City of Monash

The City of Monash launched a comprehensive series of community and staff activities to raise awareness and promote action against gender-based violence during the 16 Days of Activism campaign in 2023. The initiatives included lighting up the Civic Centre, social media campaigns, training sessions, family activities, and educational programs in libraries. These activities were designed to engage and educate the community and staff about gender equality and resilience.

They share some of their highlights and learnings below.

• General public
• Local community members
• Families with young children
• Library patrons
• City of Monash staff
• Volunteers

• General Public: Lighting up the Civic Centre in orange from 25 November to 10 December 2023 (except for World AIDS Day on 1 December) to symbolise the commitment to ending gender-based violence. This visually impactful initiative served as a constant reminder of the campaign’s message. A social media campaign from 25 November 10 to December utilised the Respect Victoria toolkit to engage the community, reaching a broad audience with key messages about respect and gender equality.
• Workshops and Trainings: Two Active Bystander Training sessions were delivered during November to empower individuals to act against gender-based violence by providing practical intervention skills. A Resilience Against Racism Workshop was also delivered that addressed intersectional issues, linking racism and gender-based violence. The three workshops reached over 60 community members.
• For families and young children: A Children’s Superhero Activity and Scavenger Hunt was promoted during Family Fun Day to engage families in gender equality conversations using fun and educational activities. In addition to this, library Storytime sessions focusing on gender equality themes were integrated into regular programming, making them accessible to a wide audience. A Monash Bulletin article was also distributed to all households, ensuring widespread awareness of the campaign.
• Staff initiatives included an e-bulletin article, use of Respect Victoria virtual backgrounds, a Staff Walk Against Violence and BBQ which 85 staff participated in, and a “Creating Conversations: What is the Man Box?” lunch and learn session for over 40 staff members.

• The activities that met community members where they are, rather than expecting them to come to council for events, were more successful (e.g. at neighbourhood houses, existing community events, sporting clubs, etc.)
• There are benefits to partnering with other organisations for online events, but leading events where they are held in person (due to geographic barrier).
• Being prepared for backlash and having risk management processes in place.
• A walk against family violence, Instagram frames and/or coffee carts is a great way to engage staff in the workplace that wouldn’t normally attend events.