News from around the country:

• New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse released its 2015 family violence data summaries. New Zealand Police data showed that while there is a rise in reported cases, fewer are actually being resolved. Spokespeople from Women’s Refuge and Shine stated that combating family violence is a “shared responsibility”

• The Press Council has ruled against the New Zealand Herald, stating it had “fallen sadly short” of standards of media freedom and professionalism, following complaints over its controversial “ponytail gate” article

• A transgender shopper was humiliated after she overheard a Farmers shop assistant asked colleagues if it was okay to let a “half-man, half-woman” into the women’s changing rooms

• The Human Rights Commission put the spotlight on the government with its National Plan of Action. The interactive tool shows what the UN recommended we do and monitors what our government has agreed to do

• An Australian study found that cyber abuse is increasing among perpetrators of violence against women and anti-violence agencies in New Zealand have expressed growing concern over the use of technology to stalk ex-partners

• Former All Black Mils Muliaina has been charged by Welsh Police with sexual assault on a female aged 16 or over

International news:

• Tonga’s King and Privy Council opposed the government’s commitment to ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)

• Australian health workers and humanitarian staff have spoken out about new laws which could see them criminalised for disclosing abuses at detention centres

• Toymaker LEGO has launched a collection of figurines which aim to encourage girls to get into science and engineering. The new figures will be released on August 1 and include veterinarians, aerospace engineers, mechanics, racing pit crew members, and a deep sea explorer

• The Girl Scouts of Western Washington has crowd-funded over $250,000 after returning a $100,000 donation to a donor who insisted the money couldn’t be used to help transgender girls

• Tasmania announced they want government boards and committees to have female representation of at least 50% by 2020

• Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has nominated leading lawyer Anisa Rasooli to become the country’s first ever female Supreme Court judge

• Forbe’s annual Celebrity 100: The World’s Highest-Paid Superstars of 2015 featured only 16 women who earned a combined $809 million, compared with $4.35 billion for the men

• India’s prime minister urged parents to share selfies with their daughters (#SelfieWithDaughter) on social media in a bid to curb rising rates of female feticide

• Cuba has become the first country in the world to stop the transmission of the AIDS virus from mothers to babies

• Ballerina Misty Copeland become the American Ballet Theatre’s first African-American female principal dancer in the theatre’s 75-year history
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Latest research:

• The Human Rights Commission’s newly released Tracking Equality at Work report showed we need to do more to help women in the workplace. National Council of Women of New Zealand’s National President Rae Duff said the results were “shameful” and show that “women remain underrepresented, underpaid and undervalued.”

• A University of Auckland study has found that including dads in positive parenting programmes which focus on father engagement and teamwork help to improve children’s behaviour and families’ overall relationships

• An Australian study into sexual harassment in the workplace has revealed a higher-than-expected level of male-on-male harassment complaints. Incidences included homosexual slurs and taunts about ‘non-masculine’ conduct and appearances. Of the cases studied, 78% were about men harassing women.

NCWNZ Annual Debate 2015: Dollars and $ense

If you're in Wellington on the 21st July, make sure you join us to hear MPs speak about the economic impact of domestic violence and what their party’s response is to the recommendations arising from the recent report: Productivity Gains from Workplace Protection of Victims of Domestic Violence. Check out the Facebook event for more details.

ENDS

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