The Respect Women: Call it Out (Respect Is) campaign will run from 25 November to 10 December to coincide with the United Nation’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence. This year’s campaign encourages all Victorians to consider what respect means to them, to call out sexism and challenge harmful gender stereotypes. 

To support the delivery of the 16 Days of Activism initiative, Respect Victoria has funded Safe and Equal to connect and build the capacity of local communities across the state to engage with the campaign and take action against gender inequality. 

Over 100 small grants have been distributed by Safe and Equal to community organisations and local councils across Victoria to develop and promote local prevention initiatives. Projects funded include: 

• “Signal Respect”, a youth art program facilitated by Warrnambool City Council and Brophy Family and Youth Services which will explore gender equality and social constructs through fashion and generate a public and online visual arts campaign for the local community 
• A series of webinars run by the African Women and Families Network designed to build capacity and awareness of respectful relationships for men, women, families and young people from diverse backgrounds 
• A social media and print media advocacy campaign from Women’s Health Goulburn North East, exploring how communities can come together to understand the gendered dimensions of natural disasters and how women and children can stay safe during disaster events 

“We know prevention is critical to achieving long-term attitudinal, cultural, systemic and behaviour change when it comes to family violence and violence against women,” said Safe and Equal CEO Tania Farha. 

“Engaging Victorian communities to participate in challenging and calling out gender inequality brings us one step closer to a world free from violence, where all women can live and work free from violence and harassment, regardless of their identity, ability, race and status.” 

This year’s campaign is supported by a cross-sector partnership including members of the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), No to Violence (NTV), the Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS), and the Women’s Health Services Council. 

“We’re pleased to be working alongside Respect Victoria and partners across the local government, women’s health, social services and perpetrator intervention sectors to support specialist family violence services, local councils, and other community organisations in this grassroots campaign,” said Ms Farha. 

“Respect Victoria is proud to work alongside Safe and Equal to support organisations and individuals across the state to call out gender inequality and move towards a future where we are all safe, respected and supported,” said Respect Victoria Acting CEO Amy Prendergast. 

“Gender-based violence is preventable, and we can all play a role in calling out sexism and disrespect when we see it or hear it.” 

Access the 2021 campaign resources here. 

The report unpacks the all too frequent issue of a victim survivor being labelled as the perpetrator in a family violence setting and the unjust and detrimental consequences. 

The stories of victim survivors in the report raises the alarm of the impact of misidentification, including retraumatisation, lack of access to vital support services and serious and ongoing violence misidentified victim survivors experience.  

The report serves as an urgent call to action to address misidentification. Safe and Equal strongly supports the call for a whole-of-system response and the whole-of-government effort outlined in the report. 

The areas in need of immediate attention highlighted in the report include: 

• the need for a greater understanding of the dynamics of family violence and coercive control,  
• clearer guidance and more joined-up processes for dealing with misidentification, and  
• better system monitoring 

Reflected in the report is the on the ground experience of specialist family violence support workers, which provides compelling evidence about the prevalence of misidentification and the lack of clear systemic processes for correcting misidentification when it occurs.  

It’s in solidarity with victim survivors and specialist family violence services that we strongly support the proposed actions and can unequivocally confirm that the issues and recommendations align with feedback received from Safe and Equal members for addressing misidentification. The overarching, system-wide actions proposed to address misidentification and the specific actions for Victoria Police, courts and legal services, child protection and areas where existing efforts could be strengthened, provide practical mechanisms for reducing and responding to misidentification. 

As the report notes, addressing this critical issue will require partnership across all parts of the family violence response system, with sectors working collaboratively together to develop workable solutions. On behalf of the specialist family violence service sector, we look forward to working collaboratively with system partners to ensure systems that have been set up to protect victim survivors and keep them safe do not continue to unintentionally result in further harm. 

For more than three decades, DV Vic and DVRCV have been two key organisations in the establishment and coordination of the specialist family violence sector in Victoria.  

The merge combines over thirty years of experience in advocacy and innovation for change in the family violence sector. Connecting strength, capacity and resources for greater impact, Safe and Equal is the peak body representing specialist family violence services supporting victim survivors across Victoria.  

“Following the Royal Commission into Family Violence, the Victorian specialist family violence sector has been subject to major and ongoing reforms. It became clear that by bringing together the skills and expertise of both organisations, we could increase and strengthen our capacity to support specialist services through these changes and into the future.” – Stacey Ong, Chair, Safe and Equal.  

“The roles of DV Vic and DVRCV have always been highly complementary, with closely aligned visions, purpose and values, and frequent collaboration in advocacy and campaigning. This merger provides the specialist family violence sector with a peak organisation that has more reach than ever before, across the continuum of prevention to recovery.” - Tania Farha, CEO, Safe and Equal. 

Safe and Equal will continue to work with practitioners and leaders to bring grassroots issues into the public arena, coordinate and participate in advocacy and action to reform policy and improve the service system, and scale up and embed practice development and innovation across the sector.   

The new name, Safe and Equal was selected after extensive consultation and feedback from victim survivors. It is a bold statement in support of the organisation’s vision: a world beyond family and gender-based violence, where women, children and all people from marginalised communities are safe, thriving and respected.  

Safe and Equal: Standing strong against family violence