About WESNET

Purpose

Objectives

Background

Catalysts for change

Representation

Broader membership

Policies

Constitution

Committees

Achievements

With almost 400 members across Australia, WESNET represents a range of organisations and individuals including women’s refuges, safe houses and information/ referral services.

Through its Canberra based National Office and Secretariat, and via its large national network of members and associate members, WESNET plays an important role in identifying unmet needs, canvassing new and emerging issues, facilitating policy and sector debate and lobbying government to provide improved responses to the problem of domestic and family violence within our community, in partnership with non-government stakeholders.

PURPOSE

WESNET is a national women's peak advocacy body which facilitates and promotes policy, legislative and programmatic responses relevant to women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence.

WESNET advances responses which:

• Ensure the safety of women and children;
• Empower them to live free of violence; and
• Improve the social, political and economic status of women.

WESNET works within a feminist framework which promotes an understanding of domestic and family violence as gendered violence. In addition WESNET acknowledges that women and children’s experiences are also intrinsically shaped by their race, ethnicity, ability, age and class.

OBJECTIVES

(a) To provide leadership as a national women's peak advocacy body in relation to domestic and family violence.

(b) To contribute to and monitor policies, legislation and programs which impact on women and children experiencing domestic and family violence.

(c) To promote equity of access to services for all women including Aboriginal women, Torres Strait Islander women, women from immigrant, refugee and/or non-English speaking background, women in rural and isolated areas, older women, young women and women with a disability, and give issues relating to equity of access highest priority.

(d) To promote community awareness of violence against women and its personal and social consequences at a national level and support and facilitate the community education role of services at a local level.

(e) To undertake research relating to the provision of support and accommodation services for women and children escaping violence and for women using SAAP funded services for other reasons.

(f) To build and promote collaborative relationships with key stakeholders.

(g) To ensure a viable, well governed and credible organisation representing WESNET members nationally.

BACKGROUND

WESNET was first conceived in December 1992 during the national evaluation of the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), which identified a lack of national representation of the needs of women and children utilising SAAP services. Incorporated in 1994 after extensive sector consultation, WESNET was originally established to represent women’s services funded through the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP), including women’s refuges, safe houses, women’s housing programs, domestic violence outreach, information and referral services.

WESNET’s initial purpose was to improve and promote high quality service provision to women and women with children who are escaping domestic violence or who are homeless for some other reason.

WESNET has achieved a number of key outcomes since incorporation, including:

• Our establishment as a well respected peak body and key contributor to national domestic and family violence policy and debate.
• Facilitating national debate and networking of women’s services through our newsletter Accommodating Women, convening sector forums and the hosting of two national conferences.
• Positive contributions to national policy including: introduction of Centrelink Crisis Payment for women and children escaping domestic and family violence; increased resources for Indigenous family violence responses; reforms to domestic violence provisions under immigration law; significant input into the development of SAAP and PADV.
• Conducting important research projects on key issues such as: examining domestic and family violence in rural and remote communities; developing national model domestic violence laws; examining the link between homeless and violence against women.

CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE

There are a number of catalysts for change, many of which are affecting all national peak bodies.

Changes to government policy regarding the funding of peak and national non-government organisations has resulted in a total loss of core secretariat funding for WESNET. However, WESNET’s strong consultative processes, valued networking skills and policy expertise have meant we continue to receive project funds for short-term consultancies and research initiatives.

Policy and programmatic changes to the way domestic and family violence is responded to in Australia requires that WESNET also change to ensure our policy development and advice remains up to date and relevant. These changes include rapidly expanding domestic and family violence responses making the range of relevant stakeholders broader than ever.

Domestic and family violence responses now encompass all non-government sectors, a vast range of specialist and generalist service providers working within a plethora of service delivery models.

Some crucial aspects of domestic and family violence have not changed, however, principally the gendered nature of this violence which overwhelmingly affects women and children and which is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men. There is a continuing need to continue the development of feminist responses to and analyses of violence against women and this will remain a core function of WESNET.

At the same time, WESNET wishes to reflect the growing awareness that all women’s experience of violence is not the same and that factors, such as race, ethnicity, age, class and ability, are all defining factors along with gender.

Accordingly, WESNET has embraced the dual terms of ‘domestic and family violence’ in response to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women’s assertions that the term ‘domestic’ violence unnecessarily limits and fails to encapsulate their experiences of violence and the reverberating impact of that violence on their communities.

The link between women’s homelessness and domestic and family violence remains a strong one. WESNET is one of the three constituent organisations of the Australian Federation of Homelessness Organisations (AFHO). Whilst no longer a core policy area for WESNET, through its on-going involvement with AFHO, WESNET will continue to shape policy responses relating to women’s homelessness.

Indeed a key aspect of WESNET’s on-going work is research aimed at improving domestic and violence interventions that prevent homelessness. WESNET hopes to see a change to the way domestic and family violence is responded to so as to ensure that women and children are removed from their homes as a last option rather than as standard practice.

REPRESENTATION

We are confident that these changes have strengthened WESNET’s role as a women's sector domestic and family violence peak body and national advocate for women and children as well as enabling greater responsiveness to the needs of WESNET members.

As a result of the restructure, WESNET adopted a new vision statement that reflects its move from a ‘representative’ peak to a ‘value driven’ peak as well as providing a clear focus for the organisation and its work:

• WESNET seeks to ensure that all women and children live free of domestic and family violence and its consequences.
• WESNET’s new purpose describes the way in which WESNET seeks to achieve the aspirational goal encompassed by its vision:

WESNET is a national women's peak advocacy body which facilitates and promotes policy, legislative and programmatic responses relevant to women and children who have experienced domestic and family violence. WESNET advances responses which:

• Ensure the safety of women and children.
• Empower women and children to live free of violence.
• Improve the social, political and economic status of women.

WESNET works within a feminist framework which promotes an understanding of domestic and family violence as gendered violence. In addition WESNET acknowledges that women and children’s experiences are also intrinsically shaped by their race, ethnicity, ability, age and class.

The WESNET National Committee comprises delegates from each State and Territory to ensure adequate national coverage of diverse policy issues is achieved. Additionally, WESNET is ensures an on-going commitment to cultural diversity through specified committee positions for Indigenous women and women from immigrant, refugee and/or non-English speaking backgrounds.

All WESNET members are entitled to nominate and vote in national committee elections (associate members may not vote or nominate but can participate in WESNET in other ways).

BROADER MEMBERSHIP

WESNET has resolved to broaden its membership base beyond the SAAP sector to include all women's services and individual women who have an interest in domestic and family violence and who agree to work for and within WESNET’s vision, purpose and objectives. This is in recognition that SAAP services are now only part of a broad range of responses to domestic and family violence in Australia.

Additionally, WESNET is seeking to expand its associate membership base to include a wide range of other non-government organisations and individuals who have an interest in domestic and family violence and who support the vision, purpose and objectives of WESNET.

The benefits of membership and associate membership include participation in a nationally productive organisation with strong networks at the state and territory level.

WESNET encourages all organisations and individuals interested in becoming members or associate members to use the membership form on this site or to contact our national office on (02) 6247 1616.