# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
[Episode 117] Hey there podcast listeners, Jonathan here. It is March 5th, 2018 and that means we're on day 5 of #SWMonth 2018.

For the past 4 years, since 2014, The New Social Worker Magazine has celebrated Social Work Month by publishing inspired and insightful reflections. One of the things I like best about the poems, essays, and reflections at socialworker.com is that they are great for sharing with folks that might not understand what social workers do. Linda Grobman, the social work pioneer and award winning publisher of New Social Worker gets some of the profession's best known or most profound thinkers to share their wisdom as part of this series.

This year I was honored and humbled to receive an invitation from Linda to submit a short piece for Social Work Month. True, the invitation was addressed to "Dr. Brené Brown, University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work," but nevertheless I accepted. Linda is such a good sport that she didn't have the great daring to rise strong and tell me that I had received the invitation by mistake. And I kinda feel bad that if there isn't a contribution from Brené this year it is basically my fault. But, I mean, what are you gonna do? Opportunities like this don't come around often.

Linda publishes a new piece every day during social work month at socialworker.com. You can read my contribution, Open Letter to Social Work Professors Who Love Social Work Month, starting today. You can also hang out for another 15 seconds and hear the recorded version, which I did with Linda's full support. So, check out the New Social Worker website and their excellent Facebook group, SW Podcast Facebook group will have lots of goodies this month, as will NASW and your favorite social work organizations. Ok. Here's my piece (please click on this link to read essay: Open Letter to Social Work Professors Who Love Social Work Month).

Download MP3 [6:33]

APA (6th ed) citation for this podcast:

Singer, J. B. (Producer). (2018, March 5). #117 - Happy Social Work Month 2018 [Audio Podcast]. Social Work Podcast. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkpodcast.com/2018/03/swmonth2018.html

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Episode 117] Hey there podcast listeners, Jonathan here. It is March 5th, 2018 and that means we're on day 5 of #SWMonth 2018. For the past 4 years, since 2014, The New Social Worker Magazine has celebrated Social Work Month by publishing inspired and insightful reflections.

# data[].attributes.headline
Ending Gender-BasedViolence: A Grand Challengefor Social Work 

# data[].attributes.subject
Ending Gender-BasedViolence: A Grand Challengefor Social Work 

# data[].attributes.headline
Eradicating Health Inequalities forFuture Generations 

# data[].attributes.subject
Eradicating Health Inequalities forFuture Generations 

# data[].attributes.headline
Reducing and Preventing AlcoholMisuse and Its Consequences

# data[].attributes.subject
Reducing and Preventing AlcoholMisuse and Its Consequences

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
american academy of social work and social welfare

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Grand Challenges for Social Work, led by the American Academy of Social Work & Social Welfare (AASWSW), is a groundbreaking initiative to champion social progress powered by science. Find out more at www.grandchallengesforsocialwork.org.

# data[].attributes.body
Ezequiel Faccio

# data[].attributes.body
http://radical.org.uk/barefoot/domesticviolence.htm

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
UNICEF | Children's Rights & Emergency Relief Organization

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Typically, parents, teachers, students and communities expect schools to provide a safe haven for children to grow, learn, thrive and succeed.

Yet for many students all over the world, violence at school prevents them from fully benefiting from educational opportunities and realizing their potential.

Bullying, sexual harassment, corporal punishment, attacks on schools, school shootings - there are many different forms of violence at school, and they all have a devastating effect on children, their families and communities.

Violence in schools hurts attendance, contributes to lower academic results and leads to higher dropout rates. Ultimately, it damages children's futures.

732 MILLION school-age children, half the global population aged 6 to 17, live in countries where they are not legally protected from corporal punishment at school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What do you really know about violence against children?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Typically, parents, teachers, students and communities expect schools to provide a safe haven for children to grow, learn, thrive and succeed. Yet for many students all over the world, violence at school prevents them from fully benefiting from educational opportunities and realizing their potential.

# data[].attributes.body
https://data.unicef.org/resources/levels-trends-child-mortality/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The United Nations Children's Fund - UNICEF - works for children's rights, their survival, development and protection, guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is family violence?

Family violence is when someone behaves abusively towards a family member. It is part of a pattern of behaviour that controls or dominates a person and causes them to fear for their own or others' safety and wellbeing.

Violent and abusive behaviour includes physical and sexual violence,
and financial, emotional and psychological abuse. Slapping, hitting, rape, verbal threats, harassment, stalking, withholding money, and deliberately isolating someone from their friends and family are some examples of the types of behaviour that occur in family violence.

In Victoria, the meaning of family violence is set out in the Family Violence Protection Act 2008.

Who does family violence affect?

Family violence is most commonly carried out by men against women who are their current or former partners. This is also known as intimate partner violence.

Children living in homes where family violence occurs are affected through witnessing the behaviour or themselves being subject to abuse.

Family violence is also perpetrated by:

people, including family members, who provide support for people with disabilities

adult children against their elderly parent/s

people in same-sex relationships

family members against others in their extended family¹

siblings

How common is family violence?

In Victoria, data on all family incidents attended by police are collated each year. The latest report for 2015-16 shows:

78,012 family incidents, an increase of 10% from the previous year

of those affected, 74.8% were female and 24.8% male.⁴

The incidence of family violence is likely to be much higher than these figures indicate, as many incidents of family violence are never reported.

What causes family violence?

Family violence is complex. We know from international evidence that the major cause is inequality between women and men - that is, the unequal distribution of power, resources and opportunities. Stereotypical ideas about the roles of women and men in society and the way they should behave fosters an environment for violence against women to occur. ⁵

Gender inequality plays out in society in many different ways, including:

'everyday sexism' such as sexual and verbal harassment of women and girls

demeaning and sexualised portrayals of women and girls in the media

fewer women in leadership roles, giving men more control over decision‐making

the gender pay gap, caused by men being paid more than women for the same or similar work

women's sport attracting less sponsorship, prize money and media coverage compared to men's.

In individual relationships, this inequality plays out in the belief that a man is entitled to exercise power and control over his partner and children. Individuals - both women and men - are more likely to condone, tolerate or excuse violence against women when they don't believe women and men are equal, or see them as having firmly set roles or characteristics.

For a detailed description of gendered drivers and reinforcing factors, go to Change the Story: A shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia.

What is the impact of family violence?

Family violence by a partner has an enormous impact on the women and children who experience it and on the community as a whole. Abuse and violence can severely limit the activities of women and children and affect their participation in all aspects of life. ⁶ The impact of violence against women and their children costs the Australian economy more than $21.7 billion per year, and this cost is rising. ⁷

Quick Facts

Across Australia, police are called out to a family violence incident on average once every two minutes

Every three hours a woman is admitted to hospital as a result of family violence⁸

At least one woman a week is killed by a partner or former partner

Intimate partner violence is:

the leading contributor to preventable illness, disability and death for women aged 15 to 44

the single largest driver of homelessness for women

a common factor in child protection notifications.⁹

How women experience family violence

While every woman's experience of family violence is unique, for many women experiencing family violence there is a spiral of increasing abuse (this could be physical, emotional, financial, or a combination), rather than a one-off incident. Family violence often starts with an intimate partner's apparent love transforming into controlling and intimidating behaviour. Over time, the woman is often increasingly isolated from friends and family by her partner. Physical violence may not occur until the relationship is well established, or it may not occur at all. The abusive, violent and controlling behaviours create an environment of fear and constant anxiety in a place where women and children should feel safe and secure.

Common experiences for women include:

constant monitoring and regulation of her everyday activities such as phone calls, social interactions and dress

her every move measured against an unpredictable, ever-changing and unknowable 'rule book'¹⁰

constant put downs by her partner about anything and everything she does

having no control or say over the household finances

criticism of the way she parents her children

disrespectful behaviour towards her in front of their children and others

threats and actual physical violence against her, their children and pets

being blamed for the violence

surveillance using smartphones and other technology.¹¹

Impact on women

Abuse and violence have a destructive effect on women over time. It can affect her:

self-esteem, confidence and ability to make decisions

employment, financial independence and long term security

relationships with children and capacity to be a loving, effective parent

social connections with family, friends and community networks

physical health and wellbeing.

It can cause:

physical injuries, chronic pain and other medical symptoms and illnesses

anxiety, depression, eating, sleep and panic disorders, suicidal behaviour, traumatic and post-traumatic stress disorders

the adoption of risk behaviours that further affect health such as substance and alcohol abuse, and physical inactivity

unwanted pregnancy, difficulties during pregnancy, foetal abnormalities, stillbirth and low birth weight.¹³

Impact on children and young people

Children often hear or witness family violence, and this has a cumulative impact on them. Effects include: ¹⁴

impacts on the brain's neural pathways, affecting cognitive development and stress response systems¹⁵

low self-esteem and difficulties at school affecting their long term employment and financial security

mental health problems including anxiety, depression, symptoms of trauma, eating disorders and, for some, suicide attempts

increased aggression, anti-social behaviour and likelihood of substance abuse

teenage pregnancy.

As well as impacting on health, wellbeing and education, growing up with family violence can affect relationships in later life. Many children who experience family violence do not go on to use violence as adults, but research shows that boys who have been exposed to family violence are more likely to become perpetrators themselves. Meanwhile, girls may be more accepting of intimate partner violence than those who hadn't experienced family violence as children. ¹⁶

Why it is hard for women to leave violent relationships¹⁷

Leaving a violent relationship is difficult and many women will attempt to leave a number of times before finally separating. ¹⁸ There are many reasons for this.
Increased risk of harm

Violence often escalates when the woman is planning to leave or actually leaves, with an increased risk of assault, stalking and murder.

Many family violence homicides occur during the separation period.

Barriers to accessing the system

Women experiencing family violence may not know there are support services that can help them.

Women may not know about the kinds of support available to them; they may feel that services won't be able to help with their situation.

Women may not have access to money and may not know where financial support is available.

A lack of safe and affordable housing options means women may feel there's nowhere to go.

Financial pressures

Lack of access to money or other resources.

Having to leave her job if she needs to be relocated for safety.

Conflicting concerns and priorities

Not wanting to disrupt her children' lives, education, and links to family and community.

Believing it's in her children's best interests to be close to their father.

Continuing to care for her partner and hoping he will change. (Many women don't want to leave the relationship, they just want the violence to stop.)

For some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, the fear of putting their connections to extended kinship and family networks and to land at risk.

For some women with disabilities, the fear of losing the person on whom they feel dependent.

For some immigrant and refugee women, the fear of losing their residency entitlements.

Wanting to avoid the stigma associated with being a single parent.

Social isolation and its effects

Feelings of shame and guilt about the violence or believing it is her fault.

Fear of being isolated or ostracised by her community.

Difficulty making decisions because she has been cut off from friends and family, is exhausted, and/or lacks confidence in her own judgement.

What about men?

There is strong evidence that men are overwhelmingly more likely than women to be perpetrators of family violence than victims. But men also experience family violence.

Many of the male victims of intimate partner violence are in same-sex relationships. For example in the one of the largest surveys of LGBTI people ever conducted, the Private Lives study, found that of the 33 per cent of participants who had experienced intimate partner abuse, 28 per cent were men ¹⁹.

Many males grow up in homes where family violence is present. That most recent statistics show that over half a million women reported that their children had seen or heard partner violence. And over 400,000 women experienced partner violence during pregnancy ²⁰.

There is evidence to show that along with the range of detrimental effects (see link to Impact on children and young people section), exposure to family violence in childhood can increase the risk of males becoming perpetrators in adulthood ²¹.

Both men and women are three times more likely to assaulted by a man than a woman. For women these assaults are more likely to occur in their home whereas men are more likely to be assaulted in a place of entertainment ²².

Find out more:
Flood, M 2013 He hits, she hits: Assessing debates regarding men's and women's experiences of domestic violence.
http://www.xyonline.net/content/he-hits-she-hits-assessing-debates-regarding-men%E2%80%99s-and-women%E2%80%99s-experiences-domestic-violence

No to Violence, 2014 No to Violence response to the One in Three organisation's comments about male victims
http://ntv.org.au/wp-content/uploads/141125-senate-dv-inquiry-NTV-1in3campaign-response.pdf

The Line, What about violence towards men? http://www.theline.org.au/what-about-men

Stark Evan, 2009, Coercive Control: How men entrap women in personal life, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Coercive control: How can you tell whether your partner is emotionally abusive?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/coercive-control-how-can-you-tell-whether-your-partner-is-emotio/

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Family violence is when someone behaves abusively towards a family member. It is part of a pattern of behaviour that controls or dominates a person and causes them to fear for their own or others' safety and wellbeing. Violent and abusive behaviour includes physical and sexual violence, and financial, emotional and psychological abuse.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In Argentina, a woman is killed every 18 hours on account of her gender. The case of Claudia Sierralta, who was shot to death by her ex-partner three years ago on November 20th, exposes a justice system that is broken at its very core.
November 20th, 2014 was a quiet Thursday evening in Salta, the capital of the province of the same name in northwestern Argentina. A public bus stopped across from the Nestor Palacios High School shortly before 9 p.m. When Claudia Sierralta, 33, stepped out, she was violently intercepted by her ex-partner - a police officer and the father of her two youngest daughters. In violation of the restraining order against him, Jose Adrian Chilo used his police-issued firearm to shoot Claudia twice, putting an end to her life almost immediately.

On average, a woman is murdered in Argentina every 18 hours. That translates to roughly nine lives lost every week. Femicide, the act of killing a woman on account of her gender, became an aggravated homicide in the South American nation in 2012. From that point and through August 3, 2016, only 38 femicide cases were registered as having reached a sentence, including Claudia's, representing only 4% of all femicides committed in that period.

Far from being prevented, femicide has reached startling levels in Latin America, cutting thousands of lives short, leaving families with the onerous task of seeking justice and providing for motherless children (in Argentina, 401 children in 2016, to be exact, 60% of them under the age of 18), and highlighting the urgent need to fix a system that is broken at its very core.

Today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, marks the beginning of a 16-day global campaign against gender-based violence. As a growing number of women speak up about sexual harassment and assault, the world has begun to realize the magnitude of this problem. As seen in Claudia's case, breaking the silence is only the first step.

Claudia, a mother of four, had left Chilo a few months prior to her death and was living in Salta with her mother, Elva, who is now responsible for her grandchildren. Once a victim of violence herself, Elva credits the ability to leave Claudia's father in great part to Pro Mujer, a women's development organization serving more than 250,000 low-income women in Latin America. When Claudia left Chilo, Elva suggested that she also join Pro Mujer to get back on her feet.

Victims of violence are often unable to leave an abusive partner because they depend on them financially and lack the support they need from family and friends. Through the loans provided by Pro Mujer, Claudia was able to invest in her mother's leather goods business, leave Chilo and provide for her children. Elva's support throughout Claudia's experiences with violence and the ability to earn an income were determining factors in her leaving an abusive relationship and forging ahead.

Alarmingly, Claudia's cries for help in the shape of police reports went unheeded and Chilo's firearm was not revoked until it was too late, explains Gabriela Rodriguez, one of the attorneys currently handling Claudia's case. At least one fifth of the women murdered last year in Argentina had previously complained to police about their attackers, according to an article, "Murder and Machismo," published by The Economist. In Claudia's case, at least two of her complaints to the police were not filed as reports-a common occurrence in Salta, Rodriguez adds.

The inability of both the state and law enforcement officials to protect a life that was clearly in danger is evident in many femicides. Claudia's case, however, sets an important precedent, says Rodriguez: it is the first femicide conviction of a police officer in Salta Province-one of the most dangerous places for women in the country-and also the first femicide case in which the state has been found partly responsible, due to its inaction. While a further appeal has been made, Rodriguez expects the sentence to stand.

There is a high level of political activism in Argentina when it comes to violence against women. Ni Una Menos (Not One Less), a collective, has convened hundreds of thousands of protesters nationally and abroad since June 2015, putting the issue on the world map. This year, Ley Brisa, a law named after a child whose mother was killed by her partner, was passed in Buenos Aires, establishing financial compensation for underage children whose mothers were victims of femicide.

There have been other advances in legislation, including the Women's Comprehensive Protection Law, passed in 2009, and Law 26,791, which categorized femicide as aggravated homicide and raised the maximum sentence to life in prison in 2012. However, as demonstrated in Claudia's case, stricter legislation alone does not save lives.

Ni Una Menos supporters ask, among other things, that the "National Action Plan for the Prevention, Assistance and Eradication of Violence Against Women" (a section within the Women's Comprehensive Protection Law) be implemented and monitored in full; that victims have full access to justice and counseling through specialized personnel so that cries for help like Claudia's are not dismissed; that every case of gender violence be documented in an official registry to support the creation of effective public policies; that sex education be taught at all school levels, which has been shown to reduce discrimination and gender violence; and that electronic monitoring of victims be implemented to ensure that no restraining order is violated.

"Victims of violence often prefer to go to an NGO rather than to the authorities," says Rodriguez. With this in mind, several non-governmental organizations in Argentina are expanding their gender violence services, attempting to fill some of the gaps left by the state.

Public and private institutions, activists, victims and victims' families are coming together to demand action. No law or sentence can ever bring justice to Claudia and her family. But speaking up, raising awareness, supporting organizations that focus on women's empowerment and violence prevention, and holding law enforcement officials and politicians accountable can help prevent more lives lost in the future. Ni una menos, not one less.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Victims Of Violence Seek Justice in Argentina

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Argentina, a woman is killed every 18 hours on account of her gender. The case of Claudia Sierralta, who was shot to death by her ex-partner three years ago on November 20th, exposes a justice system that is broken at its very core.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In just the first 15 days of this year, there were 13 femicides registered in Argentina, a new study by Ni Una Menos, the women's rights watchdog, has found.

The non-profit publicised statistics showing that 298 femicides occurred in 2017 - one death every 29 hours - and that the data from the first 15 days of January 2018 had averaged out to one woman dying every 28 hours.

Calling for action, Raquel Vivanco, president of Ni Una Menos, railed against the government 'red tape' on women's rights.

"The terrible statistics of femicides, which have not decreased, illustrate the lack of political priority assigned by Mauricio Macri's government to end violence against women in our country, making itself all the more evident with the lack of a budgetary item specifically [addressing the issue] for 2018."

Vivanco added that "18 percent of the female victims murdered during the past year had previous reports [of violence from]their aggressors and 12 percent of said women had protective measures put in place by the justice system, which speaks to the apathy of the state as a whole, all of those deaths could have been avoided."

The national coordinator of MuMaLá denounced that "the implementation of Law 26.485 - of prevention, sanction, and eradication of the violence against women, in place since 2009 - continues without it's application being guaranteed"

The free judicial sponsorship dedicated for women who are victims that anticipated the aforementioned law only offers itself in two cities of the country and no campaigns to raise public awareness have been brought forth, she explained to Diario Popular.

In that sense, she maintained that "the 144 hotline doesn't efficiently address reports despite the great demand that's present. These are only some of the defaults of the State before international human rights organisations and primarily before the women who have their lives taken by machista violence on a daily basis in Argentina."

The report by the organisation summed data that came from the 2017 National Register of Femicides, arguing that 90 percent of femicides were committed by men who were close, intimate friends with the women, and only four percent were committed by strangers, with the remaining six percent of cases having no data.

Women ages 21 to 40 made up 44 percent of the registered femicides. Additionally, 30 percent were adolescent victims between 15 and 25 years old.

52 percent of women the women murdered in 2017 were mothers, 47 percent lived with their aggressor, eight percent had been raped, and six percent were pregnant. The report also added that 13 percent of victims were abused and assaulted, while 28 percent were reported missing.

Another relevant statistic that Ni Una Menos offered is that 65 percent of femicides were committed in the home of the victim. In that vein, 25 percent were committed in public and only three percent in the home of the aggressor. To round out the statistic, three percent happened in a family member's home and four percent in various places (abandoned homes, victim's workplace, or a by-the-hour hotel, or tell).

With respect to the method of these crimes, 28 percent of these victims were killed with a knife, 27 percent with a firearm, 19 percent from asphyxiation, 16 percent were beat to death, four percent died from being burned, four percent varied from being run over, poisoned, pushed from a balcony, and more, while two percent have no data.

To conclude the study, the nonprofit reported that as a result of this violence, there were 312 child orphans. Meanwhile, 13 percent of male aggressors committed suicide.

If you are a victim of gender-based violence contact 144, a free hotline that works across the country, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Ni Una Menos releases alarming statistics, reports 13 femicides in first 15 days of 2018

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
New statistics show that one woman dies every 29 hours at the hands of domestic violence in Argentina.