Cafs (Child & Family Services Ballarat) is proud to once again participate in this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign. The 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign led annually by UN Women.
This year’s campaign encourages all Victorians to work together to prevent violence against women.
In its role as a pioneer in working with men who use violence, and as a leader in the delivery of early intervention responses to keep families safe and together, Cafs is highlighting the programs available that interrupt patterns of family violence, including our Men’s Behaviour Change Program and Dad’s Toolkit, which aim to provide response strategies that do not involve the use of violence.
“Cafs has been delivering Family Violence intervention programs for the last 30 years and we were a pioneer in the sector for our approach”, said Cafs CEO Wendy Sturgess. “We recognise that to disrupt the attitudes and behaviours that can lead to violence we needed to respond by educating the men using violence to hold them to account and intervene early to support families and, in particular children, who may have been exposed to family violence.”
Right now, on average a woman in Australia is killed by a man they know every 10 days. “It doesn’t have to be this way. Violence against women is preventable, and this 16 Days of Activism and beyond, we have an opportunity to change the story,” said Respect Victoria’s Acting CEO Serina McDuff.
“This means we need to address the harmful attitudes and behaviours that drive violence in society. Let’s work together to challenge harmful ideas about gender and power and create a future where all women are safe, equal and respected,” said McDuff.
The campaign will end on Sunday 10 December, which marks the global Human Rights Day.
This 16 Days of Activism and beyond, we can all work together to change the story about violence against women.
Listen to Executive Manager Rhiannon Williams here
