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EDITION 1 2015
The Eritrean Women Understanding Money Financial Literacy Program was a fun way to find out about bills,
Centrelink, starting your own business, saving and budgeting read more on page 16
Dr Robyn Gregory
Continued p.2
womens health west equity and justice for women in the west
sexual &
reproductive
health edition
inside:
Sexual and
reproductive
health in
prisons p.15
Women in prison are far more likely
than the general population to have
experienced sexual abuse, to have
been paid for sex and to be more
vulnerable to sexually transmissible
infections. Read about the new
working group in the west.
ISSN # 1834-7096
Editor: Nicola Harte, Communications
Manager
Contributors to this edition: Amanda
Wimetal, Aoibheann, Brishna, Elly Taylor,
Intesar Homed, Karin Holzknecht, Kirsten
Campbell, Melanie Sleap, Meriem Idris,
Shukria Alewi, Nadine, Nelly Thomas,
Nicola Harte, Robyn Gregory, Sally
Camilleri, Stephanie, Tess, Trish Hayes
Photographers: Karin Holzknecht, Sally
Camilleri, Scout Kozakiewicz, Stephanie,
Telstra, Amanda Wimetal
Illustrations: Isis and Pluto
Design and layout: Susan Miller,
millervision@netspace.net.au
Read this edition and archives of whwnews
online at www.whwest.org.au/news/
newsletter/
Edition 1 published: April 2015
Edition 2 deadline: 1 June 2015
sexual &
reproductive
health edition
Womens Health West acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we work, the people
of the Kulin Nation, and we pay our respects to Elders and community members past and present.
We express solidarity with the ongoing struggle for land rights, self-determination, sovereignty and the
recognition of past injustices. We express our hope for reconciliation and justice.
sexual &
reproductive
health edition
the scenes
Board
Maria Di Gregorio
DIRECTOR CONSUMER
FINANCE AT TELSTRA
TREASURER, WOMENS
HEALTH WEST BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
submissions
Nicola Harte,
Communications Manager
WHW Staff
Tanya Thorpe
Kristin
SENIOR HUMAN
RESOURCES ADVISOR
COUNSELLING COORDINATOR
Megan
24 HOUR CRISIS COORDINATOR
Melanie Wayman
QUALITY AND RISK OFFICER
Royal Commission
into familyviolence
Please contact us on info@
whwest.org.au if you would like to
contribute to our submission.
SPLASh!
I cant wait to head to Melton in term two
for another SPLASh group! Its a Safe Place
for Laughter, Arts and Sharing and this time
our friends from Djerriwarrh Health Services
and Melton City Council will be helping (I
hope they like kangaroos?) The group
is for children who are between 8 and 12
years old and have been exposed to family
violence. It runs for eight weeks of fun, art
making and games! Please ask your mum or
a grown up to call my pals in the childrens
counselling team if you think this is for you.
Put 1 part flour and 1 part water into the bowl and
mix until you have a gluey paste. Blow up the balloon.
Dunk strips of newspaper in the glue mixture and lay the
wet strips over the balloon. Repeat until the balloon is
covered. Add mushed up newspaper strips to the base to
mould it into a volcano. It will need a day or so to dry.
PHOTOS: Stephanie
Twelve years ago Womens Health West published a conversation between two Muslim staff members
talking about their experiences of discrimination and racism after September 11. Given the current media
and federal governmental responses to the actions of radical Islamist group Islamic State tend to conflate
being Muslim with being a terrorist, and in the wake of the Lindt Caf siege, we thought it was time to have
that conversation again and share with you how it feels to be a Muslim woman living in the western region
of Melbourne at this moment. To read the original conversation go to, www.whwest.org.au/safety2003/
Meriem:
We talked about it in
2003 and for me its the
same. A woman I spoke to recently
remarked on the nice new Footscray
train station and new apartments saying,
Wow! Its beautiful, Footscrays
changed. Then she had an incident with
someone and said, the buildings and
infrastructure have changed but the
people have not changed. So
unfortunately the same things are
happening today.
I think the reason is that these leaders
have a political agenda. They want more
laws and restrictions so they get in front
of cameras and microphones asking,
why are they wearing hijab? So they
scare the wider community about the
Muslims in this country to get support
for their bill. I know women who have
been harassed verbally, abused, even
beaten and no action is taken. The
politicians are not thinking, or they
might know this is happening but they
dont care because we are a minority
and were not loud or powerful enough.
And no one has been arrested for these
attacks. Unless there are consequences
this is going to be an ongoing issue.
Shukria:
Intesar:
Shukria:
10
Intesar:
Shukria:
Meriem:
Regardless of whats
happening overseas, we
are not part of it, so why are we
blamed? In the paper you only hear if its
someone whos Muslim or Middle-
Brishna:
Intesar:
Meriem:
11
sexual &
reproductive
health edition
Womens Health West launched the manual for our respectful relationships education project, You, Me
and Us, in November 2014 at the Queen Victoria Womens Centre. The project was funded by the Federal
Department of Social Services under a Gender Equality for Women grant. It uses a peer education model to
deliver respectful relationship education to young people aged 10 to 13 and 18 to 24 years old in primary
schools, sports clubs, youth organisations, TAFE and universities. The program also provides professional
development to adults in those settings to ensure sustainability of program messages and outcomes.
Over the past three years, You, Me and Us delivered sessions to over 3,500 participants in all seven local
government areas of Melbournes west.
12
13
Jie Jing
14
Thank you
both for
accepting
me and
teaching me
more about sexual health, mental
health, teamwork, and how to lead and
much morebecause I participated
in Lead On Again I learned a lot and
have met wonderful new friends.
Because of Lead On Again and
all I had done and learnt, I am doing a
placement at Yarra Youth Centre and
Ive decided to run a parent information
night giving the parents an opportunity
to find out what their kids do in the
Youth Centre and having the young
teenagers show off what they do there
(fashion, dance, music, drama, etc.)
as well as getting the youth workers to
introduce themselves and explain to the
parents what their teenagers gain out
of participating in these activities.
Another thing that has happened
is that I have been elected to be a Tutor
Leader I was so shocked! I had not
imagined myself being a leader.
Lead On Again has changed me and
got me believing in myself more, its also
got me interested in planning events and
being a better leader and much more...
I cant explain how thankful I am for
everything that has happened in Lead
On Again through that
whole week... Thank
you both very much!!!
Nyakeer
sexual &
reproductive
health edition
In January 2015 Womens Health West convened the first working group related to the sexual and
reproductive health of women in and exiting prison and youth justice facilities. The working group forms
part of Action for Equity: A Sexual and Reproductive Health Plan for Melbournes West 2013-2017 and sits
under the objective of increasing community education and capacity building activities to holistically redress
the social factors that cause poor health outcomes for people in and coming out of prison. Work in this area
is crucial to the success of the plan given that the western region in Melbourne is home to 82 per cent of
Victorias female prison population. Victorias largest womens prison is located in the City of Melton; Dame
Phyllis Frost Centre has a population of at least 260 incarcerated women.
15
Women Understanding
Building Confidence Eritrean
Money Financial Literacy Program
16
The following excerpt from Stella Youngs eulogy was written and
delivered by her dear friend Nelly Thomas. We extend our sincere
thanks to Nelly and Stellas family for allowing us to reprint it here.
MEMBERSHIP FORM
This fabulous image of Stella in her hoverchair was paid for by donations from those
who feel her loss keenly, including WHW.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/celebrity/
stella-youngs-letter-to-herself-at-80-yearsold-20141122-11llol.html
TYPE OF MEMBERSHIP
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(This person is also eligible to attend and vote at our Annual General Meeting)
POSITION
17
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18
EVENTS Notices
New report on LGBT
health and wellbeing
launched
Upcoming dates
19
21 May
26 May
27 May
3 June
National
Reconciliation Week
3 June
Mabo Day
14 20 June
National Refugee
Week
17 June
Ramadan begins
at sundown
20 June
5 12 July
NAIDOC Week
womens health west equity and justice for women in the west
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9689 3861
info@whwest.org.au
www.whwest.org.au