MENU

MENU

Donate Now
Login

Author: AWARE Media

home

Position Filled: AWARE Ball Project Coordinator

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE’s Secretariat department is looking for a Ball Project Coordinator for its annual fundraising gala on Saturday, 2 November 2019.

The Ball Project Manager will work with a team to plan and execute the AWARE Ball from the initial conception of the event to its successful completion. This role requires excellent event-planning skills along with the ability to define project milestones and deadlines and coordinate both teams and external contractors to ensure a successful and enjoyable event that meets organizational goals and expectations.

They need to balance creativity with logistics, project and vendor and sponsor management duties. They should excel at multitasking and balancing big-picture concerns like fundraising strategy with details like décor and menu selection, effectively utilizing resources and personnel to stage the large-scale event.

More information about the past 2018 Ball can be found here: https://www.aware.org.sg/revolution-ball-2018/#intro

Position: Ball Project Manager

Commitment: Part time, 4 days a week

Contract Period: July 2019 to 31 November 2019

Last day of application: 30 June 2019

Please apply here.

(Read our privacy policy here.)

Job description:

Responsibilities – Support Fundraising Senior Executive to carry out the following tasks:

  • Setting, communicating and maintaining timelines and priorities
  • Vendor and Sponsor Management
  • Manage event logistics including transportation of collaterals, gifts and auction items, venue set-up, entertainment schedule to ensure that the event runs smoothly and according to schedule
  • Manage other operational and administrative functions to ensure project is delivered efficiently
  • Record and track project budget
  • Recruit and train volunteers for the event
  • Prepare contingency plans for event
  • Analyse the event’s success and prepare post event reports to improve on future Balls
  • Support Ball Committee’s progress
  • Organise meetings with staff and Ball Committee to ensure productive outcomes
  • Other tasks necessary to ensure a successful event

Requirements:

  • Strong project management and event planning skills: highly creative, adaptable, a self-starter, able to work independently
  • Relevant experience in and adept at managing logistics and people
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Proficient with Google App, especially Google Docs and Sheets
  • Superb time-management and organisational skills
  • Competency in maintaining positive and effective working relationships with a broad range of stakeholders
  • Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE

If you have any questions about this position, please email fundraising@aware.org.sg

A Recap: CFPR’s Book Launch of Family and Population in Asia

Written by Meryl Yu, AWARE Intern

“Inequality tends to compound and amplify already existing gaps,” said Dr. Vincent Chua, professor of Sociology and researcher with the NUS Centre for Family and Population Research (CFPR).

Dr. Chua was one of the academics speaking at CFRP’s latest book launch and forum on 6 June 2019. The book, Family and Population in Asia, is a compilation of 30 bilingual essays on topics extending from gender roles and marriage to social networks.

It may be easy to dismiss the prevalence of inequality by pointing towards Singapore’s narrowing GINI coefficient, said Dr. Chua. However, inequality can exist in the most benign ways, hitting the most vulnerable. His words resonated with AWARE’s mission to recognise the intersectionality of discrimination experienced by women, and address how inequality cumulates and overlaps in manifold ways.

Here are three key insights from the forum:

1.  We Have to Recognise Invisible Markers of Inequality

When we think of inequality, conventional markers like income, wealth and material assets come to mind. However, Dr. Chua argues, who and how many people you know matters too. He brought to the forefront the idea of network inequality—how social networks determine life chances, such as access to jobs, education and mental health. For example, all else being equal, just knowing a university graduate is correlated with an increase in one’s monthly earnings—by $180 per graduate.

This raises the question: Who has more connections, and who has fewer? Not surprisingly, Dr. Chua found that women, racial minorities and the poor have less access to “high-stakes” contacts.

Frequently, access to these high-value social contacts is tied to the institutions where people make such contacts. Therefore, as long as “elite” domains and universities continue to have unequal representation, the disadvantaged will continue to suffer the ramifications of network inequality, Dr. Chua explained.

The main takeaway is this: Sometimes, the manifestations of inequality may be invisible and hard to detect. Nevertheless, though they lurk beneath the surface, invisible markers of inequality can have very tangible effects on material, visible forms of inequality, warranting attention on our part.

2.  Gendered Parenting Roles Still Persist

While female participation in the workforce has undeniably increased, women still face tensions grappling with public and private expectations.

“On the one hand, women are empowered to work more and become more educated, but in the private sphere, experiences are still more traditional,” shared Dr Mu Zheng, professor of Sociology and panelist at the event.

In China’s middle class, Dr Zheng observes a rising trend of stay-at-home-moms who are well-educated. She explains: Where child-rearing responsibilities exist, women, not men, are the ones who are expected to sacrifice their professional lives.

Why do women have to choose between one or the other? The satisfaction one derives from child-rearing and career-building should not be mutually exclusive. Dr Zheng’s recommendation for there to be more equal sharing of caregiving responsibilities is one we highly welcome.

3.  Do Away with Obligation and Emphasise Love

It is easy to shrug off the challenges of family caregivers in the name of filial piety. Children are supposed to care for parents in old age, no complaints allowed. However, Dr Tan Ern Ser, professor of Sociology and another panelist, presented a surprising finding: Filial piety is not a reliable basis for intergenerational support. On the contrary, when parents overly emphasise obligation, filial piety becomes wrongly experienced as oppression, eventually breeding resentment.

Hence, Dr Tan’s main message was this: Inculcate love in your family, not obligation.

 

The eye-opening forum shed light on the fact that tackling inequality is an ongoing, continuous project. While we can and should applaud the milestones we have made as a society, forums such as this remind us that there is always space to do more.  

One community who has been silently suffering is family caregivers of the elderly. Only in past years has there been increasing media discourse on the topic. AWARE’s research on eldercare has found that the role of primary caregiver tends to be unfairly thrust onto unmarried daughters. This is ultimately harmful in the long run, because when women leave work for caregiving duties, they lose vital job contacts, and in turn face greater difficulties re-entering the workforce. While Dr Tan’s wish for Singaporeans to emphasise love above all is heartening, at the end of the day, caregiving is physically, emotionally and financially draining. Caregivers make very material sacrifices in the process of giving care, whether out of love or filial piety. The loss of time, income and potential for professional development are not easily recovered in later years, hence entailing support.

In our ageing society, most of us will end up caring for an aged parent or spouse. That is why we can no longer afford to remain indifferent to inequality of all kinds.

Closed: Volunteer Counsellor, AWARE Women’s Care Centre

AWARE is looking for a volunteer counsellor to join us at our Women’s Care Centre.

Position: Volunteer counsellor
Application deadline: 15 August 2019

Role description:

The Women’s Care Centre provides help and information for women who are in distress or uncertainty. The counselling service helps women work through the many different problems they face—marital problems, sexual assault, childhood trauma, self-esteem issues, grief and loss, etc.

You are expected to commit 2 years to volunteer at AWARE with a minimum of 90 hours of counselling over the course of the year.

Requirements:

You should possess the following attributes:

  • Have a degree (bachelor’s, master’s degree, or postgraduate) in Counselling or Social Work
  • Have at least 1 year of counselling experience and/or at least 180 counselling hours.
  • Be proficient in spoken and written English, and preferably one other language: Chinese, Malay or Tamil
  • Strong belief in gender equality and the values of AWARE

If you are interested in volunteering in this position, please fill up this interest form. If you have any questions, or are facing any issues with the interest form, please send an email to awarehelp@aware.org.sg.

26 June 2019: Hidden in Plain Sight – A Discussion on Child Sexual Abuse

Child sexual abuse is a topic that many of us have heard of. Maybe we have encountered people who have experienced it. These cases may not be clear cut, and they can be challenging to manage – especially when the child is very young, or when the abuse is perpetrated by someone who should be caring for the victim.

As a recent Channel NewsAsia op-ed by AWARE’s Laika Jumabhoy explains, supporting child sexual abuse survivors involves identifying, recognising and responding to their concerns. Our behaviour can significantly impact a survivor’s journey of recovery. We can make a difference.

In collaboration with Youth, Adult survivors & Kin In Need (YAKIN), the Sexual Assault Care Centre is organising a dialogue session on Wednesday 26 June 2019 at 5pm. We invite you to hear from survivors about their experiences, learn from social sector professionals working to support survivors, and discuss ways for individuals to create safer spaces for children to live in.

Your presence and voice in this conversation would go a long way in creating a community that better supports child sexual abuse survivors.

This event is free. We look forward to seeing you on 26 June!

Please note that representatives of the media will be required to identify themselves prior to the event, and no photos/videos are allowed without explicit consent. We welcome reporting on the points and issues raised, but no names and identities should be included.

About the speakers:

Eirliani Abdul Rahman is Executive Director of YAKIN (Youth, Adult survivors & Kin In Need), a not-for-profit she co-founded with Associate Professor Daniel Fung, Chairman, Medical Board of the Singapore Institute of Mental Health to help child victims and adult survivors of child sexual abuse. Her book on true accounts by survivors of child sexual abuse Survivors: Breaking the Silence on Child Sexual Abuse was published by Marshall Cavendish in November 2017. It is now in its second print run.

Dr. Daniel Fung is a child psychiatrist at the Institute of Mental Health’s Child Guidance Clinic and Chairman of the Medical Board of Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health. He graduated from the National University of Singapore’s Faculty of Medicine in 1990 and obtained a Masters of Medicine in Psychiatry in 1996 and was awarded the Singapore Psychiatric Association Book prize. Dr. Fung is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Yong Loo Lin Medical School, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore and Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University.

Laika Jumabhoy is currently a Senior Case Manager at the Sexual Assault Care Centre at AWARE. With a background in Psychology, she is certified in various therapeutic interventions including Trauma-focused CBT. She supported survivors of domestic and sexual violence and has a strong interest in using creative art techniques for trauma recovery.

Register here!

4 July 2019 Discussion: Author Balli Kaur Jaswal in Conversation

Three estranged sisters take a pilgrimage to India. A self-described “modern woman” teaches a creative writing class to Sikh widows. A young girl searches for clues in her mother’s cooking. In 1971, a teenage girl disappears from her home, coming back a different person.

Intrigued? Those are the stories of award-winning Singaporean novelist Balli Kaur Jaswal, author of four books: Inheritance, Sugarbread, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows and, most recently, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters. Her work has been devoured both locally and internationally – with Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows selected as the March 2018 pick for Reese Witherspoon’s bookclub, Hello Sunshine.

AWARE will be hosting Balli on 4 July for a conversation about her latest work, as well as the feminist ideas that underpin all her writing, with its focus on sexuality, gender roles and race. The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters follows the three estranged Shergill Sisters from Britain to India, in a quest to carry out the last rites of their mother. Copies of the book (as well as of Erotic Stories, for the uninitiated!) will be on sale at the event.

We are huge fans of Balli’s work, and her mission to illuminate fresh perspectives with Singaporean literature. Join us for a fun (and snack-filled) evening!

About the Speaker:

Balli Kaur Jaswal’s books have been recognised in Singapore as well as internationally. Her second novel, Sugarbread, was shortlisted for the Epigram Books Fiction Prize. It was also a finalist for the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize. Her third novel, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, was released internationally by Harper Collins. Since then, translation rights to the novel have been sold in countries such as France, Brazil and China. Her writing has appeared in publications such as The New York Times and Harper’s Bazaar.

Balli is currently pursuing a PhD at Nanyang Technological University, where she has also taught Creative Writing.

Register now!

20 June 2019 Workshop: Sexual Assault First Responder Training

“Are you sure that happened? Why didn’t you fight back? You should have known better.”

One experience of sexual assault is one experience too many. We may not always know the right words to say, but we can all agree that sexual assault should never happen to anyone. One way to show zero tolerance for sexual assault is through our own words and actions.

It is not always easy for survivors to tell someone about what happened. In fact, for some survivors, it can be especially daunting. First response that is sensitive to the survivor’s needs and choices is necessary in preventing re-victimisation.

SACC’s First Responder Training helps familiarise participants with trauma reactions and symptoms to better contribute to a survivor’s well-being. In this workshop, SACC will share more on the following:

1. Definition of sexual assault and harassment
2. Recognising Singapore’s legal framework
3. Understanding consent
4. Understanding the impact of sexual assault and trauma on survivors
5. Role of a first responder
6. Providing support to survivors of sexual assault
7. Resources available for help
8. Key skills such as ensuring safety, active listening and empathy

As part of our Aim for Zero campaign, SACC is offering this workshop at a highly discounted price. Details are as follows:

When: 20 June 2019, 3.00pm – 7.30pm [4.5 hours]
Where: 5 Dover Crescent #01-22 S(130005)
For whom: Parents, educators, all NGO/VWO staff and volunteers, social sector professionals or students above 16 years old studying a relevant discipline (e.g. psychology, counselling, social work etc.)
Cost: $10 (Light refreshments will be provided)

Slots for this workshop are limited to 60 sign-ups only. Persons of all genders and nationalities are more than welcome to attend. Walk-ins are welcome!

We strongly request that all participants commit to the full duration of the 4.5-hour workshop to ensure that everyone will get the opportunity to engage in interactive discussions and learn useful skills.

Note: For participants who are unable to pay the sign-up fee, please contact Yan Bing at saccintern@aware.org.sg to request a waiver. Please note that all proceeds go towards SACC and that the fee is non-refundable.

Register here!

Position Filled: HR and Operations Senior Executive

We are no longer accepting applicants for this role.

AWARE’s Secretariat Department is looking for a HR and Operations Senior Executive (full time position) to assist the Executive Director with the full spectrum of HR operations (for a team of about 30 persons), oversee volunteer management and the general maintenance and running of the AWARE Centre.

Position: Secretariat Senior Executive
Commitment: Full time, Monday to Friday
Starting date: July 2019
Last day of application: 20 June 2019

Please apply here.

(Read our privacy policy here.)

N.B. Only shortlisted applicants will be notified.

Job description:

HR Management

  • Manage the recruitment process: screening of resumes, short-listing of potential candidates, conducting interviews, drafting employment contracts, onboarding
  • Support employees’ learning and development needs, arranging team building activities and ensuring a positive work environment
  • Assist Senior Management to develop and implement fair HR policies in compliance with applicable laws and regulations
  • Oversee HR administration
  • Oversee employee relations and provide staff counseling, when required

Volunteer Management

  • Intern management
  • Develop and oversee implementation of volunteer management policies

Centre Operations

  • Oversee the maintenance of AWARE Centre
  • Data Protection Officer

Minimum Requirements:

  • At least 3 years experience in HR or Operations role
  • Relevant experience in and adept at managing operations and people
  • Excellent communication skills, both verbally and in writing
  • Proficient in managing budgets and the use of IT
  • A good people person
  • Committed to gender equality and the values of AWARE

Valued Experience:

  • Familiarity with AWARE’s work / constituency / organisation
  • Human Resources experience
  • Non Profit Management

If you have any questions about this position, please email careers@aware.org.sg.

27 July 2019 Workshop: Birds & Bees- starting open conversations about sex, consent and relationships at home

“This was valuable… it made me reflect on my own values regarding sex and what I may project onto my children.”

“It opens up our inhibitions and gives us real opportunities to put [our thoughts into] words.”

“Often boys are let off the hook, but I think they should be mindful and learn about boundaries, especially in this day and age when lines are blurred and there’s so much to access online.”

“Can they do this in school for our children?”

– Previous Birds & Bees workshop attendees

How do you talk to your children about sex? It’s a topic that many parents are happy to put off discussing for as long as possible. But what are the consequences of making home an environment where talks about physical intimacy are off-limits?

Birds & Bees is an experiential workshop for parents, run by parents, to help you start and sustain the important conversation about sex – in a non-judgmental way. No matter where you are in your parenting journey, this workshop will allow you to:

  • Understand the lasting, positive impact of talking to your children about sex and relationships
  • Introduce crucial information about consent, personal boundaries, and safety to your children
  • Talk openly about the difference between respectful, healthy relationships, and abusive, unhealthy relationships
  • Improve your communication with children on difficult or uncomfortable topics
  • Create a home where your children are not afraid of approaching you if they have questions or are troubled about a relationship or sexual encounter.

Through case studies, role-play and facilitated discussions, the workshop will give you a chance to think more deeply about your values and sexual health knowledge, and improve communication with your children. All parents are welcome, though we’ll deal with issues most relevant to parents of teenage children (12-18 year olds).

Date: 27 July 2019 (Saturday)
Time: 10am – 1pm (3 hours)
Venue: AWARE Centre (5 Dover Crescent #01-22)
Workshop Fee: $25

Survey: After you sign up, you will be asked to complete a short pre-workshop survey about the age(s) and number of your children. We will try to group participants with children of similar ages together during the workshop.

Refunds and cancellations: Unfortunately we will not be offering refunds. However, with minimum two days notice, you may switch to a future workshop date. If you need to do so, or if you have any other questions, please email Joo Hymn at publiceducation@aware.org.sg.

[This workshop has been postponed. New date TBD]

27 June 2019 Discussion: Engaging ageing—an open conversation for women

We all age. So who says we have to do it alone?

Ageing can be physically, financially and psychologically tumultuous. While some of us age with families, others age on our own—and the experience can be isolating, as friends drift away and our bodies grow frailer.

With the social stigma surrounding ageing, we may sometimes feel afraid to express our worries about the process: about retiring, grappling with physical changes, navigating new relationships with family and friends.

Welcome to Engaging Ageing, a safe and open space to voice your personal struggles, fears and surprises. Through large- and small-group discussions, you’ll connect with women in the same boat as you—including some of AWARE’s most venerable leading ladies, experts on ageing healthily and actively.

All women, single or married, aged 45 years and above, are encouraged to join us. Younger women who have worries about ageing are welcome as well. Enjoy refreshments and meet new friends over an evening at the AWARE Centre.

Old age and isolation do not have to be synonymous. Let’s look ageing straight in the eyes and face our future together.

P.S. Have a personal ageing-related experience you’d like to share? Please write in to us before the event to tell us! We may use it to start the discussion. If you would prefer us to share it with the group anonymously, just let us know and we will not identify you. Email Preethi at projects@aware.org.sg

Register now!