1 December 2015 | General Interest
Our Watch, VicHealth and ANROWS have partnered to create Change the Story: A shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia.
A world first, the National Framework to Prevent Violence against Women and their Children brings together the international research, and nationwide experience, on what works to prevent violence.
By establishing a shared understanding of the evidence and principles of effective prevention, and presenting a way forward for a coordinated national approach, the main aim of the framework is an Australia free of violence against women and their children and where women are not only safe but respected, valued and treated as equals in private and public life.
Work is already being undertaken across a range of sectors – by governments, nongovernment organisations, researchers and practitioners – to change the attitudes, behaviours and environments that perpetuate this violence. But much of this work happens on a small-scale or in isolation from other projects. Violence cannot be prevented project by project – coordination and collaboration is fundamental to success.
As such, this framework is based on a shared endeavour between government, whole communities, organisations and institutions – including over 400 stakeholders. It utilises a collaborative approach and vision to promote a broad based movement for deep and lasting social transformation.
Using an evidence-based approach, the Framework lays out a pathway to a measurable reduction in prevalence through six interrelated elements working together to create change:
- An explanatory model of violence
- Key actions to prevent violence
- Approach settings and techniques for prevention
- Prevention infrastructure
- Stakeholder roles and responsibilities
- Stages of action and expected outcomes
Reflecting on the experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and children, the framework identifies:
“Violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait women needs to be considered in the context of broader colonial violence and specifically the intergenerational impacts of dispossession, the forced removal of children, the interruption of cultural practices that mitigate against interpersonal violence, and the ongoing and cumulative economic exclusion and disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. These impacts include intergenerational trauma, lateral violence and internalised colonialism.”
A supplementary dedicated resource will be developed to guide the prevention of violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their children, to be released as a companion document to this framework to pave the way for an increase in dedicated funding to support change.
