Through the Loddon Mallee Collective Action for Respect and Equality (CARE) Partnership, and by centering the voices and experiences of rural and regional women, WHLM promotes gender equality and supports actions to address the key drivers of violence against women and girls.
16 Days of Activism is a global campaign established by the United Nations to raise awareness around gender-based violence and to encourage communities to take action to end violence against women.
16 Days of Activism Toolkit
Women’s Health Loddon Mallee established the regional campaign theme for 2023 as: Respect Women: Let’s Call it Out Everywhere Loddon Mallee. To activate 16 Days in the Loddon Mallee Region, encouraging people to participate in and lead events and activities as part of the international campaign (25 November – 10 December 2023), WHLM developed a regional toolkit, which was accessed nearly 3000 times via the WHLM website.
Campaign Resources
A suite of customisable campaign resources was developed and shared across the region, including a chalk stencil, email banners, virtual meeting backgrounds, social media tiles, pledge cards, and selfie frames.
Events Hub and Calendar
WHLM shared an online events hub and calendar for 16 Days on our website, which listed 32 events from across the Loddon Mallee region.
Affirmative Consent Webinar
In partnership with Greater Bendigo Against Family Violence, WHLM hosted an online webinar as part of 16 days of Activism 2023: Affirmative Consent in conversation with Chanel Contos. Founder of Teach Us Consent, Chanel Contos, was joined in conversation by panelists Rhiannon from CASACV and Will Burns from YAC Vic to discuss the importance of consent education and how building and embedding consent culture and respect can have a profound impact on reducing violence against women.
The event had 115 attendees from across the Loddon Mallee and throughout Australia including representation from: women’s health, local government, youth services, response services, insurance providers, emergency services, health, community health, peak bodies, and primary prevention organisations.
Through the Collective Action for Respect and Equality (CARE) Partnership 32 organisations are working together to end violence against women before it starts. The CARE Strategy 2023-27 guides the work of CARE Partner Organisations to embed gender equality and engage in primary prevention activities to stop violence before it starts in a wide variety of workplaces and community settings.
CARE Connector Events
Three in-person Community of Practice (CoP) sessions were held over the year, where participants reflected together and captured the advances, challenges, and opportunities for regional alignment in prevention of gendered violence and promotion of gender equality. The events were held in locations across the region for the following CARE clusters: Loddon, Gannawarra, Buloke, & Swan Hill; Mt Alexander, Macedon Ranges, Central Goldfields; and Mildura.
The Elephant in the Room is a colourful fiberglass art installation in the form of an elephant, designed to provoke conversation, and reduce the shame, stigma, and secrecy surrounding family violence. It features words and drawings by women victim survivors of family violence, one side focusing on the damage caused by family violence, the other side highlighting the hope, strength, and resilience of women recovering from abuse.
WHLM facilitated the elephant’s movements and installation across the region, including: Bendigo Goldfields Library, City of Greater Bendigo Galkangu Gov Hub, Echuca Regional Health, Rochester and Elmore Community Health, Kyabram District Community Health, Rochester Library, and Sunraysia Community Health.
WHLM has developed staff induction processes and information to equip those working in services to be able to have conversations about the elephant, and more broadly about family violence. We have also developed signage and information for community members, supporting their understanding of the elephant’s purpose, the impact of family violence on community, and ways to access support.
