Harper Conservatives not meeting commitments to women’s groups in Canada

3 July 2009 in Funding, Government, North America, Women's Group

Months after the Conservatives announced new money for the Women’s Community Fund, women’s groups across the country still can’t access this funding because of the Harper government’s ongoing inability to keep its promises, Liberal Status of Women Critic Anita Neville said today.
“Nearly a month ago, Status of Women Minister Helena Guergis told the Parliamentary Status [...]

Domestic violence helpline launched in Australia

5 May 2009 in Australasia, Domestic Violence, Funding, Government

The federal Government will provide an additional $41.5 million to tackle domestic violence, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced last week.
“The Government’s position on violence against women is zero tolerance,” Mr Rudd said. “Laws must be strong enough to hold perpetrators to account and offer justice and safety for victims and their families.
“We must also [...]

Liberal policy on domestic violence ‘devastating’ for women in Canada

5 May 2009 in Domestic Violence, Funding, Government, North America, Women's Group

Shortly after they were elected in 2001, the Liberals cut support services for victims of domestic violence as part of a wide-ranging effort to reduce spending and lower taxes. In their second term in office they changed the focus of services, putting more money into programs such as counselling and less into groups demanding changes [...]

Can subsidised caesareans cut maternal deaths in Benin?

4 May 2009 in Africa, Childbirth Pregnancy, Funding, Government

Benin’s government is in its first week of helping women pay for caesarean operations in an effort to reduce the number of women dying during childbirth every year, estimated at 2,000 according to the government.
As of 1 April, the US$200 caesarean subsidy is offered to women seeking care in more than 40 hospitals in mostly [...]

Iraqi women’s affairs minister resigns in protest

14 February 2009 in Funding, Government, Middle East

Iraq’s minister of women’s affairs resigned last week in protest at a lack of resources to cope with “an army of widows, unemployed, oppressed and detained women” after years of sectarian warfare.
Nawal al-Samarai said her status as a secretary of state and not a full minister reflected the low emphasis given by the government to [...]

US Women’s Groups Hit Hard by Madoff Scheme

14 February 2009 in Financial, Funding, North America, Women's Group

Not all of Bernie Madoff’s victims are rich, jet-set investors.
Madoff’s alleged Ponzi plot, combined with a battered economy and government cuts, adds up to the perfect storm for groups working for a good cause – especially causes that benefit women.
“People don’t think about the fact that when people do things like the Ponzi scheme, [...]

Women’s Groups in Canada Urge Social Infrastructure Spending and EI Reform, and Warn against Pay Equity Rollbacks in Upcoming Budget

4 February 2009 in Employment Work, Equality, Funding, Government, North America, Women's Group

Advocates for women’s equality have sent an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and opposition leaders, urging them to consider measures that affect women in the upcoming budget.
“Women are half the population of Canada and they cannot afford to ignore us,” said Aalya Ahmad of the Ad Hoc Coalition for Women’s Equality and Human [...]

Los Angeles Needs Plan to Test Rape Evidence

1 November 2008 in Funding, Legal Police, North America, Rape and Sexual Assault

New Staff Only One Step to Reducing 7,300-Case Backlog
The approval of 16 additional Los Angeles Police Department crime lab positions today by the City Council is only one step in addressing the backlog of 7,300 cases in which rape evidence has not been tested, Human Rights Watch said. The city needs to prepare and implement [...]

Desperate Rape Crisis centre in Cape Town faces closure

28 October 2008 in Africa, Funding, Rape and Sexual Assault, Women's Group

Rape Crisis, a non-governmental organisation which has helped survivors of rape and sexual violence in Cape Town since 1976, warned it was facing a “very serious” financial crisis which could force it to close its doors.
“In the last two years, two core funders ended their relationship with Rape Crisis, one of them leaving the country [...]

US cuts off family planning group in Africa

17 October 2008 in Abortion Contraception, Funding, Global, North America

The Bush administration has taken action against an international charity in Africa over work it does in China, a step the group says is politically motivated and dangerous for poor African women and girls.
The State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development denied the charges but said that they had told six African governments to [...]

Gender Focus Urged for US Aid

10 August 2008 in Employment Work, Financial, Funding, Global, North America, Women's Group

Women’s groups weighed in on the growing debate over new goals and strategies for U.S. foreign aid, arguing that to work effectively, foreign aid should target women.
Three leading organisations pointed out at a Capitol Hill media briefing that in most developing countries where aid is distributed, women are the poorest and least empowered members of [...]

Global Fund for Women ‘Waters’ Grassroots in 167 countries

31 July 2008 in Funding, Global, Women's Group

Around the world, women are far more likely than men to be poor, ill-housed, under-educated and victimized by war and discrimination. To help women help themselves and their communities, the Global Fund for Women, or GFW, a San Francisco-based organization, gives $8 million a year to support grassroots projects. So far, the GFW has helped [...]

Children the ‘forgotten victims’ of domestic violence in Australia

21 July 2008 in Australasia, Children Parenting, Domestic Violence, Funding

A leading child welfare organisation has called for more help for children who witness domestic violence.
Berry Street Victoria regional director Joanna Boch said there was a waiting list for children in the northern suburbs to see a family violence counsellor.
“There’s a serious shortage of funding in counselling services for children,” Ms Boch said. [...]

Gap in the law fails to protect victims of domestic violence in Cyprus

18 July 2008 in Domestic Violence, Europe, Funding, Violence Against Women

The State services have failed to protect a victim of domestic violence, citing gaps in the law preventing them from helping non-Cypriot spouses who suffer abuse.
A 30-year-old woman from Eastern Europe has been seeking refuge from her abusive husband for the last two weeks but has been left to fend for herself after being repeatedly [...]

Federal boost for rural Australia domestic violence awareness

4 July 2008 in Australasia, Domestic Violence, Funding, Men Against VAW

The Federal Government has given $1 million to the White Ribbon Foundation to help raise awareness of domestic violence in rural and regional Australia.
The funding will go towards education programs that promote culture change among men to reduce violence against women.
The Minister for the Status of Women, Tanya Plibersek, says raising the profile of the [...]

Court decision in Colombia on increased protection for displaced women

8 June 2008 in Funding, Government, South America, Violence Against Women

UNHCR welcomes a decision by Colombia’s Constitutional Court, which ruled that displaced women are particularly vulnerable and ordered the government to create 13 programmes for their protection, and prioritize them for access to emergency humanitarian assistance. The Court also ordered direct protection for 600 displaced women and asked the country’s attorney-general to investigate several cases [...]

Church in Australia backs end to Howard ban on abortion aid

8 June 2008 in Abortion Contraception, Australasia, Faith, Funding, Global, Government

The Uniting Church has backed a move to lift the ban on Australian foreign aid being used to give women in poor nations advice on and access to safer abortion services.
Foreign Minister Stephen Smith is reviewing the ban after an all-party committee of politicians urged it be axed in a bid to save lives — [...]

Working mothers in Australia in two minds over Budget changes

6 May 2008 in Australasia, Employment Work, Financial, Funding, Government, Women's Group

The Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) says the Federal Government’s tax cuts for working mothers will help ease the financial burdens many families are experiencing.
Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan says under the Budget measures, working mothers will be between $3,500 and $7,000 a year better off.
QCOSS president Karyn Walsh says the tax relief is an [...]

London Councils gives rape, domestic violence and sexual abuse victims boost in rebuilding lives

2 May 2008 in Funding, Government, London, Violence Against Women, Women's Group

Posting moved to womensgrid: London Councils gives rape, domestic violence and sexual abuse victims boost in rebuilding lives

Women’s Budget Group Response to 2008 Budget

27 April 2008 in Education, Employment Work, England, Equality, Financial, Funding, Gender Mainstreaming, Government, Health, Opinion Comment, Publication, Wales, Women's Group

WBG Responses – HM Treasury’s Budget 2008
We welcome the emphasis of this Budget on efforts to end child poverty. However, we are disappointed that you did not take the opportunity to address the acute and chronic funding crisis in sexual and domestic violence services within the women’s voluntary sector. In the last 10 years [...]