Webinars and other events

Presented by

Susan Swain & Karen Bentley

Wednesday 26 March 2020

12:00PM VIC/NSW/TAS
11:30AM SA
11:00AM QLD
10:30AM NT
09:00AM WA

COST: $65

Online safety for frontline workers

Working in the SADFV sector as a frontline worker can bring potential risks to privacy and security.  In today’s world, understanding how to maintain your privacy and security in the online world is a valuable skill for workers that may want to keep a big separation between work and personal lives.  In this webinar, tech safety experts from WESNET will outline some key steps you can take to keep on top of your privacy and security. 


WESNET Members can use free tickets to access this webinar or apply the standard WESNET discount.  Please contact us on 1800WESNET for your discount code. 

Upcoming events and webinars





Wesnet is proud to host the 5th World Conference of Women's Shelters in Sydney
15-18 September 2025

When: 21 March 2024

12:30PM ACT/NSW/VIC/TAS

12:00PM South Australia

11:30AM Queensland

11.00AM Northern Territory

9:30AM Western Australia

Member-only webinar: In conversation with Mia Garlick, Meta

Wesnet members are invited to join us for a special member-only event, in conversation with Mia Garlick, Meta's Director of Policy for Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Islands, Japan and Korea, along with Karen Bentley, Wesnet CEO and expert in the intersection of violence against women and technology.

This briefing - designed especially for women's specialist domestic and family violence services - will provide insights into the particular issues victim-survivors might face being online. Mia will introduce and provide guidance on the tools and features built into Facebook and Instagram that promote privacy and safety. The session will help members to help their clients understand how to make their accounts secure and what to do if abuse happens.

There will be time for Q&As and discussion at the end of the session. Attendees have an opportunity to submit questions at registration as well as during the session.

Please note this webinar will only be available live and will not be recorded.


Past webinars & events

WESNET Member Benefits

WESNET Members are invited to join our webinar to meet some of the WESNET team and hear about programs and other benefits that are available to our members.  

A recording of this webinar is available to members. Please contact Natalie on 1800 937 638 (choose Option 4) to obtain the link or check out the March Member news.

WESNET's 5th Technology Safety Summit

WESNET's Tech Summit is for anyone interested in the intersection between technology and violence against women and is relevant for frontline workers, police, lawyers and other legal professionals, policymakers, researchers, and technologists interested in the intersection of technology, privacy, security and violence against women. Attendees have the opportunity to engage and build relationships across relevant sectors, supporting knowledge sharing and collaboration to address technology-facilitated abuse.

The 5th Technology Safety Summit was held in Melbourne on 16-17 October. 

For more information on the next event head to our Techsafety.org.au website

In case you missed this webinar - you can watch the recording above.

Launch of the Blueprint for Reform

Wednesday, 14 June 2023  |  12:30 pm - 2:00 pm AEST

The Blueprint for Reform was developed by the National Advocacy Group (NAG) to drive action to ensure the safety and support of temporary migrants who experience violence.

This webinar will provide a detailed account of the Blueprint across the four main domains of the migration system, social security (including Medicare), social and public housing, and specialist domestic and family violence and legal services. It will also identify relevant budget measures, their likely impact, and key policy and program shortfalls.

Please join the NAG to discuss these important issues. 

Speakers included:

Professor Marie Segrave, Monash University
Sophie de Rohan, Senior Solicitor, Refugee and Immigration Legal Centre
Professor Manjula Datta O’Connor
Michal Morris, CEO, InTouch
Nuria Alarcon Lopez, Harmony Alliance
Juliana Nkrumah AM, SSI
Karen Bentley, CEO, WESNET (facilitator)

The recording of the webinar is available below:

NGO CSW67 Forum:
Smartphones and Survivors - Using tech to help disrupt domestic violence

Monday, 6 March 7-9pm New York | Tuesday, 7 March at 11am Syd|Mel|Cbr.

Keeping women on tech is vital during domestic violence. The SafeConnections program is a highly successful partnership between an NGO, a telecommunications provider and the Australian government which provides new smartphones to domestic violence victims. 

The program trains shelter workers about how perpetrators misuse smartphones and empowers survivors to set up and use their new device safely. Survivors use the smartphones for a wide range of purposes including connecting to support and thwarting abusers controlling and monitoring tactics. 

Attendees will learn about common ways in which smartphones are being misused and how partnerships can help women stay digitally connected.

Presenters:

Karen Bentley, CEO at WESNET
Joanna Colautti, Tech Safety Specialist at WESNET

The recording of the webinar is available below:

Why women’s specialist services are critical to ending violence against women: A panel discussion

Wednesday, 15 February 2023 - 2:30pm to 4:00pm AEDT

Despite the trend of generalising services to women, women’s specialist services continue to not only achieve better outcomes for women escaping violence, but also to confront gender inequality as the root cause of the problem. Urgent investment is needed – in the right places – to ensure women and children have universal access to the full suite of services they need to be safe in both the short and long term.

Please join Julie Oberin AM, National Chair of WESNET, and guest panellists, to examine the role of women’s specialist services and identify the core reasons why they are so important.

Guest Panellists include: 

Karen Bentley, CEO at WESNET
Nicole Lambert, Vice Chairperson at National Association of Services Against Sexual Violence (NASASV)
Amie Carrington, CEO at Domestic Violence Action Centre (DVAC)
Helen Campbell OAM, Executive Officer at Women’s Legal Services NSW
Michal Morris, CEO at inTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence
Mali Hermans, Senior Policy Officer at First Peoples Disability Network (Australia).

WESNET's 4th Tech Summit

WESNET's Tech Summit is for anyone interested in the intersection between technology and violence against women and is relevant for frontline workers, police, lawyers and other legal professionals, policymakers, researchers, and technologists interested in the intersection of technology, privacy, security and violence against women. Attendees have the opportunity to engage and build relationships across relevant sectors, supporting knowledge sharing and collaboration to address technology-facilitated abuse.

The virtual Tech Summit was held on 20, 21 and 29 September 2022. 

For more information head to our Techsafety.org.au website

Report Launch –Young Women and
Non-Binary People’s Experiences of
Gender-Based Violence across Australia

On 17th February, AWAVA, WESNET, NATSIWA and WWDA launched online the ‘Report on Young Women and Non-Binary People’s Experiences of Gender-Based Violence across Australia‘. The report is available now on AWAVA’s website below.

The webinar launch brought to light key findings of the report and highlighted unique elements of the survey and forum design. It also included a panel of young women and non-binary people, including Is Hay, Margherita Dall’Occo, Mali Hermans and Louise Wellington who discussed violence prevention, reporting mechanisms, service gaps and what meaningful change to end gender-based violence looks like.

In case you missed it or would like to share it with your networks you can watch the report launch webinar recording here.

CSW65 Parallel Event
SafeConnections: Smartphones for Survivors keeping women connected to essential services

Join WESNET at its CSW65 parallel event on Tuesday 23 March (AEDT)* to hear about the SafeConnections program which has provided over 25,000 smartphones and pre-paid credit to survivors in Australia.  

To attend this event you will need to register for the CSW65, but that is free.  

   

THE FINDINGS OF THE SECOND NATIONAL SURVEY ON TECHNOLOGY ABUSE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN AUSTRALIA

24 November 2020: At this webinar, WESNET and Curtin University along with researcher Dr Delanie Woodlock launched the Second National Survey on Technology Abuse and Domestic Violence in Australia

Funded by Telstra, the survey was completed by 442 domestic violence workers across all states and territories in Australia. The survey repeats and expands on the original survey conducted in 2015 by the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria.  A copy of this webinar is available by request.   

Missed one of our webinars and would like us to run it again, please click on the button to contact us. 

Choosing Apps for Survivors of DFV

There are  more than 2 million apps are available in the Apple App store and in the Google Play store. In the past few years, a plethora of safety apps have been developed specifically for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking. WESNET, in partnership with Monash University and Western Sydney University, have been funded by ACCAN to review and assess these mobile safety apps, and we will summarise our findings in this webinar so that victims and the front-line workers who support them can confidently choose an app that works best for them. 

This webinar was brought to you as part of a project funded by ACCAN.

Keeping women safe in a digital world: in conversation with Facebook

21 May 2020

Presenters: Karen Bentley WESNET, and Mia Garlick, Director of Policy, Australia & New Zealand Facebook.

A special industry briefing for the Australian domestic and family violence sector. 

Recording is not available. Sorry you had to be there.  

Supporting women at a distance during COVID-19

22 April 2020

Presenters: Karen Bentley WESNET, and Dr Ang Jury Women's Refuge NZ.

As COVID hit in March 2020, WESNET and Women's Refuge NZ surveyed the frontline sector about the impact and presented a joint webinar.  

A recording of this webinar can be found here

Spyware Briefing for Frontline Workers

5 February 2020

Presenter: Karen Bentley, National Director WESNET

Tech Safety Expert, Karen Bentley provides a deep dive into what you need to know as a frontline worker about spyware.  

Recording is not available. 

The Unique Roles of Specialist Women's Services in Ending Violence Against Women

18 November 2019

Presenter: Dr Merindahl Andrew, Program Manager AWAVA

Recording is available. 

Conferences

Early Bird is now open! 

WESNET will be hosting the fourth Technology Safety Summit in Melbourne on 14-15 May 2020.  

For more information and to register visit the conference website. 

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