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Social Impact

Messages from the aether: August 2018

Domestic and family violence, climate change and voluntary assisted dying (VAD) were some of the pertinent issues discussed at Uniting Church in Australia’s 15th Triennial Assembly meeting in July. Elsa Samuel reviewed these sites that advocate and inform on these issues.

stopdomesticviolence.com.au/blog

The Australian Stop Domestic Violence Conference blog is packed with reports and news on stopping violence against women, men and children of all races, orientation and social standing. The  blog is based on the annual national conference, which works to provide a platform to network and collaborate on the challenges and successes of behaviour change. ‘The domestic violence  statistics you need to know’, ‘Why survivors of repeated traumas carry so much shame and secretly blamed themselves’ and ‘A third of corporate Australia is feeling stressed, anxious and depressed’ are some good reads I found.

dwdv.org.au/news-informationdwd-podcast

The Dying with Dignity Victoria (DWDV) podcast covers information on law and policy making on VAD. DWDV, a law reform and education organisation pursuing public policies and laws which enhance self-determination and dignity at the end of life, created the 19 episode-podcast during its 2017 campaign to secure a VAD law. The experiences they share in campaigning for a safe and  compassionate VAD law is thought-provoking and insightful to anyone interested in the issue. Each episode interviews a range of brilliant people connected to VAD issues and contains progress  reports as legislation was being voted on in Parliament.

nytimes.com/section/climate

The New York Times’ (NYT) news blog on climate and environment covers breaking news, multimedia, reviews, opinions on global warming and climate change. Posts are written by the NYT’s  climate team reporters and various subject matter experts. ‘Climate change is complex. We’ve got answers to your questions’, ‘Nights are warming faster than days. Here’s why that’s dangerous’ and ‘76 Environmental Rules on the way out under Trump’ are some of the posts I found informative. Follow them on Twitter at @nytclimate to receive their latest updates.

Elsa Samuel