. This inexperience often extends to a lack of familiarity with the best ways to create an environment welcoming to women with disabilities or to reach out to members of the disabled community to advertise available services (McClain, 2011).
In 2011, WCHM was successful in securing funding under the ACT Health Promotion Grants Program Community Funding Round to develop and deliver sector-specific training. This project will increase the capacity of domestic violence/crisis service employees to understand and meet the needs of women with disabilities escaping domestic violence by developing and delivering a targeted disability awareness training package. The training package will include training sessions delivered by women with disabilities and an online manual to assist services to become more disability-friendly.
ACT Women's Services Network Summer of Respect
This year, rather than just hosting Reclaim the Night, the ACT Women’s Services Network (WSN) will be running Summer of Respect, a summer-long campaign against sexual violence. The ACTWSN Summer of Respect will be a string of events and public awareness initiatives in the ACT, beginning with Reclaim the Night on October 28 and wrapping up with International Women’s Day on 8 March 2012. Summer of Respect will aim to expand the scope of anti-sexual violence campaigning in the ACT by having a prolonged and varied campaign that engages the community in a range of activities and conversations.
WCHM is contributing to the campaign in a number of ways. Firstly, WCHM has taken a lead role in coordinating the calendar of contributions to the campaign through writing and sending out an invitation for submissions; working with local artist Helani Laisk to develop the artwork for the campaign; and arranging an Avant Card campaign of 8000 cards that were distributed throughout October. WCHM also took a lead role in organising the Reclaim the Night event.
The full calendar of events for Summer of Respect is available from the facebook page facebook.com/summerofrespect. You will also be able to access latest news and research relating to sexual violence.
If you would like to know more about or get involved in the ACTWSN Summer of Respect please call Angela Carnovale or Annelise Roberts on 6290 2166 or email a.carnovale@wchm.org.au or a.roberts@wchm.org.au.
Sexual Assault Prevention Program in Secondary Schools (SAPPSS)
WCHM is taking part in the innovative Sexual Assault Prevention Program in Secondary Schools developed by CASA House in Victoria who are partnering with the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre and selected secondary schools to roll out the Program in the ACT.
The Program, known as SAPPSS, aims to prevent sexual violence and enable schools to better respond to sexual violence in way that ensures positive outcomes for victims/survivors. SAPPSS takes a multi-faceted approach to prevention which includes professional development for teachers, assistance with the improvement of policies and procedures around sexual violence, and an eight session curriculum for students.
WCHM staff members—along with other community partners—have taken up the task of delivering this curriculum to various high schools in the ACT, joining forces with teachers to facilitate discussion on sexual violence, consent, communication and respectful relationships with the hope of equipping students with the skills they need to negotiate the tricky situations they are likely to find themselves in during their adolescence and early adulthood. Some of the key messages are that “consent = free agreement”; “the victim/survivor is never to blame”; and “sexual violence is about power”.
The knowledge of these issues varies greatly among students; they accept certain concepts whole-heartedly while challenging others, which challenges the facilitators. Attitudes begin to shift, however, as the students explore the definition of sexual violence, and its impacts and affects.
It is hoped there will be more attitudinal changes as SAPPSS is rolled out at high schools in the ACT. Recent revelations about incidents at ADFA highlight the pervasiveness of certain myths about sexual violence in our community and our institutions and the need for this type of education for prevention of and effective response to sexual violence.
Past WCHM Projects
Women with Disabilities Accessing Domestic Violence and Crisis Services
The lack of inclusive services and programs for women with disabilities experiencing or at risk of experiencing violence is well documented and is widely recognised as a barrier to women with disabilities escaping the violence perpetrated against them (Women with Disabilities Australia, 2008). Anecdotally, this national evidence is also shared by women with disabilities in the ACT—we know that very few women with disabilities access family violence services and if they do, the services do not always meet their needs. It is therefore extremely important for domestic violence/crisis services to ensure that they remove, as far as possible, all barriers to access for women with disabilities (and their children) escaping domestic violence.
This project aimed to assist domestic violence/crisis services in the ACT to better support women with disabilities who are escaping domestic and family violence, and was collaboration between Women’s Centre for Health Matters (WCHM), the Domestic Violence Crisis Service (DVCS) and Women with Disabilities ACT (WWDACT). It focussed on increasing the capacity for service providers to support women with a disability by exploring current practices, auditing the services for their accessibility for women with disabilities, identifying the barriers and gaps, and the development of a set of good practice principles for improving access for women with disabilities.
This final report documenting the overall findings and recommendations from the project can be found here.
Influencing policy
WCHM has been involved in a number of activities to combat violence against women, including involvement in the ACT Government Roundtable and Community Reference Group to inform the development of the ACT Prevention of Violence against Women and Children Strategy and taking a lead role in the organisation of the 2010 and 2011 Reclaim the Night rallies in Canberra.
Making Safe Connections Project
Making Safe Connections was a joint project between Women’s Centre for Health Matters, Beryl Women’s Inc and the YWCA Housing Support Unit, with assistance from Disability ACT’s Innovation Grants Program. It piloted a facilitated support group for women who were isolated due to long term domestic violence and abuse. The facilitators provided mentoring to the women on parenting issues arising from having lived with violence. The project ran for a period of 10 weeks, and feedback from participants indicated that there was evidence of real change.
The evaluation showed tangible outcomes in:- The development of individual capacity in terms of improvement in self esteem, confidence and identification of key strengths
- Awareness about guilt in parenting issues and recognition of self care as a way of ensuring sustainable parenting strategies
- Recognition about the importance of facing one’s fear as a challenge
- Transformation of crisis into a learning experience and means of supporting other women with similar stories
Other Research and Reports
Emerging issues in domestic/family violence research
This paper presents an overview of the key emerging issues in Australian domestic and family violence research. In particular, the paper considers this research in the context of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex communities; the elderly; those with disabilities; people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds; Indigenous communities; homelessness; the impact on children; and issues around perpetrator programs.
http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rip/1-10/10.aspx
Women With Disabilities Australia Publications
'We're women too!' —This Submission was Women With Disabilities Australia's (WWDA) initial response to the Australian Government's Consultation on the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children. http://www.wwda.org.au/wwdasubNAP08.pdf
Double the Odds—A paper presented by Sue Salthouse on behalf of Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) to the national 'Home Truths' Conference, Melbourne September 2004. http://www.wwda.org.au/odds.htm
Violence Against Women With Disabilities: An Overview of the Literature—This paper by Keran Howe explores the literature in relation to women with disabilities and violence within the period 1990 to 1999. Specifically the paper explores: the meaning of disability from an individualised medical perspective and as a social construct; the extent and nature of violence against women with disabilities and barriers to service response; and feminist explanations of violence against women with disabilities. http://www.wwda.org.au/keran.htm
On Her Way
Violence against immigrant and refugee women is a multifaceted and complex issue. The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health publication On Her Way provides an overview of the groups of immigrant and refugee women that need to be prioritised in violence prevention efforts; explains the nature of violence perpetrated against these women, including the factors that increase exposure to violence; details good practice programs and principles for culturally-appropriate violence prevention; and presents a framework for the primary prevention of violence against immigrant and refugee women.
The disappearing age: a discussion paper on a strategy to address violence against older women
This Topic Paper examines a project by the Older Women’s Network NSW (OWN) to describe their understanding of violence against older women and to develop a strategy to address the violence. http://www.austdvclearinghouse.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/Topic%20Paper%20Disappearing%20Age.pdf
‘It’s my life now’: Older women speak up about violence
This paper reports on a project that aimed to give a ‘voice’ to older women themselves who had experienced violence directed towards them at some time in their lives and were still dealing with the effects and consequences of this violence. http://www.austdvclearinghouse.unsw.edu.au/Conference%20papers/Exp-horiz/Mears.pdf
The Talk: A sexual health and ethics DVD
The Talk DVD features a mixture of humorous and entertaining sketches, songs, celebrity interviews and comedy, as well as interviews with health and other experts from relevant fields. The Talk covers off on the physical aspects of sex: the nuts and bolts of anatomy and sexual health, but also addresses the emotional aspects of sex and talks about establishing and maintaining respectful relationships. The Talk has been created and written by Nelly Thomas and produced in consultation with the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and the Centre Against Sexual Assault at the Royal Women’s Hospital. http://thetalkdvd.com.au/index.htm
Useful Links
Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault (ACSSA) (http://www.aifs.gov.au/acssa/)
ACSSA was established in 2003 by the Commonwealth Office for Women. It is funded by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) and is hosted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies. ACSSA is a central collection point for research, information and resources about sexual assault in Australia. The key role of the Centre is to facilitate access to the growing evidence-base on sexual assault and to support organisations, agencies and others using research and evidence in shaping policy, practice and research directions in responding to, and reducing, sexual assault.
Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse (http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/home.html)
The Australian Domestic and Family Violence Clearinghouse is a national organisation, providing high quality information about domestic and family violence issues and practice. The primary goal of the Clearinghouse is to prevent domestic and family violence, which is achieved by supporting specialist and generalist service providers, government agencies, researchers, advocates and activists in their efforts, through the dissemination of information and research, and through facilitating discussion. Specifically, the Clearinghouse publishes newsletters and papers on key issues, policy, legislation, training and new initiatives and maintains a library of research and resources and an online database of good practice programs.
CASA House (Centre Against Sexual Assault) (http://www.thewomens.org.au/CASAHouse?searchTerms[]=casa)
CASA House provides services to women and men who are victim/survivors of sexual assault, non offending family members, partners and friends who are supporting the victim/survivor, professionals, and health, community support and legal agencies.
The University of New South Wales has created the Domestic Violence Workplace Rights and Entitlements Project Safe at Home Safe at Work to bring together a collection of resources for workers experiencing domestic violence, employers looking for information about domestic violence in the workplace and what to do about it, and unions looking to negotiate domestic violence clauses. Domestic violence can make it hard to perform duties at work and can also be a workplace safety risk. Attitudes to domestic violence vary: some workplaces are supportive, providing paid leave and flexible working arrangements, others less supportive. There is now a campaign to introduce domestic violence entitlements into Australian workplace conditions (paid leave and flexible working arrangements for workers experiencing domestic violence), information about which can be found at the website as well.