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Caught between two cultures

A sexual and reproductive health program for young African women

Women’s Health West runs a family and reproductive rights education program (FARREP) designed to prevent female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) and enhance service provision to women already affected by the practice.

This includes community education sessions designed for mothers and pregnant women who have migrated from African countries that practice FGM/C. The sessions focus on sexual and reproductive health and other women’s health concerns.

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Action plan to prevent violence against women wins accolade

Health Minister David Davis presented Women’s Health West and consortium with the prestigious VicHealth award for the western region action plan to prevent violence against women last night

Preventing Violence Together: Western Region Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women was named the best project in the Building health through community and local government category in the 25th Victorian Health Promotion Foundation Awards.

Women’s Health West is the lead agency for the prevention of violence against women in the western metropolitan region of Melbourne.

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Why do we need a sexual and reproductive health strategy for the western region?

Melbourne’s western region is home to many communities that are disproportionately affected by sexual and reproductive ill health.

Action is needed here because our region:

  • Features two of Melbourne’s four designated ‘growth corridors’, resulting in an exponential population growth that exerts enormous pressure on service provision
  • Reported a 64 per cent increase in chlamydia notifications between 2008 and 2011
  • Is home to one in four of Melbourne’s teenage parents
  • Shows an emerging street sex trade in Footscray, which is associated with drug dependence and injecting drug use
  • Hosts five of Victoria’s 14 prisons; this large prison population is known to have poorer sexual and reproductive health outcomes than the general population

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Annual general meeting

Join us for a feminist debate on Wednesday 28 November 2012 as we examine the statement:

Children’s health, safety and wellbeing is intrinsically linked to that of women

  • Does promoting women’s link with children as intrinsic act against the interests of feminism by excluding men and tying women’s identity and status to mothering?
  • If you strengthen a woman’s capacity to have control over her decisions and her life, do you increase her capacity to keep her kids safe?
  • Are children’s rights distinct from women’s rights?

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Little Picassos secure funds to recover from violence

Children who have experienced family violence now have the opportunity to recover through art thanks to a Commonwealth Bank grant that Women’s Health West received to run Little Picassos – art workshops for creative kids. The therapeutic group will support children aged 5-12 to create art and talk to counsellors about ongoing problems at home or school.

Women’s Health West, a specialist family violence organisation, is enormously grateful to the Commonwealth Bank for these funds. Our two part time children’s counsellors are the only specialist counsellors in the western suburbs who can provide a free service for children suffering trauma following family violence.

‘According to Victoria Police children were present at 2,502 family violence incidents in 2011-12 but during this period WHW was funded to see only 95 children,’ said Sally, WHW Children’s Counsellor.

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