smartraveller.gov.au - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
It's a must see destination.
It's a must see destination.
Travelling WomenAustralian women are travelling overseas in ever-increasing numbers. It can be both exhilarating and daunting, and often the experience of a lifetime.
While we recognise that all travellers may face some level of risk in unfamiliar environments or cultures, women may sometimes be placed at greater risk.
This brochure is designed to provide women with information to raise their awareness and help minimise these risks. It should be read in conjunction with Travel Smart: hints for Australian travellers and Travelling well consular booklets.
Before you depart, it’s a good idea to contact the foreign mission (embassy, high commission or consulate) of the countries you intend to visit to obtain information on visa and other entry and exit conditions (such as currency, customs and quarantine regulations), travelling with medicines and working overseas. Foreign missions’ details can be found online at http://protocol.dfat.gov.au.
The better prepared you are, the more enjoyable and safer your travel is likely to be.
If you cannot afford travel insurance, you cannot afford to travel.
Discuss with your insurer the types of activities you plan to do on your holiday as often there are restrictions on what activities the insurer will cover. Always read the fine print!
If you cannot obtain travel insurance to cover your personal medical circumstances you should consider the potential financial risks very carefully before deciding whether to proceed with your travel plans.
CASE STUDY: A young volunteer in East Africa found herself stranded when there was an outbreak of violence in the area where she was living. She had travel insurance. The insurer, working with the Australian High Commission, organised a helicopter to fly her out of the remote area and back to the capital. Without insurance the rescue may not have been possible at all, or if it could be organised privately would have cost her over $7,000.
Before leaving home, you should check that your medications are legal in the countries you are visiting or transiting. You can do this by contacting the country’s mission. A contact list is available at www.protocol.dfat.gov.au.
More information on travelling with medicines is available from the Medicare Australia website: medicareaustralia.gov.au/yourhealth/our_services/pbs.shtml or by phoning the Travelling with PBS medicine enquiry line on 1800500147.
Passengers on international flights to and from Australia are allowed to carry a small amount of liquids (including aerosols and gels) in their carry-on baggage. Allowances will be made for medications or baby food needed for consumption on the flight under certain conditions. For further information visit the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government website at www.infrastructure.gov.au.
Take feminine hygiene products and contraceptives if you are headed somewhere where they may not be available or may be expensive.
You face greater risks when you're travelling alone. If you decide to do so, you should take extra precautions.
At some destinations you may become the focus of unwanted male attention if you appear to be unaccompanied. This could take the form of pinching, hissing, passing comments, obscene behaviour, stalking or unwanted physical contact. In these situations maintain your composure and remove yourself from the situation as quickly as possible.
To minimise the risk of harassment, you should avoid walking alone after dark or in isolated places. You should also be sensitive to local standards of dress and behaviour. If in doubt, seek local advice.
You could unwittingly find yourself in danger simply by accepting an invitation to go out with a man alone. In societies where this is not an accepted practice, just saying ‘yes' to an invitation may give the wrong signal and expose you to the risk of sexual assault.
CASE STUDY: Two young Australian women teamed up to backpack through South-East Asia. While a lone woman traveller might encounter problems, they would be able to look out for each other. After a few weeks of travelling from beach to beach, they took a boat to an offshore island, timing their arrival with the full-moon party the island was famous for. There were hundreds of travellers of every nationality dancing on the beach to live music and sharing canisters of the local brew. It felt right and the Australians didn’t hold back. Afterwards, they joined other travellers to sleep it off on the beach. One of them was awakened by the bright tropical sun. Her passport, money and most of what she’d been wearing were gone. And something else was wrong too. Leaving her companion still asleep on the beach, she stumbled her way to a small clinic, where the nurses confirmed her worst fears: her drink had been spiked and she’d been raped. Her friend was luckier: her drink had been spiked as well, but she had only been robbed of her passport and credit cards. Drink spiking, followed by robbery and sexual assault is unfortunately all too common at full moon parties.
CASE STUDY: Jean, a young Australian woman, was shopping in a crowded bazaar in the Middle East. She wanted to buy a new outfit and was asked by the male shopkeeper to come back later when he would have the outfit in her size. Jean returned late in the afternoon when the bazaar was much quieter and when there were no other customers in the shop. Jean was led to a room at the back of the shop to try on the clothes and was assaulted by the shopkeeper. She had been placed in a situation where she was extremely vulnerable: Jean was isolated from the help of other shoppers or passers by and had no means of escape from the room she had been taken to. Without witnesses, Jean was unable to press charges.
If you have a business appointment in an unfamiliar location, leave details of your destination with the hotel management and instruct them to raise the alarm if you have not returned by a certain time.
Don't give out your room number to associates too freely - this can give the wrong signal in some countries.
If you are at a conference, leave your name badge in your room or purse. Advertising your name could lead to unwelcome situations.
In some countries and/or cultures, dress standards may be more conservative than in Australia and may be stricter for women than for men. The way you present yourself may affect the way people react to you. To help avoid unwelcome attention you should take care to be sensitive to local dress standards.
In some countries, certain forms of dress are unacceptable at religious and other culturally important sites. Some do not allow women in at all.
Every year Australians fall in love and get married overseas. You should be aware that laws regarding marriage vary from country to country and legal complications can arise.
Some countries impose strict limits on women’s rights to seek property entitlements, inheritance, divorce, alimony, child support and custody. Accordingly, if you plan to marry overseas, check out the legal, cultural and religious implications for yourself, your intended spouse and any children either of you may already have together, separately, or plan to have at a later date.
In certain countries, Australian women who marry nationals of those countries can be subject to strict family controls and may be prevented from leaving that country without their husband's permission.
Dual nationality issues can be very complex. For further information, see our brochure Travelling dual nationals, available from smartraveller.gov.au/tips/dualnat.html.
Be aware of internet dating scams. Some Australian citizens have been defrauded or had their lives endangered by bogus internet friendship, dating and marriage schemes. These scams typically result from connections made through internet dating schemes or chat rooms. Once a virtual relationship develops, the Australian citizen is asked by their friend or prospective marriage partner to send money to enable travel to Australia. Once the money has been received, the relationship is usually terminated and any chance of recovering the funds is highly unlikely. In some instances, foreigners who have travelled overseas to meet their friend or prospective marriage partner have been kidnapped and held to ransom.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s SCAMwatch website (www.scamwatch.gov.au) has further information on how to recognise, protect yourself from and report scams.
The Travelling parents consular brochure available from smartraveller.gov.au/tips/parents.html contains further information.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (www.casa.gov.au/airsafe/trip/children.htm and Good Beginnings National Parenting Project also deliver guidelines on their websites for parents and kids on the move.
If you are planning to place your child or children in a childcare facility or employ the services of babysitters or nannies overseas, including on cruise ships, you should satisfy yourself about the standards of childcare provided and/or the level of child protection policies. Overseas childcare centres aren’t bound by Australian regulations and standards of childcare can be very different from those in Australia.
As you would before placing your child into childcare in Australia, you may wish to research issues such as: accreditation standards of childcare providers; whether the childcare provider has in place appropriate strategies to prevent child abuse; the hiring and screening procedures of staff, including background criminal record checks; qualifications of the staff caring for the children; ratios of staff to children; training of staff, including training in first aid and emergency procedures; the security arrangements of the childcare centre premises; validity of personal injury liability insurance; and children’s health and vaccination issues.
For useful ideas on how to select reputable childcare providers please visit either the National Childcare Accreditation Council’s website www.ncac.gov.au or Child Wise’s ‘Choose with Care’ program available at www.childwise.net.
Be aware of the risk of HIV - avoid ear-piercing, acupuncture, tattooing or dental work while travelling.
Practise safe sex. Never assume that your partner is not HIV-positive or carrying another sexually transmitted infection. Carry a reliable brand of condom as they may not be available at your destination.
Avoid temporary ‘black henna’ tattoos as they often contain a dye which can cause serious skin reactions. For further information see the Australasian College of Dermatologists’ website at www.dermcoll.asn.au.
Medical tourism -including for cosmetic and sex-change operations, is common in Asia. The range of medical and dental services available may be impressive at first sight; however standards can be lacking, resulting in serious and possibly life-threatening complications.
Drink-spiking is common all around the world. When out partying you should keep an eye on your drink. Never leave it unattended or in the care of a stranger. Drink-spiking victims are often taken for a ride, robbed or even sexually assaulted. When they regain consciousness their immediate past is blurred and often victims have no recollection what had happened to them. Seek medical help and report the incident to the nearest police office if you believe you are a victim of a drink-spiking. Our missions could also provide consular assistance.
Avoid trouble with drugs -Don’t use, carry or get involved with drugs overseas.
To minimise your chances of getting into trouble with drugs overseas:
In the event that you are arrested on drug charges overseas, be aware that:
DFAT provides assistance to Australians who find themselves in trouble overseas, through our consular services.
The Australian Government will do what it can to help Australians in difficulties overseas. However, you need to appreciate that when you go abroad you leave behind Australia's support systems, emergency service capabilities and medical facilities. There are legal and practical limits to what consular officers can do for travellers overseas and you need to have realistic expectations.
A directory of Australian missions and Canadian posts that assist Australians appears in Travel Smart: hints for Australian travellers booklet. This booklet is issued with your passport. To obtain and/or download a copy go to: smartraveller.gov.au/hints/index.html.
The 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre (CEC) in Canberra can also be contacted for assistance from anywhere in the world on +61 2 6261 3305 or 1300 555 135 (local call cost within Australia).
The Consular Services Charter, available to order or read online on smartraveller.gov.au sets out the standard of services all Australians can expect to receive from consular staff.
Australians overseas in need of counselling services can contact our Consular Emergency Centre (CEC) on +61 2 6261 3305, who can transfer the call through to a Lifeline Telephone Counsellor.
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While every care has been taken in preparing this brochure, neither the Australian Government nor its agents or employees, including any member of Australia's diplomatic and consular staff abroad, can accept liability for any injury, loss or damage arising in respect of any statement contained herein.
Consular Policy Branch
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
R G Casey Building
BARTON ACT 0221
Tel (02) 6261 3305; 1 300 555 135
Information for travellers and travel advisories are available from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s smartraveller website: smartraveller.gov.au.
November 2008