Australia

Working Paper
VAW in Australia - The Frontline Narrative of a Multicultural Officer. Initiative on VAW, Carr Center, Harvard Kennedy School; Working Paper.Abstract

The Multicultural Community Liaison Officer (MCLO) Program is designed to combat domestic violence in the Australia.  This presentation briefly discusses the challenges and achievements of MCLO. 

vaw_in_australia-_sunita_kotnala.pptx
2014
Matrah JE, Aftab A, Bedar A. Respectful Dialogue: A Guide for Responsible Reporting on Female Genital Cutting. Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights; 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://ausmuslimwomenscentre.org.au/category/resources/publications

In 2013, the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights was awarded a grant by the Australian Government’s Department of Health to develop a guide for all media professionals reporting on Female Genital Cutting (FGC).

This is a resource guide for professionals working in all aspects of the media on the issue of FGC. It aims to equip media professionals with an understanding of the practice of FGC, and provide recommendations on ethical reporting from the perspective of affected communities and experts working on FGC. 

Barrowclough A. 'It is the young flesh they want'. The Australian. 2014. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/weekend-australian-magazine/it-is-t...

On best estimates, the number of girls in Australia being forced into marriage here or overseas is in the hundreds every year. Girls as young as 12 or 13 are disappearing from schoolyards, packed off to the countries of their parents’ birth to wed men they have never met, while others are taken from their homes in southern Asia and the Middle East and brought into Australia to marry.

Eslick N. Violence against Women in Australia and The National Action Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, in Initiative on VAW, Research Briefing. Carr Center for Human Rights, Harvard Kennedy School of Government ; 2014.Abstract

Violence against Women (VAW) is a pervasive, global human rights violation. This research memo discusses the current state of VAW in Australia, and the Australian Governments proposed National Action Plan (NAP) addressing VAW across Australia’s diverse community. Noting that women’s rights are not fully protected by the Commonwealth and revealing the current appalling statistics around domestic and sexual violence against Australian women, the memo then provides insight on Indigenous women and VAW, followed by a deeper look at NAP. Finally, after a brief look at the recent study tour of Australia by the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Australia’s commitment to addressing VAW is discussed with reference to reporting for CEDAW and UPR. The memo then considers the Special Rapporteur’s study tour in light of the election of a new federal government. It then concludes that if the state shows genuine commitment to its people, and to its obligations under human rights treaties, the onus ultimately rests on it to work with civil society to make use of the human rights mechanisms and seek to honestly and with purpose examine their human rights status and develop and adopt sustainable positive change. 

vaw_in_australia_and_the_national_action_plan_to_reduce_violence_against_women_and_their_children_march_2014.pdf
2013
Taylor CS. Policing just outcomes: improving the police response to adults reporting sexual assault. Victoria: Social Justice Resource Centre; 2013. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://apo.org.au/node/34661

The prevalence of sexual assault and its consequent harm to both individual victims and society as a whole has now been widely researched, documented and recognised in Western jurisdictions for generations. In particular, policing of this gendered crime has been the subject of many research endeavours and police organisations have increasingly opened their doors to academics and other researchers in pursuit of evidence-based knowledge that will assist them to enhance their training, investigations and Brief preparations in this respect. Victoria Police has been among the foresighted police organisations in this regard over the past several years.

2012
Australian study tour report - Visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women. Australian Human Rights Commission; 2012. Publisher's VersionAbstract

https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/sex-discrimination/publications/...


In April 2012, the current UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, including its causes and consequences, Ms Rashida Manjoo, accepted an invitation to conduct a study tour to Australia. This was the first visit to Australia ever undertaken by the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women.

2011
Baird N. To Ratify or Not to Ratify? An Assessment of the Case for Ratification of International Human Rights Treaties in the Pacific. Melbourne: Melbourne University; 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MelbJIL/2011/10.html

This article explores whether ratifying international human rights treaties is a useful strategy to advance the cause of human rights in the Pacific. Much of the recent discussion has promoted the advantages of ratification.

The aim of this article is to contribute to the ratification debate by considering the potential responses Pacific states might make to the call for ratification. It assumes that the desired ultimate goal is greater protection of human rights in the Pacific, but suggests that in light of the challenges of ratification, there may be more effective means of advancing human rights in the Pacific than wholesale ratification of outstanding treaties.

While in the long-term ratification remains a worthy goal, in the short-term it may not be the best way forward. Instead, it may be more appropriate to focus on alternative means of advancing human rights. This may be through a combination of stronger domestic means to protect and promote human rights, the development of a Pacific regional mechanism to promote rights, and active engagement with the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s new Universal Periodic Review (‘UPR’) mechanism. Selective ratification of individual treaties may still be worthwhile, but on a gradual basis, and certainly not wholesale.

Violence against women in Australia: Research summary. State Government of Victoria; 2011. Publisher's VersionAbstract

https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/media-and-resources/publications/violen...

This publication presents a synopsis of the latest published research examining violence against women in Australia and its prevention. This summary focuses on: 

  • the extent of violence against women 
  • population groups at risk 
  • the health, economic and other consequences of the problem 
  • factors that underlie and contribute to violence against women 
  • themes for action to prevent violence against women from happening in the first place.
2010
Family Violence - A National Legal Response (ALRC 114 Summary). Australian Law Reform Commission. 2010. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/family-violence-national-legal-respo...

This 76-page Summary Report provides an accessible overview of the policy framework and recommendations in the two-volume Final Report, Family Violence - A National Legal Response (ALRC Report 114).

It offers a consideration of the framework for the reform, including a description of the development of the key principles underpinning the 187 final recommendations. The recommendations are then considered as an expression of two principal themes—improving legal frameworks and improving practice, concluding with a summary of the net effect of the recommendations.

Family Violence - A National Legal Response (ALRC Report 114). Australian Law Reform Commission; 2010. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/family-violence-national-legal-respo...

This Summary Report provides an accessible overview of the policy framework and recommendations in the two-volume Final Report in the Inquiry into family violence by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) and the New South Wales Law Reform Commission (the Commissions). The full Report sets out in detail the issues raised by the Terms of Reference, and the research and evidence base upon which the Commissions’ recommendations were formulated, including a thorough discussion of stakeholder views and the Commissions’ conclusions.

This Summary Report begins with a snapshot of the context for the Inquiry, including the background to the Terms of Reference. This is followed by a consideration of the framework for the reform, including a description of the development of the key principles underpinning the 187 final recommendations put forward by the Commissions. The recommendations are then considered as an expression of two principal themes—improving legal frameworks and improving practice, concluding with a summary of the net effect of the recommendations.

2000
Biketawa Declaration. Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat. 2000. Publisher's VersionAbstract

http://www.forumsec.org/pages.cfm/political-governance-security/biketawa...

The Biketawa Declaration (2000) outlines guiding principles for good governance and courses of action for a regional response to crises in the region. 

The Biketawa Declaration also commits Forum members to some key fundamental values including, among others, a “belief in the liberty of the individual under the law, in equal rights for all citizens regardless of gender, race, colour, creed or political belief” and to “upholding democratic processes and institutions which reflect national and local circumstances, including the peaceful transfer of power”.

The Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI, 2003) and the Pacific Regional Assistance to Nauru (PRAN, 2004) are key Pacific Island Forum initiatives sponsored under the auspices of the Biketawa Declaration.

The most recent use of the Biketawa Declaration was on 2nd May 2009, when the Leaders’ Port Moresby Decisions automatically came into force with the imposition of targeted measures against the Fiji military regime.