Respect is the building block of healthy attitudes, relationships and communities. By promoting respect, we can work toward preventing violence against women before it starts.
16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign established by the United Nations to raise awareness and encourage communities to take action to end violence against women.
The annual campaign begins on 25 November, the International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, and ends on 10 December, which is International Human Rights Day.
Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal support organisations across the state of Victoria to deliver activities as part of the ‘Respect Women: Call It Out (Respect Is)’ statewide campaign for 16 Days of Activism.
To localise the campaign for our region, Women’s Health Loddon Mallee has established the regional campaign theme for 2023 as: Respect Women: Let’s Call it Out Everywhere Loddon Mallee.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T: What does it mean?
Respect is the building block of healthy attitudes, relationships and communities. By promoting respect, we can work toward preventing violence against women before it starts.
The regional 16 Days campaign for 2023 is underpinned by respect and equality as the foundation for healthy families, workplaces, educational settings, and whole communities.
What Do You Mean “Call it Out”?
Everyone deserves to be able to participate in community and family life without fear of harassment, violence or abuse.
Ending violence against women starts with calling out gender inequality, sexism, harassment, and abuse when we see it. By calling it out we can all start to make a difference in challenging the attitudes and behaviours that drive gendered violence.
We all have a responsibility to call out the gendered drivers of violence everywhere, including in media, in politics, online, in our homes and workplaces, in our relationships, on the street, in our schools, TAFEs and universities, and in our faith settings.
For some tips on how to safely call out disrespect against women we recommend checking out this resource: 16 Ways to Call Out Disrespect.
This video series by Our Watch ‘Doing Nothing Does Harm’ provides some examples of what calling it out can look like.
Our vision is a region where women and children live free from violence, in communities that actively support and champion gender equality.
Women’s Health Loddon Mallee is committed to ending violence against women in the Loddon Mallee Region. We work to address harmful gendered structures, norms and practices across all levels of society, with a vision to create a gender equitable world in which all people are free from gendered violence.
Our Focus:
Our focus on Primary prevention action addresses the key drivers of violence as outlined in Change the Story – the national framework for the prevention of violence against women.
They include ways to:
CARE Partnership:
WHLM provide backbone support for the Collective Action for Respect and Equality (CARE) Partnership.
Through the CARE Partnership we take a collective approach to promoting gender equality and supporting actions to address the key drivers of violence against women and girls in our region.
The CARE Partnership builds workforce capacity and advances primary prevention efforts in our region through professional development opportunities, workshops and other events, newsletters, and a regional Community of Practice.
Gender equality campaigns can be met with resistance. It can be useful to have a clear plan in place for how your organisation or community group will respond to any backlash or resistance that may emerge in response to your campaign or activity.
When dealing directly with backlash it is important to identify whether a response is needed and if so, ensure your response is considered carefully with support from team members in your organisation.
1. Determine if You Need to Respond
Will a response have a positive effect in the long term?
Is the media response damaging to the key messages of the campaign? Or damaging to the organisation(s) associated with the campaign?
Will your response assist in the promotion of the key messages of your campaign?
2. Respond as a Unified Team
If you do feel that it will be beneficial to respond, make sure you’ve done your research, know your facts and have spoken with everyone on your team, within your own organisation and with partners, before making any public response.
3. How to Frame Your Response
Here are some Framing Tips from Safe and Equal: Talking About Change.
4. Don’t pander to the Vocal Minority
Resist the temptation to pander to arguments traditionally put forward by those who excuse or minimise men’s violence against women, or engage in myth-busting. Instead focus on telling your progressive story to the vast majority of people who are persuadable on the issue.
Be Solutions Focused: Spend more time talking about people’s role in the solution and less time talking about their role in the problem, in order to avoid activating shame and defensiveness.
Use the Power of Social Norming: Don’t imply traditional masculine norms are ‘dominant’ or widely accepted. Instead, point out that most people think traditional masculine stereotypes are harmful and believe men should be freed from them.
4. Be Authentic and Transparent
Your response should hold true to your organisation’s values and the key messages of the campaign.
Take time to address any systemic, underlying issues and prepare a response that is authentic, honest, transparent and proactive—but also comprehensive, hitting every note.
5. Anticipate Backlash and be Prepared
Identify any vulnerable points within the campaign or activity that may make you open to criticism, and plan how response.
Have a plan for afterhours comments on social media platforms to be monitored if the campaign is getting ‘noisy’.
6. Responding to Sexist or Discriminatory Comments
It’s tricky when a friend, co-worker, or loved one comes out with a statement (online or in-person) that justifies or excuses violence against women and supports sexism.
For more tips on responding to backlash and sexism, including how to respond to common myths visit 16 Ways to Call It Out.
The Loddon Mallee #respectischallenge
is a 16 Days of Activism Regional Social Media Campaign
Let’s flood social media with messages of respect and equality!
This year Women’s Health Loddon Mallee is encouraging everyone in the region to get behind the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and share what respect means to them on their social media account, using the tag: #respectischallenge
This is a simple and fun way for individuals and communities in the Loddon Mallee region* to get involved in the 16 Days of Activism campaign in their workplaces, schools, local cafes, places of worship, and other community groups and hangouts!
Women’s Health Loddon Mallee have developed a suite of shareable campaign resources to assist organisations, councils and individuals participating in the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
Hashtags:
We recommend using these hashtags to gain greater reach and engagement across your social media channels.
#respectischallenge
#16daysofactivism
#16days
#16days2023
#callitoutloddonmallee
#callitout
#respectwomen
#respectloddonmallee
When planning and delivering campaigns and activities, it is important to keep in mind the diversity that exists in our communities, and take into consideration power structures, forms of oppression, beliefs and attitudes that may compound disadvantage for some groups and individuals. To achieve equality and respect for all women, gender inequality cannot be seen as separate from other forms of discrimination and disadvantage that women experience.
Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that power structures and systems of disadvantage overlap and cause compounding forms of oppression and discrimination. It takes into consideration aspects of a person’s social and political identity such as their gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, geographic location, and more.
Putting intersectionality and inclusion into action can look like:
Intersectional Resources:
Below we have listed some resources to assist with your project planning, in a way that considers multiple experiences and perspectives and that actively includes communities that are most greatly impacted by discrimination and violence.
First Nations People
LGBTIQ+ Communities
People with Disabilities
Multicultural Communities
Women’s Health Loddon Mallee acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we live, work and play.
We celebrate and respect the unique cultural and spiritual relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples share with the lands, sky and waters and the ongoing contribution their cultures make to the life of the region.
As we pay our respects to Elders past, present and future, we pledge our commitment towards reconciliation and justice.
We recognise the strength and resilience of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and are dedicated to a future in which they feel connected, empowered and safe within the communities of the Loddon Mallee region.
Contact Us
47 Myers Street Bendigo VIC 3550
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Toll Free 1800 350 233
Phone 03 5443 0233
whlm@whlm.org.au
Office Hours
9:00am-5:00pm Monday–Friday
