By Jessica Anstice
Cardinia Shire community members are being encouraged to continue to work together to call out gender inequality, sexism and violence against women this November and December.
International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women was held on Wednesday 25 November – the first day of the United Nation’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
Coinciding with this campaign is Respect Victoria’s ‘Respect Women: Call it out’ initiative, which runs from 25 November to 10 December.
The initiative, supported by Cardinia Shire Council, encourages residents to call out sexism, sexual harassment and disrespect towards women.
As part of the campaign, the council received funding from the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) to assist in promoting gender equality.
Using the funds, the council, in partnership Together We Can – Family Violence Action Team with Respect Victoria, have developed 300 A3 stickers which will be temporarily placed on rubbish bins around the Cardinia Shire.
The stickers encourage community members to ‘treat everyone as an equal’ and provide the contact details of family violence support services.
Violence against women affects women’s well-being and prevents them from fully participating in society. It impacts on families, the community and the nation.
On average one woman a week in Australia is killed by an intimate partner.
Locally, 1303 incidents per 100,000 population were reported to police between June 2019-20, which is an almost 11 percent increase when compared to the previous year.
Cardinia Shire Council mayor Brett Owen said the council was committed to preventing violence against women through raising awareness and working with the community and service providers to implement prevention strategies.
“Violence against women is a preventable problem, and its impact can be reduced by changing the factors that contribute to violence, whether they are attitudes, behaviours, institutions or social structures,” Cr Owen said.
“Violence against women happens everywhere in Australia, including in Cardinia Shire. We need the whole community to be involved to prevent family violence and support those impacted. It is everyone’s business to do something about this issue.
“We acknowledge that domestic violence can affect all family members including women, men, non-binary and trans people, as well as children. We encourage people to reach out if they need help.”
For more information about Respect Victoria’s 16 Days of Activism campaign, visit www.respectvictoria.vic.gov.au
For more information about Together We Can, visit the council’s website at www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/familyviolence or call 1300 787 624.
If you are currently experiencing family violence, and it is an emergency, dial 000 and ask to speak to the police.
For support services and family violence information, visit the Family Violence section in the council’s Coronavirus Online Help Hub www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/coronavirus
