Our 2015 theme is 'Working together'

‘Working together’our theme for 2015 has to be the foundation of any real attempt to address the epidemic of violence in our society. At the March 5th Council meeting we had an opportunity to reflect on the capacity of faith based organisations to promote a more respectful society with speaker Dr Ree Boddé, Program Director for the Prevention of Violence against Women - an initiative of the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne has been involved in an effective education program that has men and women working together for reform.

International Women’s Day events across Australia through March made reference to the 20th anniversary of the 4th World Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995. The review process reached its peak in New York at the UN Commission on the Status of Women CSW59/Beijing+20 (2015) from 9 to 20 March. Now representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are on their way back to their home countries.

What are the elements of the Beijing Platform for Action from 1995 that remain important today.What progress has been made? Critical area of concern in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action included 4: Violence against Women. At the Melbourne UN Women Breakfast on March 3rd, Board Member Catherine Walker told the guests that a major problem is still Critical Area 7: Women in power and decision making. Fewer than 20% of parliamentarians worldwide are women, and in our region only 1 in 15 MPs are women. The panel of speakers reflected on situation for women in our region twenty years after the Beijing Conference:In Samoa 70% of women have experienced violence; however next year a number of seats in the Parliament will be reserved for women. At the same event Irene Santiago, Philippines Peace Commission, commented that one sign of progress over the 20 years has been the bringing of women’s voices to the UN Security Council from the time SC Resolution 1325 and now countries are gradually adopting National Action Plans on Women, Peace and Security as Australia and the Philippines have done. 

How to get the idea across? One great example is Emma Watson’s speech on “He For She” and this was subject of a post written by Yvette Wang for the blog youngncwic.wordpress.com to promoting our student event 'My Vote My Voice' now rescheduled for August 10 2015.

Our 2014 theme was ‘Young people our future’

Following discussion through December and January, especially after the announcement of the Hon Justice Marcia Neave AO to head the Royal Commission into Family Violence, we will be focussing on’ Working Together’. ‘Working together’ has to be the foundation of any real attempt to address the epidemic of violence in our society: men and women together, the old and young together, agencies together, in a holistic approach to reduce the impact of violence. 

Some of the things we’ll be working on in 2015:

• Continuing our attention to child and family issues, progress for woman and girls especially in progress for the world – beginning with Pioneer Women’s Garden event: How well does the machinery for parental and career support including government programs based on Dr Vera Scantlebury Brown’s pioneering work, still function in a more diverse society.

• The 20th anniversary of the 4th World Conference of Women in Beijing in 1995 – the review process in New York in the Autumn and the actual 20th anniversary in our Spring (August/September) – this helps us link our concerns with wider media coverage on the anniversary. The question has to be which of the elements of the Beijing Platform for Action from 1995 still resonate today.

Slideshow of Images

Special 2015 Event for Students at Parliament House!

Our ‘My Voice, My Vote’, Beijing + 20  event at the Parliament of Victoria will be on Thursday 26th March 2015 – Date to be confirmed

Young NCWVic is a group of young members of National Council of Women of Victoria. Our 2015 event will be held close to International Women’s Day and will celebrate 2015 being the 20th anniversary of the 4th World Conference of Women held in Beijing, China. (See beijing20.unwomen.org/ )

Annual Luncheon - Thursday December 4 2014

At this time of the year we pause, in the company of colleagues and friends, looking forward to the summer break and reflecting  on the successes - and failures perhaps - of our year’s work. Sadly as the three reports in this newsletter on ending violence in the community show, there is still work to be done when we return refreshed in the New Year.

We are honoured to have with us at the luncheon, our Patron in Chief, Mrs Elizabeth Chernov, wife of the Governor of Victoria, the Hon Alex Chernov.

The guest speaker is Elida Brereton FACE FACEL whose topic is ‘Adventures Along the Silk Road’.

Our fund raising at the Luncheon is generously supported by our affiliated organisations who have contributed to the table centre pieces forming a ‘Display of Festive Baskets of many nations’. Guests are encouraged to move round the room to look at the baskets and greet those at other tables.

Generous members and friends have helped us ensure that  a quarter of those in attendance are the young women who have helped our umbrella organisation during 2014 as volunteers, interns, Advisers and as members of short term working groups like the YoungNCWVic group who are preparing for the 2015 My Vote My Voice event in March as our contribution to International Women’s Day celebrations.

There is also an opportunity for donations to be made to support the Purple House Social Enterprise, health promotion projects of the Western Desert NWPT Aboriginal Corporation. Those of us who visited Alice Springs for the NCWA Mid-Term conference in May were able to visit the Purple House in Alice Springs, winner of the Ethical Enterprise Award in 2013. It is a non-government, not-for-profit, indigenous governed health organisation, established when Western Desert people who knew the need for remote area renal dialysis and health promotion programs, decided to ignore the lack of encouragement by the NT  and the Australian Government and raise their own funds.

See www.caritas.org.au for further information.

Mrs Elizabeth Chernov lunches at Angliss

Mrs Elizabeth Chernov, wife of Victoria's Governor His Excellency the Honourable Mr Alex Chernov, attended a luncheon at William Angliss Institute.

Mrs Chernov was at the Angliss Restaurant for the Annual Luncheon of the National Council of Women of Victoria, an organisation for which she is the Patron in Chief. The National Council of Women of Victoria is one of the oldest women's organisations in Victoria and aims to encouraging the participation of women in all aspects of community life.

Angliss students prepared and served the luncheon which had a traditional Christmas menu and was held at the on campus Angliss training restaurant.

All in all it was a very successful event, and a great opportunity for Angliss students.

Originally published on the William Angliss Institute website.

Landscapes of Violence

Has there ever been another election in our State when the issue of gender based or family violence has been such an issue?

It is two years since Minister Mary Wooldridge introduced the Victorian Government’s whole of government strategy ‘Ending Violence’  in October 2012, and the member-based women’s and community organisations have worked hard to keep track of the many government and community partnerships for  reducing if not eliminating violence against women and children. What is working and what is not? What more needs to be done?

Focussed research and data collection has to be a key to finding better ways for dealing with what seems to be endemic violence in our community.  This is why the research project Landscapes of Violence: Women Surviving Family Violence in Regional and Rural Victoria’, authored by Amanda George and Dr Bridget Harris at the Deakin University’s Centre for Rural Regional Law and Justice, is really significant.

Landscapes of Violence is being launched on Friday 7 November, 9:45 for 10:00 am, at the Deakin University CBD campus, Level 3, 550 Bourke Street Melbourne and at five rural locations via videoconference: Bendigo, Churchill, Geelong, Mildura, Warrnambool. 

I am delighted to have been asked to speak at the launch along with Dr Patricia Hamilton, President, National Rural Women’s Coalition Ltd. A full report of the findings of the project will be supplied in the next NCWV newsletter.