Oceania

We continue to see the colonial(ist) approach in international development and the ‘white feminist’ interventions in the field-from conception to implementation of projects. We are learning a lot from established development theories, now it is time to broaden our horizons, go beyond definitions within western feminist
paradigms used in international development, to enhance and encourage alternative voices and leadership.

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. 

https://www.academia.edu/15458611/International_Journal_for_Intersection...

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. 

http://www.hqsc.govt.nz/our-programmes/mrc/fvdrc/publications-and-resour...

The report sets out information, findings and recommendations from data on all family violence homicides in the four years from 2009 to 2012, and from in-depth regional reviews of 17 family violence death events.

It goes beyond previous reports. For the first time, the pattern of violence has been included in the analysis of all family violence deaths, which better addresses the context in which these distressing events occur.This broader brush provides insights into the responses required to prevent future deaths.

The report suggests the family violence workforce needs to think differently if it is to respond effectively and safely to people living with family violence. It recommends improved family violence training, a stronger response to risk factors, and changes in legislation to better support those victimised by family violence.

Normalising or minimising family violence fails people who are at risk of being killed. The report advocates campaigning to encourage safe and effective interventions by friends, family, neighbours and workmates.

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.

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. 

http://iris.wpro.who.int/handle/10665.1/10446

As  in  many  places,  gender  inequality  is  prevalent  in  the  Pacific  island  nation  of  Kiribati.  the WHO commission on Social Determinants of Health underlined in 2008 that gender inequality  impacts  health  through  “discriminatory  feeding  patterns,  violence  against  women, lack of decision-making power, and unfair divisions of work, leisure, and possibilities of improving one’s life,” in addition to limiting access to health care services. A significant consequence  of  gender  inequality  is  the  high  level  of  gender-based  violence,  including  sexual, emotional and physical, perpetrated by intimate partners and non-partners. three years  after  the  final  report  of  the  Commission  on  Social  Determinants  of  Health,  WHO  convened  the  World  Conference  on  Social  Determinants  of  Health  in  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Brazil, in october 2011 to review progress on implementing the recommendations of the commission, draw lessons from experiences and catalyse coordinated global action. this paper was developed in the run-up to the world conference as examples of policy action aimed at tackling key determinants of health and reducing health inequities. covering the period between 2008 and 2011, the paper demonstrates that efforts to measure the extent of a problem can raise political awareness and thereby effectively trigger policy responses on key determinants of gender-based violence and, more broadly, health.

Prior to 2008, health policy-makers were unaware of the prevalence of gender-based violence  in  Kiribati,  as  no  nationally  representative  study  on  the  problem  had  ever  been  conducted. with support from the Australian government, the United Nations Population Fund  (UNFPA)  and  the  Secretariat  of  the  Pacific  community  (SPC),  and  drawing  on  the  methodology  of  the  WHO  Multi-country  Study  on  Women’s  Health  and  Domestic  Violence, the kiribati ministry of Internal and social Affairs (MISA) conducted its first family health and support study in 2008. A committee of stakeholders was assembled to guide the research, support its planning and implementation, and provide a longitudinal sense of buy-in and ownership.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/SRWomen/Pages/CountryVisits.aspx

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.

This paper provides background information on the international legal and policy framework on
violence against women, plural legal systems and women’s movements for the participants
attending the Asia Pacific Roundtable: International and Regional Standard setting to eliminate
Violence Against Women 2013, set to be held on 7 and 8 Dec, in Bali, Indonesia.

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.

http://ohchr.tind.io/record/12219?ln=en

The Pacific with its huge geographic coverage and small populations is often overlooked in global and regional research and publications. Documented information about what is happening in the Pacific can be hard to find for both Pacific Islanders and people new to the region. International organisations that document human rights issues in much of the world often do not include the Pacific Islands. This is not to say that information on human rights in the Pacific does not exist. It does and there are many sources for it. However, until now, it has not been brought together in one place to provide an overview of human rights issues in the region. We hope that this publication, Human Rights in the Pacific – Country Outlines, provides such an overview and guides readers to sources and people that can provide further information.

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.

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.

http://asiapacific.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2011/7/en...

This summary of current literature on violence against women and girls in Pacific Island Countries is designed to give practitioners a concise and comprehensive overview of current knowledge and analysis. The evidence presented in this second edition presents a compelling case for more action and investment in preventing and responding to violence against women. It is intended to inform leaders, legislators, policy and decision-makers in government, and programme designers in government and civil society. It is also intended to be a ‘living’ source of knowledge, and will be regularly updated to ensure its validity. Comments, feedback and additions are welcome to this important bank of knowledge on VAW in our region. 

http://www.spc.int/hdp/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=89&Itemid=44

This report of the Kiribati Family Health and Support Study analyses data from the first ever nationally representative research on violence against women and related child abuse in this country. This study replicates the WHO multi-country study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence against Women. The study was designed to

• estimate the prevalence of physical, sexual and emotional violence against women, with particular emphasis on violence by intimate partners

• assess the association of partner violence with a range of health outcomes

• identify factors that may either protect or put women at risk of partner violence

• document the strategies and services that women use to cope with violence by an intimate partner;

• assess the association of partner violence with abuse against children

 Methodology of the study

 The study consisted of a qualitative component and a quantitative component. The quantitative component consisted of population-based household survey that was conducted around the country. The sample for the household survey was designed to be nationally representative and aimed to include 1500 women aged 15–49 years. A stratified multi-stage sample design was used, with 20% oversampling to account for non-response. There were five strata: three for the Gilbert Islands, one for the Line and Phoenix Islands, and one for South Tarawa. Within the first four strata islands were randomly selected, and in South Tarawa enumeration areas were systematically selected. Within the islands or enumeration areas, households were systematically selected using probability proportional to size (based on census information). The total sample size was 2000 households to be visited. In each selected household only one woman was randomly selected to be interviewed for the survey among all eligible women 15–49 years of age.