By VICTORIA STONE-MEADOWS
YARRA Ranges Council has used White Ribbon Day on Wednesday 25 November to begin their 16-day campaign to raise awareness for and change attitudes towards men’s violence against women.
The 16 Days of Activism campaign is led in the region by Women’s Health East and aims to change the understanding of what causes men’s violence against women and what can be done to change it.
The initiative was launched Wednesday at Lillydale Lake where 16 bollards with local statistics and facts about domestic violence were on display.
The bollards had statistics about men’s violence against women, such as police in the Yarra Ranges attending 479 domestic violence related incidents where children were present, 1372 incidents in total.
Yarra Ranges Council is bringing together advocacy groups from across the community to inform and educate people about the impact gender inequality has on the prevalence of violence in the community.
The 16 Days of Activism campaign will see events held around the shire with speakers including members of advocacy groups, domestic violence survivors and community leaders.
Melissa Bell, a survivor of domestic violence and Women’s Health East advocate, has been invited to speak at council-run events about her experiences and says Yarra Ranges are taking important steps to end men’s violence against women.
“I think it’s amazing,” she said.
“It’s really productive and even if it starts small it will gain momentum.
“While this is very confronting and will make people uncomfortable, it’s reality and it’s what we need for change.”
Kathy Oliver is Yarra Ranges Council’s new gender equality officer and says this initiative is only the tip of the iceberg for how Yarra Ranges is working shift community attitudes.
“We are taking a primary prevention approach,” she said.
“We recognise that men’s violence against women is caused by inequality in power and stereotyping of gender roles.”
Ms Oliver said the Yarra Ranges Council would be taking a leading role in shifting these perceptions by actively combating damaging attitudes and practices within the council workplace and acting as a role model for community values.
The council’s Family Youth and Children’s Services manager Guy Masters said the campaign is about taking the lead and working towards changing community views.
“We want to challenge all the attitudes in the community that allow violence against women to occur,” he said.
“Tackling this problem means a paradigm shift and changing the messages that say there is a difference in the power between men and women.”
Council CEO Glenn Patterson said the council was committed to carrying on the messages of White Ribbon Day into the regular operations of council business.
“We aim to be a role model and not in just raising awareness,” he said.
“It’s important as an employer that we take the lead in applying best practice for gender equality.
“It’s not just about white ribbon day or the 16 days of activism but it needs to be an ongoing cross-organisational approach to gender equality.”
Streeton Ward councillor Noel Cliff said White Ribbon Day brought back painful memories for himself and said he saw the initiative as so important to end an entrenched attitude of violence in the community.
“Hopefully we can teach a generation that behaviour is unacceptable and it we don’t start now it’ll never stop,” he said.
“It’s about not making excuses anymore”
