Violence Against Women Bulletin - July 2001
Information Bulletin - July 2001: Volume 5, Issue 2
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Western Sydney Kooris design local anti - violence campaign
A Family Barbecue Day launched the Koori campaign on "Violence Against Women: It's Against All the Rules" in Sydney’s west on April 18.
Winsome Matthews, Chair of the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council, launched the campaign at Mt Druitt Community and Youth Club in Shalvey.
Local Koori community members planned the campaign for the Aboriginal communities in western and south western Sydney with the Regional Violence Prevention Specialist from western Sydney. The group wanted a local, young Aboriginal sportsman to get the message across to the community. Jamain Khan, a rising star sprinter, and a resident of Doonside, was chosen to be the face of the local campaign.
In keeping with the captions of the mainstream posters, which used common terms from individual sports, and to make the message community friendly, the community members created the slogan "Let's Keep Our Mob on Track".
Activities for all age groups included: sports, banner making, arts and crafts, Coreedah (Mt Druitt indigenous martial arts) demonstrations and face-painting. Entertaining the onlookers were singers and didgeridoo players and the Mungindi dancers.
Zona Wilkinson, an Aboriginal member of the organising committee said: "Let's kick a goal for our mob by running this campaign within our community".
A number of activities have been inspired as a result of the local Violence Against Women: It’s Against All the Rules campaign including a Youth Day on May 22 and an elders group and bush tucker camp to be held in November.
Regional Specialists Continue Innovative Campaign Activities
Dubbo supports campaign with mini-Olympics
In a unique event in Dubbo, all football and soccer codes, community and government workers met to kick off the footy season and launch the local campaign "Violence Against Women: It’s Against All the Rules".
The event at the Victoria Oval in April, included a mini-Olympics and show-cased the skills of players of all major codes in Dubbo by swapping and trying the drills of the other codes. Senior players, coaches, and officials from League, Rugby, AFL, Soccer and Women’s Rugby joined in the day as players tested and displayed their skills, each playing the another code for five minutes. Football kicking contests and relay races were followed by a barbecue.
Regional Violence Prevention Specialist, Gargy Ganguly said "Using sports men as role models to highlight the issues of positive behaviour on and off the field coupled with the fact that the codes have never met publicly together, were part of the inspiration for this unique event."
The event, which was broadcast live on local radio stations was organised by a team of workers including the Regional Violence Prevention Specialist, Youth Officers, the Regional Director of the Department of Sport and Recreation and sports commentator Geoff Mann.
On the day, Mr Mann, circled the field interviewing the sportsmen about their skills, different aspects of the game and about the anti-violence campaign. He also discussed men talking to other men on issues of violence against women.
Local businesses such as a local lighting shop, security firm, hotel, women’s housing and support agencies and local media have supported the campaign through donations and advertisements in local newspapers.
The captains of the clubs gave their personal and team commitment to continue their support of the campaign. Campaign banners will be prominently displayed at all events this season, and clubs newsletters and promotional fliers will continue advertising the campaign.
There has been wide coverage of the campaign in the Dubbo media through numerous articles, a series of interviews, talk back sessions and community announcements.
New England referees sponsored to wear campaign slogans on jerseys
The New England and Central North Rugby Union Referee’s Associations are supporting the regional Violence Against Women: It’s Against All the Rules campaign. All referee’s will be wearing the campaign slogan on their jerseys at each match throughout the season.
The New England regional campaign, launched at the Tamworth Hotel on June 1, includes three television commercials featuring local sportsmen David Banovich (Tamworth), Matt Ryan (Moree) and Rodger Munday (Armidale). The commercials are being screened by Prime Television as community service announcements between June and August.
The Regional Director for Sport and Recreation coordinated the campaign with the New England Regional Violence Prevention Specialist.
Lawson and Wing help Squires with uni launch
Campaign spokesperson Tony Squires interviewed cricketer Geoff Lawson, and Roosters league player Craig Wing on the library lawn at the University of New South Wales for the launch of the campaign Violence Against Women—It’s Against All the Rules.
Hundreds of students on May 3 saw the launch, organised by the University’s Equity and Diversity Unit in collaboration the Regional Violence Prevention Specialist in South East Sydney
"Today is about taking a stand against violence against women—and indeed a stand against all violence as a way of solving anything" Jude Stoddart, Director of the Equity and Diversity Unit told the students at the launch. "Violence against women is not a women’s issue—it is an issue for all of us. We are asking you today to work alongside us in taking a stand against violence against women." "So, do the right thing", she concluded "work with us to let your mates know, there are no excuses."
The University advertised the launch with posters quoting the four key sporting personalities used in the statewide campaign and encouraged students to come to the library lawn to find out more and meet presenter of ‘The Fat’, Tony Squires, and some key sporting personalities.“Universities” said Mr Squires “are the perfect locations to effect change as they are full of people soaking up new ideas and desperate to get out there and change the world. The statistics about violence against women tells us that this is something that needs desperately to change”Cricketing legend Jeff Lawson agreed that using sports "is an absolutely perfect way" to open difficult discussions about violence "because it is ingrained in our culture". It allows men to: "talk about different subjects in pubs because it started friendly with an association with sport" he said.
The University also produced its own postcard. The messages encouraged students to: Speak out against violence against women; Share skills in handling your emotions constructively with your mates who have not got it together; Show your mates that jokes about rape and assault don’t get a laugh; Notice when your strength and size can intimidate, and don’t use it to control or hurt women.Robyn Edwards, the South East Sydney specialist, wants more non-violent men to get involved in the campaign. "Just like non-racist white people have joined with Aboriginal people to fight against racism, we need non-violent men to be working alongside women to put an end to stalking, domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment" said Ms Edwards.
Craig Wing, a key Roosters player supports the idea of using sportsmen like Laurie Daley "I think to use him as a catalyst to try and promote some conversation about a topic that most guys wouldn’t really talk about is a really good idea" he said at the University of NSW launch in May.
18,000 fans catch a game and launch in Gosford
18,000 people who attended the NRL game between the Northern Eagles and the Newcastle Knights at Northpower Stadium on May 26 were also part of the launch of the Violence Against Women campaign. Knights player Matthew Gidley and Northern Eagles star Brett Kimmorley were interviewed about their support of the Violence Against Women campaign. Snap-shots of the interview were played on video screens throughout the leadup to the game.
Campaign posters of Brett Kimmorley and the other sportsmen were displayed around the grounds. A campaign banner was hung under the score board – where the camera caught it with each score. Banners are hanging on two F3 overpasses and the campaign radio announcement is still being played on local radio stations.
Northern Eagles competition draw card developed by the Central Coast working group includes information for men about the campaign and why they should be involved in preventing violence against women. 9,500 were distributed to male spectators on May 26.
Spanish and Arabic campaign resources
Posters and stickers have also been produced in Spanish and Arabic with community groups in South Western Sydney.
Working group for the spanish speaking campaign with Gabriel (ChiChi) Mendez who features on the spanish speaking campaign materials.
What's on, What's new
Pilot for routing screening shows success
In March 1999, Federal funding from the Partnerships Against Domestic Violence Strategy was obtained for a 15 month project to pilot, refine and implement routine screening for domestic violence in Emergency Departments, Antenatal Services, Drug and Alcohol and Mental Health Services in NSW.
The aims of routine screening are to identify domestic violence by asking direct questions and to offer information and referral to women. Routine screening is an early intervention strategy. When women living with or at risk of domestic violence are identified early, health workers can offer more effective assistance.
The pilot project has been implemented and evaluated. During the pilot project the screening tool was developed and tested in Health Services. The evaluation indicates that the identification of domestic violence has been improved by screening and that the screening questions are effective. More than 11% of the women who were screened disclosed domestic violence. The results of the pilot also show that this initiative received strong support from women who were targeted during the pilot project. 98% of women who were screened reported that they were either "OK" or "relieved" about being asked questions about domestic violence.
The evaluation report will be printed and also available in the NSW Health Website by the end of June. NSW Health is revising its Domestic Violence Policy. The Domestic Violence Policy Review Committee recommended that the revised policy introduce routine screening for domestic violence in the program areas in which the women presenting are found to be most at risk. For more information contact Lydia Campillo on 02 9391 9905 or lcamp@doh.health.nsw.gov.au.
New DoCS representative
DoCS has recently changed its representative on the NSW Council on Violence Against Women and the State Management Group.
Toni Milne will be the DoCS representative on both the Council and the State Management Group. Ms Milne is the Acting Executive Director, Corporate Strategy and has been with DoCS several years in the policy area. She has been responsible for Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) for most of that time. As Acting Executive Director of Corporate Strategy she is responsible for strategic policy for DoCS including all negotiations with the Commonwealth Government.
Partnerships Against Domestic Violence (PADV)Dubbo Project Officer: Christine Foreman
Christine began working for the Strategy in June at the Dubbo court house as the Project Officer. She will develop, implement and evaluate a model for a coordinated and integrated response to domestic violence by the criminal justice system and support agencies in Dubbo. The 10 month project is PADV funded.
Christine has been working in the areas of sexual assault and child protection in the Macquarie region for over a decade; most recently she was working as the coordinator for the Court Assistance Scheme in Dubbo. Christine sees the project as an effective extension of the work that she was already doing. She hopes that “the policies, procedures and models of service developed in the pilot will be transferable across NSW”.
Tamworth Domestic Violence Project.Project Officer: Denise Howle
Denise Howle was employed in February 2001 to implement the PADV Funded Tamworth Domestic Violence Project. Denise is located at the Tamworth Police Station and provides follow up support and referral to victims of domestic violence identified by police. The project aims to reduce the incidence of domestic violence revictimisation and to encourage the practice of referral amongst frontline police.
Denise said that one of the advantages of her position is the time she can spend with victims, "this time allows me to tap into problems that are not immediately apparent to attending police." She said the project has the capacity to offer timely interventions and a more holistic and personalised response.
Referrals to community agencies can be tailored to suit the needs of victims. An evaluation of the project is being conducted concurrently.
Rekindling Family Relationships Forum on Indigenous Family Violence
Adelaide recently hosted a gathering of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to do some serious talking around difficult issues of violence in Indigenous families. The Forum drew together Indigenous community leaders and elders, community members, service providers, government officials and researchers from across Australia, to share knowledge and good practice in tackling Indigenous family violence.
Discussion during conference sessions were thematic and showcased successful projects. One of the highlights of the conference was a moving performance by musicians Ruby Hunter and Archie Roach. Ruby and Archie are travelling across Australia talking up issues about family violence at public forums, as part of the "Walking Into Doors" campaign, funded under PADV.
The Forum was organised by PADV in conjunction with the Commonwealth and South Australian government departments. A conference report will be made available by PADV.
Thanks and good luck
Thanks to Helen Kay for all her work as the Regional Violence Prevention Specialist for the mid-western region (based in Orange) Helen has taken up another position at the Office of Community Housing. We would like to express our thanks to Helen for her contribution to the Strategy over the past three years, she will certainly be missed.
Projects and New Resources
Kids Really Count, a community awareness campaign developed by a regional interagency committee in the Northern Rivers, highlights the impact of domestic violence on kids and urges community members to "do something to change it".
Posters, stickers, cards and pamphlets with the slogans: "Kids Really Count…Domestic Violence hurts kids too!…do something to change it!" have been posted on toilet doors in pubs and clubs throughout the region. A advertisement has also been aired on local television stations.
Local businesses from Northern Rivers townships have supported the campaign by displaying posters and stickers in their premises to raise community awareness about the impact of domestic violence on children.
For information contact: Mim Weber, Northern Rivers Area Health Service on: 02 6620 253 or Mary Willis on: 02 6620 2132.
Phoenix project
Two three-day workshops will be held at Belmore Boys High and Canterbury Girls High School with a grant the Canterbury Domestic Violence Committee received from the Casino Benefit Fund. The workshop programme includes a video and workbook, which will be circulated to schools in the Canterbury local government area. The program focuses on healthy relationships and is suitable for use in infant, primary and secondary schools. For more information phone Matina Mottee: 9715 0448
PACT Project resources
The Regional Violence Prevention Specialist in the Wentworth region worked in partnership with Police in the St Marys and Penrith areas to develop resources for Arabic, Filipino, Pacific Islander and Indian sub-continent communities.
The resources include posters, banners, CD, video, magnets, pens, brochures and posters, and an enclosed trailer painted with messages on family harmony in different languages. The trailer, painted by local women from the four targeted communities over several weeks is stacked with useful information and is being used by community groups. The second part of the project includes training on domestic violence and cross cultural issues for over 300 police officers in the Penrith and St Marys’ areas. For more information contact Anoop Johar: 4732 1322.
A Coordinated Response to Domestic Violence
This pilot programme, to be launched in July, will consist of: a mandated component for perpetrators of domestic violence, a support component for women, a children’s component and an evaluation of the pilot, which will inform best practice for a coordinated response to domestic violence. The pilot programme will be managed by the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit. An interagency advisory committee will provide policy and procedural advice.
Mary Jane Carter will be coordinating the pilot programme for the VAW Unit. Mary Jane’s previous position was at the Legal Aid Commission on the Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Scheme. She has also worked in mental health and crisis accommodation services Mary Jane said that this program: "is a great opportunity to develop important links with the different services to deliver the best possible program".
Conferences and events
5-7 September 2001Seeking Solutions Australia’s First Joint Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Conference Park Royal Hotel Gold Coast, QLD. Organised by: Combined Women’s Crisis Services Gold Coast Phone: Sexual Assault Support Service: (07) 55 912397 or Domestic Violence Service (07) 55 914 222
18-22 February 2002 and CALL FOR PAPERS Conference: Expanding Our Horizons - Understanding the Complexities of Violence Against Women. See card enclosed or the Website: www.edfac.usyd.edu.au/projectsVAW2002 Abstracts due 1 August 2001
Regional Violence Prevention Specialists (RVPS) Contact List
| Regional Specialist | Area Health Region | Phone |
| Kirsten Busby | Mid North Coast | (02) 6588 2913 |
| Joan Dickson | Far West | (02) 6872 1795 |
| Robyn Edwards | South Eastern Sydney | (02) 9382 8145 |
| Gargi Ganguly | Macquarie | (02) 6841 2346 |
| Lilian Gomez | South Western Sydney | (02) 9821 8527 |
| Cathy Hastings | New England | (02) 6768 2814 |
| Jenny Huxley | Northern Sydney | (02) 9976 8020 |
| Anoop Johar | Wentworth | (02) 4732 1322 |
| To be announced soon | Mid Western | (02) 6361 6925 |
| Tashe Long | Southern | (02) 6298 9966 |
| Karen MacLean | Greater Murray | (02) 6058 1850 |
| Rebecca Matthew | Illawarra | (02) 4254 0302 |
| Jillian Meyers-Brittain | Hunter | (02) 4929 0921 |
| Matina Mottee | Central Sydney | (02) 9715 0448 |
| Chris Smith | Central Coast | (02) 4320 2575 |
| Rugmini Venkatraman | Western Sydney | (02) 9633 0717 |
| Mary Willis | Northern Rivers | (02) 6620 2132 |
The Violence Against Women Specialist Unit and regional violence prevention specialists are central elements in the NSW Strategy To Reduce Violence Against Women which is an NSW intergovernmental strategy funded by: The NSW Attorney General’s Department, NSW Department of Community Services, NSW Health, NSW Police and in partnership with the Department for Women.
This bulletin is for anyone interested in the prevention of violence against women and is intended to inform people about the NSW Strategy To Reduce Violence Against Women and its implementation. For more information about the Bulletin contact the Violence Against Women Specialist Unit.
ISSN 1328-437
Click here to download PDF version of the July 2001 Bulletin>>
 | To view a PDF document, you will need a copy of Adobe Acrobat on your computer. If you do not have a copy of Adobe Acrobat, you can download a copy for free from the Adobe site. |
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