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AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRATS WOMEN’S RIGHTS WATCH |
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Democrats Federal Leader, Senator Lyn Allison, Status of Women spokesperson, Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, South
Australian Leader, Hon. Sandra Kanck
MLC, and South Australian Social Justice spokesperson, Hon. Kate Reynolds MLC. Please feel free to forward this email or parts of this
email to friends and colleagues who may Previous editions here ACTION
Email MPs about sexual assault Submissions to adoption inquiry |
IMPORTANT: You have
received this message because the Democrats would like to invite you to
subscribe to Women’s Rights Watch. If you do nothing, you will not receive Women’s
Rights Watch again unless you subscribe by sending an email to Welcome to the first edition of Women’s Rights Watch This is the beginning of what I
hope to be a strong email network to protect and promote women’s human rights
in I’m keen to receive tips and
information from readers to help us make this a really interesting and
effective campaign tool for women’s rights.
To send feedback, please click on the Back Chat
section.
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The Dear Re: Funding to Domestic Violence and
Sexual Assault clearinghouses I am writing
to express my concern about the future of the Australian Centre for the
Study of Sexual Assault (ACSSA) and also the Domestic violence
Clearinghouse. As you are no
doubt aware, funding for the Partnerships against Domestic Violence (PADV)
which funds the DV Clearinghouse comes to an end in June 2005. There are no
forward estimates to suggest that there will be a follow-up to this
program. It is also my
understanding that the National Initiative to Combat Sexual Assault (NICSA)
which involved funding for projects at the Aust Institute of Criminology,
ABS and ACSSA ends in June 2005. The
NICSA projects that the Government has publicly agreed to continue to fund
until end of June 2006 to the Personal Safety Survey, ABS and the rerun of
national media campaign, we have as yet to hear word about the future of
ACSSA. The services
that both Clearinghouses provide are a critical source of information which
provides organisations and individuals with updates on current issues,
valuable research material and information on national trends. While we
congratulate the Government on establishing these important initiatives we
strongly urge you to continue your support through re-funding to both
programs. Considering
the fact that domestic violence and sexual assault figures are on the rise,
can you please advise me what the Government’s commitment is to these
issues? Yours sincerely
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Parliamentary Her Say
Abbott, Abortion,
International Women’s Day, Maternity Issues
Letters between
It’s time to recognise the abortion debate is not going
away says
The
Democrats marked International Women’s day with speeches, questions and
motions on women's issues in Parliament.
A new campaign – Women’s Rights Watch – was launched with postcards
and a website. This was preceded by a Women’s Rights and Women’s
Rites lunch in
Speech
on issues that continue to affect Australian women
Question
on the growth in ‘low-paid crummy jobs
for women’
Question
on why adoptive parents are ineligible for maternity payment
- Follow
up speech on maternity payment
- Press release All
adoptive parents deserve maternity payment
- Adoption inquiry An
opportunity for submissions on same sex adoptions
Resolution
of the Senate calling on the Government to address inequality in women’s
rights
What is the situation for birthing and maternity care in
rural
There is ignorance regarding the rate of teenage
pregnancy in
Kate Reynolds MLC celebrated International Women’s Day in Mt Barker Click here
Uncomfortable Questions Asked
This month the Democrats have continued to pursue the Government by putting questions on notice in areas affecting women. This process often forces Ministers to disclose information they would otherwise keep secret as they have a responsibility to the Senate to provide answers within 30 days. We’ll let you know when the following questions are answered.
Questions from
Office
for Women programs (PDF)
Pregnancy
counselling services (PDF)
Supported
Accommodation Assistance Program (PDF)
'Australia
Says No' campaign (PDF)
Domestic
Violence Clearinghouse (PDF)
National Domestic Violence Hotline (PDF)
Questions from
Wonder Woman Profile
The Wonder Woman profile is an initiative to promote and encourage women connected with advancement of women’s rights. Inclusion does not imply any political affiliation with the Australian Democrats unless explicitly stated.
Nominate a ‘Wonder Woman’ you would like to see profiled
here. Send an email to
Our first Wonder Woman,
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WONDER
WOMAN |
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Name: |
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Role
and organisation (if applicable): |
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• |
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What
is the most important issue relating to women’s lives for you/your
organisation? |
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At
this very moment, lack of access to childcare is our key focus. This childcare crisis limits choice and opportunity. It
directly restricts women’s re-entry into the workplace, affects workforce
supply, causes financial constraints and community alienation. Most
families suffer this in silence. |
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How
are you involved in addressing this issue? |
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We
are lobbying all levels of Government to find solutions to this National
crisis and get new community and commercial childcare places opened
immediately. At the Federal level, Australia requires: |
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What
is the best piece of advice or inspiration you have received on women’s
rights and who was it from? |
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1.
No written law has ever been more binding than the unspoken or unwritten
custom supported by popular opinion - |
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What
advice would you give to young women about improving the status of women? |
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Be
proud to be a feminist. Feminism is really a fight for choice, justice and
humanism. |
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How
do you react when you experience derogatory attitudes towards women? |
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Now
I am a mum, I’m even less tolerant of this attitude (and more keen to
act!). |
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Where
would you search for information/research about the status of women? |
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My
mothers group! |
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How
would you rate women's equality compared to that of men's now? (Far from
Equal, Near Equal, or Equal) |
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Far
from equal – Any achievements made in terms of equity for many groups
continue to be eroded in this country. |
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Where
do you see women's equality in the future? |
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Can women’s equality be provided as a 30% rebate?! There
is a lot to fight for. We’ll need to find solutions outside the mainstream
political parties. |
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Back Chat
Please let us know if you have:
·
Comments to add;
·
Questions you want the Government to
answer;
·
Stories to share;
·
Requests for our equality postcards;
·
Advice to give; or
·
Other feedback to offer.
Email
The Bottom Line
Selected facts
from websites containing information on the status of women in
Of the top 200 companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, only one CEO is a woman, according to the Women in the Workforce Agency website.
The Women in
Australia report online by the Office for Women showed “(Australian
Women) are underpaid, fatter, less interested in sex, surrounded by kids that
should
Abortion appears to be the only widely practiced medical
procedure in
www.democrats.org.au/campaigns/womens_rights_watch/