Join UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand for the 2nd in the Series of "In Discussion With..." where we will hear from acclaimed international guest speaker Brooke Axtell and an extraordinary panel of frontline voices and advocates sharing their experiences and lessons in the elimination of violence against women.

Brooke Axtell is a champion and advocate for women around the world who have experienced sexual violence and trauma.

Moderated by Jan Logie MP with panelists Rob McCann, Dr Natalie Thorburn and Yvonne Churches, we listen first hand to educate and empower our members and audience as we unite the Nation in support of the 16 Days of Activism campaign.

Host:

Tara Singh, UN Women Aotearoa NZ President

Tara’s philanthropic work and leadership has positioned her as a public advocate for women and girl child issues, clean energy/sustainability in business and environmental conservation, and animal welfare and rights. As a repeat delegate to the White House and United Nations, the essence of Tara’s professional life’s mission is to support women and youth and to empower our next generation of global leaders. Working with the support of the United Nations, Tara is a regular forum and session participant, serving on working groups and committees including the UN’s Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development’s (IANYD) Youth and Gender Equality and UN Women’s Business and Philanthropy Leaders’ Forum.

Guest Speaker:

Brooke Axtell

Brooke Axtell is a writer, speaker, performing artist and human rights activist. She is the author of the memoir Beautiful Justice,and founded She is Risingto advocate for survivors of sex trafficking and gender violence. Brooke has spoken at the United Nations, The U.S. Institute for Peace, Stanford University and the 2015 Grammys. At the Women Ministers and Parliamentarians Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, Brooke gave a keynote for 50 Members of Parliament and Ministers from 28 Asia-Pacific countries. Her work has been featured in many media outlets, including the New York Times, LA Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Rolling Stone and CNN. She lives in Austin, Texas and is currently working on her forthcoming poetry book entitled Southern Girls Never Die.

Moderator:

Jan Logie MP

Jan Logie was Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Justice (Domestic and Sexual Violence Issues) in the past Parliament where she led and championed work in this area. In the current Parliament she Green Party Musterer and Green Party Spokesperson for Workplace Relations & Safety, Child Poverty Reduction, Children, Disability, ACC, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Public Services and Women. In Parliament she has been a champion for those affected by domestic and sexual violence and for women’s and workers’ rights. She initiated a select committee inquiry into funding for specialist sexual abuse and social services, and her Domestic Violence — Victims’ Protection Act, designed to protect victims and reduce the significant economic impact of domestic violence came into force on 1 April 2019.

Panelists:

Rob McCann (White Ribbon)

Rob McCann is the White Ribbon Manager, but being a very small team undertakes a variety of tasks. White Ribbon's kaupapa is 'ending men's violence towards women' and has been focusing on healthy masculinity and respectful relationships as protections against violence. Rob is also a Councillor at the Kapiti Coast District Council with the portfolios of housing and social wellbeing. He has worked in communications and has a background in marketing and event management leading White Ribbon since 2009

Dr Natalie Thorburn (Women's Refuge)

Natalie is the principal policy advisor for NCIWR, and is a registered social worker who has primarily practised in the sexual violence field. She has a PhD in the field of gendered violence and leads NCIWR’s research programme into various aspects of family violence.

Yvonne Churches (Hestia Women's Refuge)

Yvonne has been an advocate at Hestia Women's Refuge for 15 years. She help's support women who are, or who have been in abusive relationships.

Kiran Pannu (UN Women Aotearoa NZ Volunteer)

Kiran Pannu is heading into the fourth year of her LLB/BCom conjoint at the University of Auckland. After High School, she represented New Zealand on a youth delegation around the world to learn about the Sustainable Development Goals. Throughout her studies Kiran has maintained her passion for eradicating social issues such as gender based violence through civics education. Kiran has taken teaching roles at conferences as well as coordinating an event.

Rebecca Ashby (UN Women Aotearoa NZ Volunteer)

Rebecca is excited to be apart of the 16 days of activism campaign. She is passionate about gender equality and women’s rights around the world. She has a background in International Development and has spent the last few years working for women refuges, most recently helping out on the crisis line for Hestia Women’s refuge.

All donations will be gifted to the Kiribati Women & Children Support Centre, one of the UN Women Pacific initiates we support.

Kiribati has one of the Pacific region’s highest domestic violence prevalence rates, according to the 2010 Kiribati Family Health and Support Study.

Every woman and girl has the right to live her life without the threat of violence, and we’re proud to support KWCSC and other agencies across the Pacific committed to ending violence against women and children.

Please note your generous donation does not automatically generate a ticket - you need to order this as well.

A Zoom link to join the event will be sent to registered participants on Wednesday 1 December.

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