Breaking the Silent Codes on Domestic Violence in Australia

The talk was held by Australian Women Against Violence Alliance (AWAVA) on the topic

Specialist Women's Services Against Violence as Essential Infrastructure.

AWAVA is responding to and preventing domestic violence against women and their children. Their role is to ensure that women’s voices are heard within government and policy development. AWAVA is a program by WESNET – Women’s Services Network – the peak body for domestic and family violence services who is the lead agency and contract holder.

They provide specialist women’s services through Essential Services Packages which is developed in partnership with UN Women, UNFPS, WHO, UNDP, and UNDOC. This ensures greater access to coordinated multi-sectoral services for women and girls who have experienced gender-based violence. These packages include crisis information/ counseling, help lines, safe accommodations, material and financial aid, community information and education and more. The packages are victim/ survivor centered with safety being paramount.

So far this year, 14 women have been killed by domestic violence in Australia. AWAVA recognizes that aborigine and indigenous women are 5 times more likely to be the victims of domestic violence than other women. In addition, these women have been systematically isolated and excluded from the society, so their voices have not been heard. They have a deep lack of trust in the government, the police, the legal system, social services and the health care system.

The women’s services have developed a close partnership with aborigine workers in order to get access to women in the communities, and hence create trust. The main focus behind all their programs is to break the silent codes surrounding domestic violence and get women across the pacific to talk about sexual assaults. They emphasizes community education and outreach programs and see the necessity of teaching women what a loving and healthy relationship entails.

They showed a video clip called Let’s Change the Story: Violence Against Women in Australia which illustrated and underlined their work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLUVWZvVZXw

Media Portrayal of Intimate Partner Violence

This CSW parallel event Media Portrayal of Intimate Partner Violence was sponsored by the NGO Committee on Mental Health and co-sponsored by International Psychoanalytical Association, American Psychiatric Association and Dianova International. This session focused on mental health, especially for victims and survivors of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). The session started with the experience of Alicia, a survivor of sexual and physical violence from both her father and first husband. Alicia, who had a childhood steeped in violence, poverty and neglect was raped at the age of 14 and became pregnant at the age of 15 by a forty- something year old man. Despite the abuse suffered at the hands of this man, she was forced into marriage with him and saw this as her escape from her sexually abusive father. During her first marriage, she was continually beaten, even when she was pregnant. A chance for escape presented itself after childbirth and she took it but was unfortunately unable to take her child with her and Alicia has not seen her son in 10 years. Alicia has been able to transform her narrative from victim to survivor with the support of friends, her social worker and psychiatric intervention. Alicia’s story is one of many that tells of the horrific effects of intimate partner violence on the victim, family and society as a whole.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to any behavior within an intimate relationship that causes physical, psychological or sexual harm to anyone in a relationship. IPV is a global problem and this is addressed by a myriad of health organizations such as WHO and CDC. According to the CDC, in 2012, 1 in 2 homicides of women were by intimate partners or family members. More than 1 in 10 women have experienced forced sexual acts globally. 41 percent of women who were sexually violated experienced it before age 18 and there is a multitude of negative impacts such as feeling fearful (62%), concern for safety (57%) and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, 52%).

IPV has adverse consequence on the individual, the family and society as a whole. With IPV comes psychological issues for the victim but also for the children who are exposed to a hostile home environment which could disrupt development. There are also economic costs of IPV. The costs are significantly severe in low-to-middle income countries.

Country estimates of IPV costs

US- $5.8- $12.6 billion

UK- ₤23 billion

France- €2.5 billion

Globally, IPV takes up 5.2% of the global GDP. This ranks it higher than civil war which takes up 0.25%. Therefore, IPV is a situation that needs to be addressed globally. This can be done through a variety of interventions and preventive measures such as inclusion of men and boys in the war against IPV, teaching healthy relationship skills, creating protective environments with zero-tolerance for violence, providing economic support for families and launching media awareness campaigns. With these measures in place, we can tackle risk factors for IPV.

Empower Women and Girls Globally

em·pow·er

əmˈpou(ə)r/

verb

1.    make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.

synonyms: authorize, entitle, permit, allow, license, sanction, warrant, commission, delegate

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On the final day of this year's Commission on the Status of Women, I chose to sit in on a session entitled "Empower Women and Girls Globally." From the title itself, there was little to predict in terms of sub-focalizations, however I can honestly say that it may have been one of the more meaningful presentations I attended.

Unfortunately, with a bus to catch back to campus, I was unable to stay for the entirety of the session, but what I was able to witness has left a lasting impression.

Although locally-based, the New York City Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence representative raised her voice on behalf of all those affected by acts of gender violence. Between 2001 and 2012, New York City alone reported 864 domestic violence homicides of which 4 out of 5 victims were women. Other forms of abuse, whether physical, sexual, emotional or financial in nature largely go unreported. Statistics like this should render us speechless, but in this and many regions of the world, desensitization is far too common. What was previously infuriating has become the norm, and this must stop.

But how?

While the NYC Mayor’s Office to Combat Domestic Violence frequently finds themselves at the front line of gender violence responders, they and some of the other NGOs leading the session are heavily involved in advocacy campaigns designed to empower women and girls at all walks of life. Here are a few key take-aways:

• It is never too early to teach a girl that she, as a person, holds intrinsic value.
• It is never too late to teach a woman that she, as a person, is capable of great feats regardless of the challenges she has faced and others that have torn her down. 
• To be feminist is to support other women; time spend devaluing another person is time wasted.

The Edutainment Change Agent in Mozambique

Where does a media push fit in to educate and move people's opinions on domestic violence? According to the moderators at "Beyond Struggles and Inequalities: The Resistances and Alternatives of Women and Girls", it belongs in Mozambique as part of an overall effort to eradicate domestic violence against women through policy and personal change. N'weti, a Mozambican non-for-profit, launched a multimedia edutainment campaign entitled "Say NO to Domestic Violence" and shared their efforts at the 2016 Commission on the Status of Women.

Prior to 2009, domestic violence in Mozambique was not an actual crime, and by many measures, was an acceptable form of marital interaction. Through a concerted effort to sway public and government opinion on the subject, Law 29/2009 was officially put on the books and not only is domestic violence now a crime, but the state was made responsible for protecting women and holding perpetrators accountable.

Though the law has now been on the books for seven years, it had been an ongoing struggle to keep the thought of passing such a relevant issue. The challenge to lawmakers has been advocated for since about 1993, and N'weti's media run including television, radio, public debates and online outreach was instrumental in creating an understanding of how the tradition and potential law against it was viewed.

As part of a larger overall strategy for women's rights which included gender economics, violence, political representation/participation, and reproductive empowerment, N'weti brought the issue to the forefront and challenged assumptions based on narratives from many past generations. Though there are remaining obstacles to overcome, the efforts in this case support the strength of large-scale multimedia outreach as a tool to change the path of women's and human rights.

Corruption in Cambodia Tied to Violence Against Women

“The court is politicized; if you’re not a part of the system, you don’t exist. It’s so corrupt.”

These words reflect experience - the experience of a Cambodian Parliamentary member, of the opposition party, who is a woman. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, and she was awarded the Leadership Award in Washington D.C. She is the author of domestic violence laws in Cambodia. Her entire life has been about gender equality – fighting for women’s rights as human rights. One of the laws she authored regarding domestic/marital rape resulted in her almost losing her seat in parliament due to challenging Cambodian culture. She says that challenging culture is inevitable if one wants to make an impact.

The NGO CSW session of March 14, 2016, “Ending Violence Against Women and Girls,” brought together panelists from Morocco, Colombia, Iran, and Cambodia. They presented social, cultural, financial, and political factors as intersecting with the issue of violence against women and of women’s inequality in their various nations and regions. The women represented at this session work with UN Watch, Liberal International, and the International Network of Liberal Women.

In the case of Cambodia, the parliamentary official discussed the role of corruption in politics and the legal system in blocking access to women seeking justice for violence perpetrated against them. She said:

“As soon as you go to court, you have to pay the judge or he won’t even let you into the courtroom; so, access to justice is limited for those who don’t have the resources.”

She cited the negative effects this has, especially on rural women in poverty who do not have the resources that allow them to be heard within this corrupt system.

The Cambodian parliamentary member continued:

“A political campaign must be used for any gender-based movement; otherwise, government leaders won’t do anything.”

Even though the political and legal system seems both corrupt and apathetic, she chooses to work within it, though in actuality transcending it, so that she can bring change that provides hope and justice to women facing violence.

Is all we need a little more justice?

In a panel sponsored by Crossroads International and Women in Law and Development in Africa, a series of women representatives from Togo, Swaziland, and Ghana gathered together to discuss “Decreasing Violence against Women through Access to Justice” in their different contexts. Agreeing that all women’s organizations have a unifying goal of violence prevention and obtainment of equal rights, the women on this panel aimed at opening women’s access to justice in their countries, specifically by the passing of empowering legislation and the insurance of its implementation on the ground. And, in order to do so, these women shared how their organizations strive to strike a balance of working with both government and civil society through gendered perspectives in order to promote women’s empowerment from the grassroots level up.

In order to set the stage, panelists from Togo, Swaziland, and Ghana explained the social and legal climate surrounding women’s issues in their country. In Togo, 42% of married women are subjected to physical and/or psychological violence, and these victims are left unsupported without the backing of the law. While a ‘family code’ exists within the current legal framework of the nation, this code is against discriminatory treatment in general – but not specific to women and girls. Without this specificity, perpetrators abusing women and girls remain unpunished and unaccountable for their actions and their actions’ consequences. This lack of justice and accountability is exacerbated by a disorganized national police force that does not have precedents or protocols established for properly handling cases of violence against women, leaving many abusive situations inadequately addressed. 

In Swaziland, legislation against gender-based violence does in fact exist, however its writing is archaic, dating back between the years 1880 – 1920 and has not evolved to address the threats and dangers that women face in modern day. For instance, violation of a women through anal penetration or penetration with an object is not mentioned under the law, and is regularly considered a simple assault through the eyes of the court. Magnifying this problem is Swaziland’s monarchical system of government that allows the nation’s King to veto any bill that he does not see fit, such as he did with recent legislation designed to protect women in both public and domestic spheres in modern day.

Prior to the passing of any legislation in Ghana, one out of every three women in the country was physically abused and one out of every five women in the country was psychologically abused. Now however, Ghana can serve as a slightly more positive example, boasting quite progressive anti-violence laws for their region, the most recent passed in 2007. Nevertheless, Ghanaians are not immune to the aforementioned obstacles of their region, as demonstrated by the seven-year long struggle it took for such legislation to be passed. Additionally, it is important to note that the act of passing legislation does not automatically translate to the adoption of such practices on the ground, as many Ghanaians continue to struggle unaware of the law or unsure of how to properly use it.

Therefore, while these women interestingly represented three different organizations hailing from experiences in three different nations, the synchrony of their underlying fights and aspirations was striking. The whole panel agreed that the struggle to protect women against instances of violence and to open their access to the justice system is an ongoing, uphill battle against the region’s inflexible customs of patriarchy that are so deeply embedded in their legal and social systems. The panel also believed that “advocacy, advocacy, advocacy” was the solution to overcoming these barriers. Firstly, the panel wants to use advocacy to target the way that people think, challenging their mentality that domestic violence should be kept in the secrecy of the domestic sphere, and hope to raise awareness that such abuse is not a family issue to be dealt with privately, but a societal issue that should be fought against publically and without stigma. From this, the hope is that all those in the region will begin to take issues of domestic violence seriously, both personally as well as legally, with the ultimate goal that all forms of domestic violence should and will be criminalized and persecuted in the future.