Action Research Support – NSW & ACT Project Summaries

ACT

We all care (ARS Project 1)

Carers ACT 

Project Contact: Tracy Gullo, Team Leader Direct Services

This project iss a Young People and Domestic Violence project delivered in five ACT High Schools. The project is designed to:

• identify and raise awareness of power relationships and subsequent outcomes
• develop strategies with participating students to increase their capacity to achieve respectful relationships in their school and family environments.

 The project is delivered in a two-workshop format by trained Carer ACT Young Carer officers. Project evaluation includes pre-project audit for participating schools and pre- and post-evaluation questionnaires for students and participating teachers.

NSW

Safe in Our Town (ARS project 31)

Glen Innes Family Support Services

Project contact: Louise Morley

The purpose of the project is to engage service providers and the community to work towards developing a coordinated community response. This is happening by engaging people in dialogue about the issues related to responding to family and domestic violence and by developing awareness raising activities that will be promoted through the local media as well as on social media.

Live Safe Feel Safe (ARS Project 32)

Arab Council

Project contact: Robyn McEwan

The Live Safe, Feel Safe project aims to raise awareness about domestic and family violence in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and First Nation communities and provide information about where to access support. It will do this through the distribution of multilingual resources; a campaign through multicultural media and holding healthy relationship workshops for youth and for men and women in conjunction with existing community groups. Additionally, the project will hold focus groups with specific community groups in areas of need that will be identified throughout the project. It is envisaged that these focus groups will either gain valuable information from particular CALD groups regarding domestic violence related issues or provide information to various groups of workers relating to the experience of CALD groups, or a combination of both.

Women’s Domestic Violence Prevention Macarthur (WDVPM) Project (ARS Project 33)

Benevolent Society

Project contact: Kylie Levings

This project aims to promote gender equality, raise awareness about domestic violence (DV) and improve access to domestic violence support services for women and children in the Macarthur region.

The project engages with non-government organisations, local government, local business and government agencies including schools, police and health services, and the broader community to create sustainable practices to help reduce violence against women and to effectively respond to and support women and their children who are experiencing violence.

The project utilises a DV Prevention worker who delivers presentations, training and workshops and participates in events and other awareness raising activities in the Macarthur region to improve access for women and children to DV service support.

For more information please see: https://www.facebook.com/CfWCFH/

Bourke Community Seasons of Safety, reducing Family Violence in Bourke (ARS Project 34)

Bourke Aboriginal Health Service

Project contact: Reg Kelly ACEO

The project will support the enhancement of community wellbeing and safety in Bourke through a number of activities including:

• Weekly women’s and men’s group focusing on restoration of identity and reconnection to culture and community as well as education on domestic violence, drug and alcohol and mental health.
• Up skilling our workforce and community through the provision of training in domestic violence and intergenerational trauma.
• Work in partnership with the community and Aboriginal Health and Medical Research council of NSW to provide our workforce with peer supervision training to reduce burnout of skilled and valuable workers and reduce vicarious trauma.
• Community participation and development of signage on four main thoroughfares into Bourke, setting the community expectation that family and domestic violence is not tolerated in Bourke.

Women’s Community Shelters (ARS Project 35)

Women’s Community Shelters

Project contact: Annabelle Daniel

This project involves a community based social franchise model for reducing domestic violence and increasing shelter capacity for women and accompanying children who are homeless. It works with communities to deliver crisis shelters in areas of under supply and demonstrated need. We currently have four shelters and are working to establish a network of eight shelters by the end of 2018.

Our network-based social franchise model means shelters are locally owned and operated but Community Boards and Shelter Managers are supported by WCS and through the shelter network with practice, management and governance processes.

For more information please see: https://www.womenscommunityshelters.org.au/

Mentors in Violence Prevention (ARS Project 36)

United Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW)

Project contact: Danielle Habib

The Mentors in Violence Prevention project is an evidence based leadership programme that offers mentors in violence prevention workshops to young people aged 15-18 from 12 high schools followed by a two, three day train-the-trainer workshops in schools.

All of Us Building Safe Communities for Women (ARS Project 37)

Parramatta City Council

Project contact: Maggie Kyle

The project engages ‘unlikely, everyday’ partners in the local government area (LGA) to:

1. Provide a framework and strategies that will increase their understanding of domestic violence including existing specialist services and referral pathways;

2. Build their capacity to assist employees/members experiencing domestic violence;

3. Transfer skills and resource them to develop tailored best practice domestic violence prevention materials/resources;

4. Raise awareness of how organisations can take a stand against the issues; and

5.Share learnings and resources with their broader networks.

Pull Ya Head In’ campaign (ARS Project 38)

Sutherland Shire Family Services Inc.

Project contact: Dianne Manns

This is the third and final stage of the Pull Ya Head In Campaign. The films follow three families struggling with DV from diverse ethnic backgrounds including Aboriginal, CALD and Anglo-Saxon backgrounds and the impact on women and children. The six short films will look at the journey of the victim and her children impacted by domestic violence. The films will form a webinar series.

Involving men from African and Middle Eastern backgrounds in the Fairfield LGA in preventing violence against women (ARS Project 39)

CORE Community Services 

Project contacts: Lauren Gecuk and Clement Meru

This project is delivered in partner arrangement with one organisation to provide knowledge and resources to men of African and Middle Eastern backgrounds regarding gender inequality and the drivers of FDV. This will be achieved through a print campaign in community languages, frequently visited online platforms and a radio campaign. The project will also deliver education and empowerment sessions by bicultural facilitators focusing on the development of men’s knowledge, skills and abilities.