A good article on Elsies, a womens refuge in Sydney, Australia, founded and run by feminists when there was *nothing* to aid battered women. They won government funding, but with conservatives now in power, they have given it over into the hands of a Catholic charity, and are now lumping abused womens need for refuge and trauma services in with homelessness. After all, what government would be foolhardy enough to give to the Catholic Church, of all organisations – especially right now (Royal Commission, anyone?) – the poster girl of the women’s refuge movement, the place that was established by women’s movement activists (I was one) 40 years ago last March and has been women-run, on feminist principles, ever since. But it’s true. As of November 1, Domestic Violence NSW Service Management, the peak body (women-run, on feminist principles) that has been responsible for Elsie and 11 other women’s refuges, will hand over the management of Elsie to Vinnies, as they like to be called. Elsie was given to Vinnies as part of their sucessful tender to provide services for the Inner West Family Homelessness Support Service. DVSM had tendered to keep Elsie and its other refuges but was unsuccessful. These refuges have all been given to other organisations, most of them large religious charities, although the refuges in Bourke and Forbes have been given directly to the Catholic Church. DVSM was, instead, awarded a set of services in Blacktown that will require them to, among providing other services, cater to homeless men with children. dailylife.au/news-and-views/take-action/anne-summers-on-the-fight-to-save-womenonly-refuges-20140628-3b04j.html
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 20:45:27 +0000
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