Prevention of violence against women, family and gender-based violence

Everyone in our community deserves to be safe and respected

Unfortunately, family violence can happen to anyone – no matter their age, culture, gender, sexuality, ability, background and/or socio-economic status.

It can happen anywhere and to anyone – and we know it happens in Monash.

You can break the cycle of violence. There are support services available to help you 24/7.

What is common is that overwhelmingly this violence is perpetrated by men, and impacts women, children and young people, LGBTIQA+ communities, as well as other men.

95% of men and 94% of women who experienced violence since the age of 15 did so at the hands of a male perpetrator.
Almost 1 in 4 women, and almost 1 in 14 men, have experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15.
Almost 1 in 5 women, and almost 1 in 20 men, have experienced sexual assault since the age of 15.
3 in 5 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have experienced physical or sexual violence from a male intimate partner.
Almost 2 in 5 women with disabilities have experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15.
More than 2 in 5 LGBTIQA+ people reported ever being in an intimate relationship where they were abused in some way by their partner/s.

Types of violence

What do the different terms mean when we talk about ‘violence against women’, ‘family violence’, and ‘gender-based violence’?

You might hear people talking about family or domestic violence, violence against women, or gender-based violence. Often these terms are used interchangeably, but there are some differences.

Domestic violence: refers to acts of violence that occur in domestic settings between people who are, or were, in an intimate relationship. It includes physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and financial abuse.

Family violence: is a broader term. As defined in the Family Violence Protection Act 2008, it is: any behaviour that is sexually, emotionally, psychologically or economically abusive, coercive or threatening. It can also include any behaviour by a person that causes a child to hear or witness or otherwise be exposed to the effects of behaviours described previously.

Most family violence is perpetrated by a current or former partner, but it may also refer to acts of violence between family members such as sibling violence or elder abuse, as well as chosen family or kinship networks and relationships.

Violence against women: As defined by the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women: any act of gender-based violence that causes or could cause physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of harm or coercion, in public or in private life.

Gender-based violence: Any form of violence targeting a person on the basis of their gender or gender presentation. It is recognised that gender-based violence disproportionally affects women.

What is common across these terms is that overwhelmingly this violence is perpetrated by men, and impacts women, children and young people, LGBTIQA+ communities, as well as other men.

95% of men and 94% of women who experienced violence since the age of 15 did so at the hands of a male perpetrator.
Almost 1 in 4 women, and almost 1 in 14 men, have experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15.
Almost 1 in 5 women, and almost 1 in 20 men, have experienced sexual assault since the age of 15.
3 in 5 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have experienced physical or sexual violence from a male intimate partner.
Almost 2 in 5 women with disabilities have experienced intimate partner violence since the age of 15.
More than 2 in 5 LGBTIQA+ people reported ever being in an intimate relationship where they were abused in some way by their partner/s.

If you or someone you know needs help, supports are available. Please visit: Family Violence Support

What is family violence?

Family violence might be a one-off incident or a repeated pattern of behaviour. Some examples of what it might look like include:

Physical abuse (someone hurting your body)

Sexual abuse (including images taken or shared without consent)

Controlling behaviour (someone manipulating you or limiting your access to work or seeing family and friend

Financial abuse (someone using your money to hurt you, like forcing you to get loans you don’t want or limiting your access to money)

Threatening behaviour (someone making you feel afraid, threatening to hurt you, your family, your pet, or themselves)

Emotional abuse (someone saying or doing things to make you feel bad, hurt or undermine your self-esteem)

Cultural or spiritual abuse (someone stopping or forcing you to practice a religion to hurt or control you)

Visa abuse (someone hiding your passport or telling false information on your visa status)

Stalking or monitoring online or in person

Exposing a child to abusive or threatening behaviour

If you or someone you know needs help, supports are available. Please visit: Family Violence Support

Support for family violence

IF YOU ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER CALL 000

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) Family violence information, counselling and support. 24 hours, 7 days a week.

For more support services please visit: Family Violence Support

Please consider using a friend’s phone or a public computer (you can find them at Monash Council libraries) if it is not safe for you to have these phone numbers or browser history in your own phone or computer.

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More information

16 Days of Activism in the City of Monash: Learn about what Monash Council does to support 16 Days of Activism.

Family Violence Support: This page lists a range of support services locally, state-wide, and nationally.

Local Government Guide for Preventing Family Violence and All Forms of Violence Against Women: The Guide has been designed and is available to assist all councils at an employee and elected representative level to understand what can be done to embed primary prevention of family violence in day-to-day activities, the workplace and in service delivery.

Safe and Equal: Safe and Equal is the peak body for specialist family violence services that provide support to victim survivors in Victoria.

Our Watch: Our Watch is a national leader in the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia.

What is Council doing to help prevent gender-based violence?

Gender-based violence is serious, prevalent and driven by gender inequality - but it is preventable.

At Monash we are committed to gender equality, diversity and inclusion, including prevention of all forms of violence against women and family violence. By having zero tolerance to any types of gendered violence at workplace and in the community, we want to ensure that everyone feels safe, respected and valued.

Monash Council supports the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. This is a widely recognised campaign that signifies action towards ending violence against women and girls around the world. It is held between 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and 10 December (Human Rights Day) each year. Read more: 16 Days of Activism at the City of Monash

Council has implemented innovative programs about preventing violence against women, and has identified preventing violence against women as a key strategic health and wellbeing priority of Monash Health and Wellbeing Plan.

In 2022, Monash Council endorsed a Gender Equity Framework(PDF, 3MB) , which provides a clear policy statement and strategic direction, to ensure we are meeting our obligations both to the community, and under the Gender Equality Act 2020, to promote gender equality and the prevention of violence against women and family violence. You can also read a summary version of the Gender Equity Framework(PDF, 1MB)

Free From Violence Program

Monash Council has a long history of working towards greater gender equality, diversity, inclusion and prevention of gender-based violence. Most recently (in 2022), Monash was successful to receive funding under the Free from Violence Local Government Program 2022-2025.

This funding supports Monash to implement a whole-of-council approach to preventing family violence, all forms of violence against women and gender-based violence. The Free From Violence project is aimed at promoting positive attitudes, behaviours and culture change at workplace and through the programs and services we deliver to our communities to ensure we advance gender equality, respectful and safe relationships and stop violence before it happens.

A whole-of-council approach means that we promote gender equality and prevention of violence in everything we do – from policies to physical environment, our culture, council services and community work. The program identifies local government’s unique position to create change as a workplace, a service provider, a connector to local services and organisations, and community leaders and decision-maker. You can find more about this approach in the Local Government Guide for Preventing Family Violence and All Forms of Violence Against Women.

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