We all deserve to be respected for who we are. But growing up, many of us are told we should have certain skills, likes and dislikes, and ways we should look based on our gender – rather than who we are as a person.
Assumptions about gender limit us. They create expectations about who carries the parenting load and does most of the housework. Whose role it is to earn money, and the kinds of jobs we should have. Who gets to make decisions – at home, work, and in our communities. Who is allowed to be emotional, and who is allowed to be assertive. What we can wear and how we should look.
These ideas keep us from being ourselves and filter through our relationships, workplaces, and communities. They limit opportunities and choices and can lead to discrimination and violence. It’s important to challenge assumptions about gender to help create a society where everyone is free to be themselves.
What could a world look like where we are all free and supported to be ourselves?
It all starts with a conversation
The handing down of the Disability Royal Commission’s landmark report represents a line in the sand for ending the widespread discrimination and violence that people with a disability experience every day in Australia.
Through almost 2000 public and private hearings, people with disability and carers delivered at times harrowing evidence, painting a disturbing picture of widespread violence, discrimination and human rights violations.
Click here to read Our Watch article
Violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children is not an ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander problem.’
Every individual, across communities, organisations and governments, has a responsibility to prevent violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children. Changing the picture is a framework to guide the national approach to addressing the drivers of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Read Changing the picture here
No effective solutions can be developed without the people most affected by them.
Expressions of interest are now open for the Lived Experience Advisory council at The Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission.
Please share with your networks!
The Commission is seeking expressions of interest from people with lived or living experience of domestic, family and sexual violence to appoint up to twelve members to a national Lived Experience Advisory Council. The Advisory Council provides a national approach to engagement with people who have experienced domestic, family and sexual violence to ensure the diverse lived experiences are informing policies and solutions. The Advisory Council will share advice with the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission to create and improve policy, systems and services and report on implementation and progress towards the objectives of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-23.
For information on how to apply, please visit the DFSVC website
Expressions of Interest close at 11.59pm AEST on Tuesday 26 September 2023.
Enquiries can be directed to [email protected]
Save the date for this year’s Walk Against Family Violence on Friday 24 November. We’re excited to join the family violence sector and wider community for this meaningful annual event.
Read this statement on this year’s Walk from Safe Steps’ CEO Chelsea Tobin:
Respect Victoria will be hosting this important and unifying event for the family violence sector and all Victorians who support the vital work of preventing family violence.
This is Yoorrook’s second interim report. It considers systemic injustices in the child protection and criminal justice systems. It fulfils the requirement in the amended Letters Patent dated 4 April 2023 to deliver a second interim report by 31 August 2023.
A note on content: First People’s are advised that this report may contain photos, quotations and names of people who are deceased. This report discussed sensitive topics that some readers may find distressing. Yoorrooks urges you to consider how and when you read this report and what supports you might need.
Under the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032 (the National Plan), the Australian Government has released the First Action Plan 2023-2027, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan 2023-2025 and the Outcomes Framework 2023-2032.
For the first time, the Australian, state and territory governments have a dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan. It was developed in partnership with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council on family, domestic, and sexual violence, and was informed through nationwide consultation with victim-survivors, community and sector representatives.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan acknowledges the disproportionate levels of violence, harm and trauma suffered by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, children and gender diverse peoples. It recognises that solutions need to be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and outlines government initiatives that will focus on addressing immediate safety needs, while laying the foundations for longer term change.
Click here to access the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Action Plan and Outcomes Framework
This training runs from 9:30am – 3:30pm. It is an interactive online training module that assists professionals to effectively identify, understand, and resist invitations to collude with men who use family violence.
This training is open to any professional who may interact with men who use intimate partner violence, but where the focus of their practice is not behaviour change work specifically. Family violence professionals who support victim survivors are also welcome to attend.
For queries, or to book an in-house fee-for-service session with your teams or regions, please email [email protected]
The Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) is leading a consortium research team, including the Centre for Excellence for Child and Family Welfare (the Centre), Drummond Street Services, the Centre for Innovative Justice (CIJ) and Tjallara Consulting. Commissioned by the Department of Social Services (DSS), this consortium is investigating workforce requirements for work with young people who are using violence.
We are conducting a nation-wide survey to gain insight into practitioners’ levels of experience, knowledge and confidence in responding to young people (12-18 years) who are using – or at risk of using – violence, either in the home against parents/carers/siblings or in their intimate partner relationships.
This survey is looking for respondents all over Australia who are involved in any type of direct service with children, young people and families. Even if you don’t work with young people using violence, we would still like to hear from you!
The survey will take around 11 minutes. The information you provide us will be de-identified and summarised in a report and submitted to DSS.
The survey will remain open until Thursday 7 September 2023.
Please contact Anagha Joshi (Australian Institute of Family Studies) if you would like further information about this project.
There are inadequate resources available to support lesbian, gay, bi + , trans and gender diverse, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people experiencing family violence in Australia. Government funding agencies and mainstream family violence service providers regularly state that there is insufficient evidence to justify investment in more inclusive services.
This recently published research article explores practitioner perceptions of such claims and calls for more investment in research and data gathering about family violence against LGBTIQ people and provision of effective supports.