More than 170 people attended the ‘Preventing Family Violence Forum’, in support of a community-based partnership to address family violence on the Peninsula.
The forum was one of many community events held on November 25, in support of White Ribbon Day, an international campaign encouraging men and women to come
together and say no to domestic violence.
The Hon. Joan Kirner, former Premier of Victoria, spoke about Victoria’s prevention agenda and the role of the community in preventing family violence. “Family violence is one of the most important and difficult challenges facing our community and is a crime experienced by too many women and children in Victoria.
Our success in overcoming family violence will be achieved by families, communities and governments working together,” highlighted Ms Kirner. “To overcome family violence, we need to empower women and children to say that enough is enough – not only words but in action. We have to enable men to understand and practice power based on respect for women and men as equal rather than men’s power over women,” Ms Kirner said.
The Chair of the Frankston/Mornington Peninsula Primary Care Partnership and White Ribbon Ambassador, Rob Macindoe, said the forum provided a great opportunity to educate the community on family violence prevention.
“It provided a great opportunity for health service providers, schools, local government and members of local service agencies to come together to discuss policy issues, showcase good practice in the prevention of domestic violence and form partnerships to address it.”
Rob said that the implementation of a multi-faceted prevention strategy would be integral to preventing family violence on the Peninsula, as well as preventing the
serious physical and mental health problems that it can cause.
The strategy includes:
- Supporting prevention programs is schools,
- Working with Community and Neighbourhood Renewal communities to tackle the issue,
- Raising awareness in the general community by promoting violence-preventing campaigns, such as White Ribbon Day, and
- Building the capacity of the workforce across health, community, education and other sectors to work on effective prevention strategies and programs.
“Social change doesn’t happen overnight, but if we have a shared language, we are better positioned to work together effectively.”
“We must actively raise awareness about this issue, and teach members or our community that sexual coercion, sexist and demeaning attitudes and violence in any
form are wrong, and can never be tolerated,” Rob said.
The Frankston/Mornington Peninsula Primary Care Partnership hosted the forum, with support from Peninsula Health, Frankston City Council, Frankston North
Community Renewal & Rosebud West Community Renewal. The Partnership nominated eleven men in community leadership roles as White Ribbon Ambassadors, six of whom attended the Forum.
