PIP Network member and prevention practitioner survey 2025 results
Monday 7 July 2025
We regularly survey our Partners in Prevention Network, checking in on your work, your goals, your challenges, and how we can support you. Below is a summary of what we learned from practitioners across Victoria and a handful of interstate about who you are, how you’ve engaged with us and what you need from Safe and Equal next. We received 101 responses in total.
While this is not representative of the Network as a whole, it remains valuable for informing our future planning, and as we advocate for continued funding.
Who responded
We heard from practitioners right across the state, with 37 per cent identifying as rural, regional or remote practitioners, 40 per cent metro Melbourne practitioners and 23 per cent of respondents were statewide or from outside of Victoria.
Many of you are working in and committed to primary prevention with 44 per cent of respondents delivering and leading prevention initiatives, 39 percent see themselves as supporting prevention activities and 36 per cent see themselves as contributing to prevention but it is not their primary role.
Most respondents are working in community services (39 per cent), local government (35 per cent) and family violence services (30 per cent). We did see many other prevention settings represented: health services including Women’s Health Services (27 per cent), universities and TAFEs (24 per cent), schools and early childhood services (19 per cent), sports, recreation and leisure, faith-based settings, legal, justice and corrections (39 per cent combined). This really highlights the breadth and reach of prevention work happening across the state.
Key learnings that practitioners have taken away from Safe and Equal activities or our resources, and what difference this has made to their work:
Practitioners reflected that Communities of Practice, training packages, the PiP bulletin and resources gave them the knowledge they needed to apply directly to their work. They described how these helped them build confidence in their work and establish close working relationships across the workforce.
“Your resources have helped to solidify my knowledge. Much of my initial growth as a practitioner came from accessing and utilising Safe and Equal resources.”
“Participating in Safe and Equal’s [Community of Practice] has reinforced and made tangible what I’ve read in the workforce development literature. It’s given me real world examples of the barriers, dynamics and challenges facing primary prevention practitioners in different settings.”
Opportunities for networking and connections through Communities of Practice or in person events helped them feel part of the wider prevention sector, especially for those that work as a sole practitioner or in small teams. They felt connected, valued and have a greater understanding of work happening across organisations.
“I have valued the facilitators… The depth of knowledge and ability to connect with likeminded people is invaluable. Much of my work is isolating so to be validated has been able to support my continuation. I appreciate the follow up notes and links to resources.”
“Made me feel more connected, valued, understood and appreciated. Especially at a time when there has been so much backlash, resistance and disinformation from within the sector about what primary prevention is and why it is important and needs to be bolstered (rather than wound back).”
Practitioners also mentioned the practical use of Safe and Equal resources in day-to-day work with colleagues, community and across organisations:
“Having access to the resources and activities has allowed me to then share and encourage others from across multiple organisations to participate and access the resources also. Knowledge gained is knowledge shared.”
“The resources have been extremely helpful in communicating primary prevention to many different audiences. Everything from what is primary prevention which helped us describe and advocate for our work internally to talking about resistance when preparing community leaders to drive our programs within their settings.”
Practitioners also noted that training and resources gave them the language and tools to support their practice and programs. From sharing resources during presentations, within organisations and teams, to activities helping people feel more prepared and able to hold sometimes challenging conversations.
“From the Safe and Equal Prevention in Practice training, I learned the importance of using a gendered lens and recognising how different forms of inequality can increase the risk of family violence. I’ve applied this by making sure our community activities are inclusive, culturally responsive, and promote gender equality in both content and delivery.”
“[the difference Safe and Equal’s activities have made in your work] Intersectionality helped both me and my organization to better understand the complex and overlapping factors while supporting women from diverse backgrounds. We moved from one size fits all approach to more inclusive and culturally responsive services.”
Key challenges facing prevention practitioners
Practitioners noted four common challenges they are facing for delivering effective primary prevention work including: managing competing demands across multiple projects and partnerships, limited access to financial resources, organisation or institutional resistance as well as interpersonal resistance.
Topics or thematic areas that practitioners thought would be the most useful for them or their organisations to best serve their community and support their work (and areas we can improve):
Practitioners asked for more resources in different and accessible formats (i.e. plain language documents, infographics) as well as case studies. Many also mentioned support in crafting messaging for campaigns and navigating workplace and organisational resistance, as well as more information about the range of primary prevention projects and the impact they are having across Victoria.
Four common topics or thematic areas were identified as most useful to practitioners. These include:
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- Information on engaging men and boys as allies in a range of prevention efforts
- Continued focus on intersectionality (in resources, training, events etc)
- Case studies and information of prevention initiatives happening across multiple settings and across the prevention continuum
- Making connections between practitioners working across the family violence system. This includes with services working across the prevention continuum, as well as supporting connections between organisations focused on primary prevention.
Thank you again for your generosity in sharing your experiences and ideas with Safe and Equal. We could not do this work without you. We will be using this feedback to shape future PiP events, resources and opportunities.
We value and welcome continuous feedback at any time throughout the year. You can email our Prevention Helpdesk at prevention@safeandequal.org.au.
If you’re not already a PiP member, join us today to be the first to learn about engaging training and events, connect with other practitioners through our PiP Connects and online practice network and browse through useful resources to help you in your work.
Page last updated Monday, July 7 2025