5WCWS Logo

5th World Conference of Women's Shelters
15-18 Sept 2025

Sydney, Australia

Conference committees

Thank you to all our volunteers from around the globe.

Conference Organising Group

Julie Oberin AM photo
Chair

Julie Oberin AM

CEO, Annie North, 5WCWS Conference Chair and Co-Chair Program Advisory Group, Wesnet Board member and GNWS Founding and Board member

VIC, Australia

Margaret Augerinos photo

Margaret Augerinos

CEO, Centre for Non-Violence (CNV) and Wesnet and GNWS Board member

VIC, Australia

Leanne Barron photo

Leanne Barron

CEO, Starick and Wesnet and GNWS Board member

WA, Australia

Karen Bentley photo

Karen Bentley

CEO, Wesnet, Co-Chair 5WCWS Program Advisory Group, Board Member GNWS Foundation and GNWS Board member

VIC, Australia

Elise Phillips photo

Elise Phillips

Deputy CEO, Domestic Violence NSW and Wesnet and GNWS Board member

NSW, Australia

Nicolette Hughes photo

Nicolette Hughes

Conference Director, Wesnet

NSW, Australia

Program Advisory Group

Julie Oberin AM photo
Co-chair

Julie Oberin AM

CEO, Annie North, 5WCWS Conference Chair and Co-Chair Program Advisory Group, Wesnet Board member and GNWS Founding and Board member

VIC, Australia

Karen Bentley photo
Co-chair

Karen Bentley

CEO, Wesnet, Co-Chair 5WCWS Program Advisory Group, Board Member GNWS Foundation and GNWS Board member

VIC, Australia

Maha Abdo photo

Maha Abdo

CEO, Muslim Women Australia

NSW, Australia

Pan Ay-Woan photo

Pan Ay-Woan

Chairperson, Garden of Hope Foundation

Taiwan

Donna Chung photo

Donna Chung

John Curtin Distinguished Professor, Curtin School of Allied Health

WA, Australia

Bonney Corbin photo

Bonney Corbin

Director of Advocacy, MSI Asia Pacific and Chair, Australian Women's Health Alliance

VIC, Australia

Lula Dembele

General Manager of Lived Experience and Co-production, Good Shepherd Institute

VIC, Australia

Tina Dixson photo

Tina Dixson

Academic, Australian National University (ANU)

ACT, Australia

Rebecca Glenn photo

Rebecca Glenn

CEO, Centre for Women’s Economic Safety

NSW, Australia

Jenny Holmes photo

Jenny Holmes

Project Lead: From Now, Women and Girls Emergency Centre

NSW, Australia

Dr Ang Jury ONZM photo

Dr Ang Jury ONZM

CEO, National Collective of Independent Women’s Refuges and GNWS Board member

New Zealand

Chisato Kitanaka photo

Chisato Kitanaka

Co-chair, All Japan Women's Shelter Network and GNWS Board member

Japan

Dixie Link-Gordon photo

Dixie Link-Gordon

Aunty in Residence, Full Stop Australia & Womens & Girls Emergency Centre

NSW, Australia

Margarita Guillé photo

Margarita Guillé

Executive Coordinator of the Inter American Network of Women Shelters and GNWS Board member

Mexico

Kathleen Maltzahn photo

Kathleen Maltzahn

Chief Executive Officer, Sexual Assault Services Australia

VIC, Australia

Fatima Outaleb  photo

Fatima Outaleb

Human rights and advocacy expert and activist and GNWS Board member

Morocco

Essa Reijmers photo

Essa Reijmers

Senior-policy Advisor and Coördinator of the National Network of Women's Shelters at Valente (Association of Shelters in the Netherlands)

Netherlands

Ashley Slye photo

Ashley Slye

Director of Positively Safe, National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)

USA

Cindy Southworth photo

Cindy Southworth

Host of the 2nd World Conference of Women’s Shelters

USA

Aleid van den Brink photo

Aleid van den Brink

Chair of the GNWS Foundation in the Hague, the Netherlands and First Vice-president of GREVIO (expert group for the monitoring of the Istanbul Convention of the Council of Europe) and GNWS Board member

Netherlands

Patricia Vargas photo

Patricia Vargas

Children, Family and Community Service Catholic Social Services, GNWS Founding member, Board member GNWS Foundation

Canada

Nafula Wafula-Gitonga photo

Nafula Wafula-Gitonga

Co-founder and Programs Lead, Ushindi Empowerment and GNWS Board member

Kenya

Key dates

Women Gathering Elements

Express your interest

Conference starts in

42
weeks
06
days
22
hours
09
minutes

Acknowledgement of country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands and waters throughout Australia and pay respect to the Elders past, present and emerging. We recognise the importance of connection to culture, land, kinship and community to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander families. We acknowledge the cultural practices and traditions still carried out today and being passed down to future generations.

Indigenous Flag
Torres Stait Flag

WESNET and GNWS are committed to UN Sustainable Development Goal no. 5:

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

The 17 GOALS of Sustainable Development sdgs.un.org/goals
Gender Equality logo