Safety and Respect

Due to gendered stereotypes and a history of acting out poor attitudes and bad behaviours, women and people who are sexually and gender diverse (LGBTQIA+) are disproportionally the victims of violence. Sadly, Cisgender men are also disproportionally the perpetrators, too, leading to poor mental health and engagement in the justice system. Nobody wins when gendered violence is allowed to flourish. Creating cultures of respect and safety, informed by the impact of violence on victim/survivor lives, is essential to ending the harm of gendered violence. Respect and safety strategies throughout the life course, in all settings, are required for men , women, non-binary adults and children.

We champion:

Cultures of respect and safety in all settings – decision making bodies, industries, workplaces, schools, business, public and community sector. and A reduction in gendered hate, whether within the family, between intimate partners, online, at work, in the street or in public life in Victoria.
An intersectional gender lens is placed on violence prevention, with a specific focus supporting outcomes for all women and trans/non-binary people.
Values-aligned peaks and sectors committed to the prevention of gendered violence working collaboratively to effect changes in public policy, legislation, health promotion and population-wide initiatives.

GEN VIC is focused on innovating our methods of responding to gender based violence, especially in those hard to reach spaces such as workplaces, politics, in the media and online. We’ve done this through our longstanding project ‘Enhancng Online Safety for Women’. We’ve also engaged in strengthening our community of violence prevention practitioners by providing training, resources and scholarships.

Innovation Projects

Gendered Online Harassment in Politics

As a part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to preventing violence against women, girls and gender diverse people, Gender Equity Victoria was funded to develop recommendations for online safety for women working in politics.

Leaders of the Future

Leaders of the Future is a collaboration between GEN VIC, the Centre for Multicultural Youth and the Multicultural Centre for Women's Health to empower and inspire young women and gender diverse people of colour to claim their space online.

16 Days of Activism: Call It Out Everywhere

Thursday, 25 November marks the first day of 16-Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, with the United Nations theme, Orange the World: E nd Violence Against Women Now! And Respect Victoria’s theme, Call It Out (Respect Is). At GEN VIC we’re pleased to bring together a calendar of events happening statewide for this year’s #16DaysOfActivism campaign. Ending gender based violence must happen everywhere: in media, in politics and online as well as at home, in our relationships, on the street and in the workplace.

Gendered Cyberhate: Enhancing Online Safety for Women

The Gender Equity Victoria Enhancing Online Safety for Women Project is a world-first project funded by the Victorian Government that works with individuals and organisations using social media, and moderators of online discussion forums, to address gendered cyberhate. This innovative project is focused on increasing support in online forums, social media and workplaces for individuals who challenge dominant gender norms, behaviours and practices.

#EnoughisEnough: Safeguarding Women in Politics

GEN VIC is calling on State and Federal Governments to jointly fund three initiatives to protect women parliamentarians and staffers. Moreover, GEN VIC is also calling for the community’s support seeking donations to a crowd-funding Campaign: #EnoughisEnough: Safeguarding Women in Politics. Working with 50/50 Foundation, together with experienced former women Members of Parliament, and GEN VIC’s Special Advisors – former Federal MP’s Julia Banks and Trish Crossin – the Safeguarding Women in Politics Project will work towards resourcing, an Independent review of politicians and staffers exploring experiences of sexual harassment and gender-based violence in Parliaments, an immediate Gender Equality Audits of all Parliaments across Australia, and Support to enhance the online safety for women in politics.

Online Active Bystander Project

GEN VIC has developed a social media toolkit and video, the first of this kind in the world, to help people become active bystanders on social media. The toolkit aims to help get you inspired to stand up for what you think is right online and step in when you see someone participating in or encouraging discrimination. This toolkit gives you a range of strategies and suggestions for how to intervene. You can be an active bystander online by using the suggestions in the toolkit and video.

Workforce Development Projects

Building the Pool of Qualified Trainers Experienced in the Prevention of Violence Against Women Program

This Gender Equity Victoria Program responds to an urgent need to meet the upcoming demand for qualified prevention of violence against women (PVAW) trainers to deliver vocational education units in PVAW, gender equity and responding to family violence and other forms of violence against women. The program aims to increase the number of PVAW practitioners in rural and metropolitan Victoria who can deliver and assess accredited vocational units of study. As a part of this program, we are offering scholarships to assist PVAW and Gender Equity trainers to complete their Certificate IV TAE 40116 in Training and Assessment. Program participants also have opportunity to build their training skills and knowledge through a new Community of Practice.

PVAW Workforce Capacity Building

The PVAW Workforce Capacity-Building Project is a professional development project funded by the Victorian Government. This two-year project works with intermediate and advanced practitioners in the Prevention of Violence Against Women (PVAW) field. The project grew from the Government’s recognition of the complex skill-set required to deliver PVAW projects and activities, and the need to ensure a strong workforce exists to effectively deliver initiatives, as well as to support and mentor new workers into the field.

Under the Radar: Contemporary Challenges for Practitioners of Preventing Violence Against Women

GEN VIC brought practitioners together with other allied workers to “dive deep into an intersectional approach” to primary prevention of violence against women. It took a hard look at structural inequities and institutions, including colonisation, immigration and borders, housing and homelessness, policing and the criminal justice system, and our prevention of violence against women strategies. We also challenged our default assumptions about family violence exploring ageism, heterosexism and transphobia. We included presentations on older women in care, LGBTIQ+ folks, transwomen and sex workers.