16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign

Following on from the success of its first 16 Days campaign in 2020, the Respecting Seniors Network in partnership with Zonta Melbourne South East and Zonta Mornington Peninsula are leading a walking campaign against ageism, sexism and violence throughout the 16 Days in collaboration with Frankston City Council and Mornington Peninsula.

The Network is encouraging locals to walk at least 16 K’s in 16 Days to raise awareness of, and support for, older victim-survivors of family violence. Participants are encouraged to log their distance on a whole-of-community pedometer available on the Respecting Seniors website. Selfie frames will be installed along popular walking routes and digital versions will be available for download on the Respecting Seniors Network website.

For more information, visit the campaign website, #16Ksin16Days: https://respectingseniorsnetwork.org.au/16ks-in-16-days/

Jewish Care in partnership with Unchain My Heart and local Respectful Relationships schools, will be hosting The Macho Paradox, an in-conversation 16 Days event with Dr Jackson Katz on Wednesday 24 November. This virtual event will focus on how to engage community members – particularly men and boys – on unpacking masculinity, preventing violence and helping create safer communities. To register for this event, visit www.jewishcare.org.au/tmp

As part of the 16 Days campaign, Alpine Shire Council in partnership with Alpine Health and Sun Cinema Bright are hosting a special screening of On The Basis of Sex on Sunday 5 December. The acclaimed film is based on the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her lifelong advocacy for equal rights and the historic career that led to her nomination and confirmation as a US Supreme Court Associate Justice. Tickets will soon be available via the Sun Cinema website, alternatively please email info@sunbright.com.au to pre-book your ticket and light-refreshments in advance.

As part of the 16 Days Campaign, the Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre will deliver a free Wellbeing and Sustainability training session for Primary Prevention Practitioners on Tuesday 7 December. This training aims to equip participants with the tools to recognise and understand vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, moral distress and burnout and provide tips on how to manage and prevent it in the future. The training elements will include a focus on personal wellbeing and how to sustain selves and others through work and advocacy that requires generational change. For more information on this training session, and to book your free tickets, visit Eventbrite.

In the leadup to this year’s campaign, we’ll be sharing some examples of what activities and events participants from across the state have planned for this year’s 16 Days campaign.

The first to feature is The Geelong Women’s Social Action Network, who have put together The Clothesline Project. This project encourages participants to get creative at home and make or use clothing, tea towels, scarves or other old items they may have, to tell stories or share statements about stopping violence against women; advocating for women’s rights; promoting awareness around safety in public and in private; ending sexual assault; and preventing all forms of gendered and family violence.

The Clothesline Project is focused on promoting greater awareness of the impact of violence and sexual assault and helping break the silence.

If COVID-19 restrictions allow, the Geelong Women’s Social Action Network are aiming to hold a public art installation of submissions made to the Clothesline Project – see here for ideas.

Register your interest to take part in the Clothesline Project 2021 online.

Specialist family violence workers at Good Samaritan Inn are partnering with local school students to create and promote respectful relationships messaging for this year’s 16 Days of Activism campaign. 

Good Samaritan Inn will run a day of small workshops at a local Catholic boys’ school to educate students on the gendered drivers of family violence. Following the workshop, each participant will be invited to contribute a message of advocacy and hope to a larger banner that will be displayed to the public in Preston. 

Local community members will be able to walk by and read messages created by staff and students, encouraging broader conversations and community engagement with respectful relationships.   

Located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, Good Samaritan Inn assists women and children who have experienced family violence and homelessness by providing short-term crisis accommodation and support. 

http://www.goodsamaritaninn.org.au/ 

The Greater Shepparton Family Violence Prevention Network in partnership with Primary Care Connect has created Exploring Gender in the Early Years, an online event that aims to address the gendered drivers of family violence.

Hosted by comedian and author Nelly Thomas, Exploring Gender in the Early Years will provide attendees an opportunity to develop their understandings of gender stereotypes at home, and provide strategies to challenge these.

The Greater Shepparton Family Violence Prevention Network is comprised of specialist family violence services, youth and family services, education, police, local council and community services. The grant provided by DV Vic/DVRCV and Respect Victoria allowed the committee to engage Nelly to deliver the session and provide her expertise.

This event is open to both professionals and community members, who have different but very important roles in undertaking this work.

Register to attend Exploring Gender in the Early Years via Eventbrite.

Priority funding will be given to organisations who:

– Represent or can demonstrate work with diverse communities;

– Are a local entity representing local communities, or based in a rural and remote location;

– Present an application from multiple organisations, for joint activities/projects.

Councils and community organisations in receipt of campaign funding will be required to:

– Work in partnership with their membership base and relevant stakeholders to build awareness and promote community conversations utilising campaign messaging;

– Promote community conversations that align with the Respect Victoria campaign – Respect Women: ‘Call It Out’ (Respect Is) – and align to the 16 Days of Activism (25 November – 10 December);

– Participate in the collection of outputs and data to feed into the initiative evaluation conducted by Respect Victoria at the end of the intiative. Participation in the initiative evaluation is a prerequisite for receipt of a grant.

Any written statements in published or printed materials associated with the project, including media releases, event descriptions, reports and evaluations should acknowledge funding by Respect Victoria. You can include this statement:

In 2021, Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal (formerly DV Vic and DVRCV) are partnering to deliver and support local engagement in the 16 Days of Activism Grassroots initiative. [Your organisation name] has been funded through this initiative.

Any initiative materials or resources developed by the project and used as part of the 16 days initiative should include the Respect Women: Call it Out logo, with the optional addition of the Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal (or DV Vic and DVRCV) logos. The logos can be downloaded above.

Note: Where campaign resources are being re-used and remain unchanged from 2020 (E.g. Zoom template) Safe and Equal (or previously DVVic/DVRCV) logo is not added.

To be eligible for the grant, your community organisation or council must be based in Victoria and be a member of one of the following:

• Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS);
• The Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV);
• Domestic Violence Victoria/Domestic Violence Resource; Centre (DV Vic/DVRCV);
• No to Violence (NTV); or
• Women’s Health Services Council (WHSC).

Priority funding will be given to organisations who:

• Represent or can demonstrate work with diverse communities;
• Are a local entity representing local communities, or based in a rural and remote location;
• Present an application from multiple organisations, for joint activities/projects.

In 2021, Respect Victoria has funded Safe and Equal to work with them in partnership, to facilitate the delivery of the Respect Women: Call It Out (Respect Is) initiative. 

Safe and Equal is working with Respect Victoria and our project partners to build the capacity of community organisations and local councils to engage with the initiative. Safe and Equal will provide support to 16 Days of Activism campaign participants through Safe and Equal’s Helpdesk, informative events, a comprehensive campaign toolkit, and the allocation of grants for grassroots initiatives across Victoria. 

Project partners for the 2021 campaign include the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS), No to Violence, and the Women’s Health Services Council (WHSC). Safe and Equal will draw on the significant expertise and strength partners’ memberships to inform our capacity-building work and further the reach of the initiative across Victoria. 

DV Vic/DVRCV will write a letter to the key contact specified in the organisation’s applications to notify them of the outcome of their application.  

For those successful, your organisation will need to email the DV Vic/DVRCV’s Helpdesk an invoice for the $1200 grant. Once received, we will promptly process your transfer. 

DV Vic/DVRCV has planned a range of capacity building activities and developed resources to support any community organisation or council that may wish to be involved in the 16 Days of Activism campaign.  

If you are interested in participating in the 16 Days campaign, please subscribe to our weekly campaign updates here.

These events and resources include: 

1. Pre-campaign event: An interactive online event with organisations interested in being involved in the 16 Days campaign. During this event, we will outline campaign messaging, reflect on learnings from previous years’ campaigns, support new engagement ideas, and workshop COVID-19 responsive contingency planning; 
2. Resources: A 16 Days of Activism Campaign toolkit and collateral including social media tiles, posters, short videos or animations, screensavers, and book lists. Specifically, resources that will translate well in an online environment. We will also be sharing DV Vic/ DVRCV’s Are you safe at home? Toolkit, which includes posters and animations translated into 15 community languages and Easy English. Are you safe at home? is a family violence early intervention campaign aimed at increasing access to family violence information and supporting victim survivors and their family and friends. 
3. Weekly campaign updates: A weekly email from early October to grant holders and those who sign up via the DV Vic website profiling Campaign activities for duration of the 2021 Campaign periods.  
4. Prevention & Communications Helpdesk: Organisations can email prevention@dvvic.org.au  to access support for tailoring resources in the lead up to the campaign launch and throughout the campaign. 
5. Post-campaign event: An interactive online event for organisations to share stories from their campaign experience, and to reflect on learnings to inform future campaign organizing efforts in 2022.