Registration will close May 28, 2025 at

The provisional conference program below will be updated regularly as planning proceeds and is subject to change.


Please note that the conference timing is in Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).

Conference Registration
Welcome & Opening Remarks

Welcome to Country - Wurundjeri Peoples of the Kulin Nation

Welcome to Conference
Professor Jacqui True, CEVAW Director

Welcome Remarks
High-level Ambassador/Minister

Keynote Speaker 1
Baroness Arminka Helic [TBC]
Q&A

Morning Tea
First Plenary – The Fight Continues: Justice for CRSV on the 25th Anniversary of WPS

Ambassador Dr Arlene Tickner, Ambassador at Large for Gender Affairs and Global Feminist Policy, Colombia
Dr Fiona Hukula, Gender Specialist, Pacific Islands Forum
Leonésia Tecla da Silva, Southeast Asia Women Peace Mediators steering committee member from Timor-Leste
Prof Elizabeth Wood, Yale University, USA (CEVAW Partner Investigator)

Moderator: Sally Moyle, CEVAW Advisory Council Chair

Conference Photo and Lunch
Second Plenary – State of CRSV in the Indo-Pacific: Perspectives and Insights

Daphne Alega Macatimbol, Regional Gender Advisor/Manager at Nonviolent Peaceforce (Marawi, the Philippines)
Bhavani Fonseka, Centre for Policy Alternatives (Sri Lanka)
Maria Bawk Ja, Coordinator, Kachin Women’s Peace Network and Steering Committee Member of Gender Equality Network (Myanmar)
Artemis Akbary, Executive Director, Afghan LGBTIQ+ Organisation (ALO)

Moderator: Dr Noeleen Heyzer, CEVAW Advisory Council

Concurrent Session 1

Australian and Indigenous Experiences of Conflict and Genocide

● Dr June Oscar, Director First Nations Gender Justice Centre, Australian National University (tbc)
● Professor Christina Twomey, Monash University
● Mitra Khakbaz, Australian Coalition for Women, Peace and Security

Moderator: Dr Julie Ballangarry, CEVAW Associate Investigator

Impunity and Silence: The Struggle of Survivors of Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Myanmar

● Gender Equality Network (GEN)
● International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)

Moderator: Associate Professor Nicholas Cheeseman, Myanmar Research Centre, Australian National University

Strengthening Survivor-Centred Approaches: Policy, Response and Reporting

● Dashakti Reddy, University of Bergen
● Queenie Tomaro, Arlyssa Bianca, Lynrose Jane D. Genon, Griffith University/QUT
● Emma Gerhady, Girls Run the World (Women in Strategic Policy)
● Associate Professor Jasmine-Kim Westerndorf, University of Melbourne

Moderator: Professor Bina D’Costa, CEVAW Chief Investigator

Afternoon Tea
Third Plenary – Survivor-Centred Approaches to Addressing CRSV: From Knowledge to Action

Vichuta Ly, Lawyer (Cambodia)
Dr Susan Risal, Chief Executive Officer, Nagarik Aawaz (Nepal)
Lilly Besoer, Executive Director, Voice for Change (Papua New Guinea)
Noor Azizah, Rohingya Maiyafuinor Collaborative Network (Australia)

Moderator: Dr Phyu Phyu Oo, Research Fellow, CEVAW

Evening Reception

Venue: State Library of Victoria - Isabella Fraser Room

Keynote speaker: HE Ms Stephanie Copus Campbell AM, Ambassador for Gender Equality
MC: Prof. Jacqui True, CEVAW Director

Introduction Remarks

Introduction Remarks: Richard Iron CMG OBE, AIIA

Keynote Speaker: Professor Kim Thuy Seelinger, Washington University at St. Louis, USA
Q&A

Moderator: Rae Sharp KC, Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions

Morning Tea
First Plenary – Evidence and Access in Real Time

Dr Louise Olsson, Peace Research Institute, Oslo, Norway (CEVAW Partner Investigator)
Professor Bina D’Costa, CEVAW Chief Investigator
Katie Rougvie, UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Legal Action Worldwide (tbc)

Moderator: The Honourable Justice Lesley Taylor

Lunch
Concurrent Session 2

Women’s Human Rights Defender-Led Initiatives to Address Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Southeast Asia

The Asia Foundation Roundtable

Moderator: Carla Silbert

Legal Responses and Accountability Mechanisms in Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
● Meas Sa Im, Dan Church Aid and Marie Wilmet, Université Libre de Bruxelles
● Dr Olivera Simic, Griffith University
● Natalie Heni Maihi Fennell, The University of Queensland
● Hitomi Fujimoto, Policy and Advocacy Officer for Asia, Global Survivors Fund

Moderator: Allanah Colley, The University of Melbourne


Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and Agency: Resistance, Resilience and Redress (Hybrid)

Chamindra Weerawardhana, Consortium for Intersectional Justice, Sri Lanka
Rachel Banfield, Monash University
Tishya Killare, Council for Strategic and Defence Research India
Noella Franklin, University of Wollongong

Moderator: Dr Helen Stenger, CEVAW Research Fellow

Concurrent Session 3

CRSV and GBV against Ethnic Minorities, LGBTIQ+ and Politically Active Women in Afghanistan (Hybrid)

● Artemis Akbari
● Dr Shaharzad Akbar
● Dr Farkhondeh Akbari

Moderator: Dr Abbas Farasoo

Frontline Advocates for Access to GBV and CRSV services for women and girls (Hybrid)

Angela Apa, Kup Women for Peace (KWP)
Highlands Women Human Rights Defenders Network
Aiko Nagae, Griffith University

Moderator: Priya Dhanani, CEVAW PhD Candidate
Empowering Voices: Ending Impunity for Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Myanmar

Alliance for CRSV in Myanmar (Burmese Women’s Union)
Mukwege Foundation

Moderator: Hana Hanifah, CEVAW PhD Candidate

Afternoon Tea
Second Plenary – Centering Survivors Access to Justice

Associate Professor Jasmine-Kim Westerndorf, University of Melbourne
Dr Arifah Rahmawati (AWPR Indonesia) Gadjah Mada University
MURAD Code (tbc)
Global Survivors Fund Asia Pacific representative


Moderator: Professor Sara Davies, CEVAW Deputy Director, Indo-Pacific Research

Statement of Action and Next Steps

- CEVAW and AIIA Team, Speakers