Australia-first preventing violence against women program

Published on 14 May 2013

Victorian Minister for Women's Affairs Heidi Victoria yesterday officially launched the Generating Equality and Respect program focusing on the prevention of violence against women.

The City of Monash has partnered with the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and MonashLink Community Health Service to deliver this $1 million program, the first of its kind in Australia, which will establish a 'demonstration site' in Clayton where a number of tried and tested primary prevention programs will be implemented with a range of groups and organisations.

The three-year program will pilot a new model to promote equal and respectful relationships between men and women in the one community, which may be implemented in other municipalities in the future.

Monash Mayor Micaela Drieberg said the three-year project would build more respectful relationships between men and women.

"For too long, society generally looked the other way when domestic violence was occurring," Cr Drieberg said.

"Community attitudes have improved massively in recent years but we've still got a long way to go. There are still some attitudes out there that seek to excuse violence and it's those kind of attitudes we'll be tackling."

VicHealth CEO Jerril Rechter said; "Violence against women is a serious health issue. It is the number one contributor to death and disability in Victorian women aged 15 to 44. Victoria has excellent support services for victims of violence, but if we are to see a real change for future generations, we must work to prevent this violence before it occurs. This project is the culmination of many years of VicHealth trials to find out what works to prevent violence against women. Now we are concentrating those wins into the locality of Clayton to achieve a 'saturation effect'. We are very excited to see the outcome of this work because it has the potential to benefit the health of all Victorian women."

MonashLink CEO Gregg Nicholls said; "Preventing violence against women is a priority for MonashLink. We have long worked with vulnerable communities, men, women and children to provide high-quality counselling and support services where family violence is being experienced. The Generating Equality and Respect program builds on the strong foundations that MonashLink has established to respond to and prevent violence against women. MonashLink is very pleased to partner with Monash City Council and VicHealth in making the City of Monash a safer place for women and a healthier community for us all."

If you are in need of urgent police assistance call 000.

For further support or assistance contact the Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service on 9322 3555 / 1800 015 188.