Better practice in responding to family violence

The Royal Commission into Family Violence found that:

“The strategy to address family violence must continue to recognise that most family violence incidents occur in the context of intimate partner relationships. The significant majority of perpetrators are men, and the significant majority of victims are women and their children.”

Research demonstrates that Australian women are nearly three times more likely than men to experience violence from an intimate partner. As noted by Our Watch and No to Violence, recognising the gendered patterns of violence does not dismiss the experiences of male victim-survivors. Instead it recognises that the most prevalent pattern of family violence in Australia is male violence against women. This prevalence highlights the need for an approach that accounts for and addresses the gendered nature of family violence.

For businesses this means victim-survivors will predominantly be women and perpetrators will predominantly be men. Businesses will need to consider this as they develop or build on their approach to responding to family violence. Organisations can help to prevent violence by developing systems that promote safe, respectful work environments that embrace gender equity.

“In recent years we have made significant progress in achieving balance in leadership and technical roles however we recognise that we have further to go and must maintain a strong focus over time.” – Yarra Valley Water

Given that family violence is a gendered issue, this is an important part of a family violence response. There are resources available to support workplaces in preventing violence against women, for example:

• Our Watch Workplace Equality and Respect Standards
• Workplace Gender Equality Agency
• RMIT University: Practices in Workplace and Organisational Approaches for the Prevention of Violence Against Women (2015).

Delivering clear messages to staff about the gendered nature of family violence will support female employees to feel believed and respected if they disclose experiences of family violence. It’s also an opportunity to highlight that men can have an active role in preventing all forms of violence against women by challenging sexist attitudes and behaviours.

Yarra Valley Water, Wannon Water and Horsham Rural City Council implemented work to promote gender equality as a way of demonstrating their commitment to staff and their broader community in creating social change.

Case study – Yarra Valley Water

Yarra Valley Water recognises that gender equality is fundamental in preventing violence. It has a clear and demonstrated commitment to gender equality within its workforce, including through its publicly available Diversity and Inclusion strategy, which has gender equality as one of the key focus areas.

Case study – Wannon Water

In 2015, Wannon Water partnered with Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West to participate in ‘Take a Stand’ workplace training. The program aims to increase awareness of the role of gender inequity in violence against women, including family violence.

Since this training, Wannon Water has undertaken initiatives to improve gender equity, including flexible workplace arrangements. By encouraging men to take up these arrangements, Wannon Water seeks to improve men’s work–life balance and consequently expand choices for the women in their lives. Wannon Water also promotes campaigns such as the 16 Days of Activism (a global initiative to raise awareness of family violence) and trains staff to assist employees affected by family violence to access support.

Case study – Horsham Rural City Council

Horsham Rural City Council is a member of the Communities of Respect and Equality (CoRE) Alliance to prevent violence against women and their children. The council worked with Women’s Health Grampians to develop and deliver the Act@Work program to staff across Wimmera councils. The program aims to change the culture within organisations by highlighting sexism, discrimination and violence against women and giving workers skills to take action and intervene safely and effectively.

A review of the training program indicated a positive shift in attitudes and an increase in knowledge and skills of the staff who attended. Staff also showed a willingness to use the bystander training that they participated in. The program has seen a positive step towards changing the culture of the councils that participated.

The Wimmera councils received funding for a Gender Equity Officer to support how they responded to the action plan from the Act@Work program. This officer assists the councils with activities including promoting more equitable participation across council processes. Overall the councils have completed 80% of the actions in its plan two years after it was first developed.

The Carlton Football Club aims to raise awareness of the prevalence and gendered nature of violence against women through its Carlton Respects program. Recognising the influential role it plays in the community Carlton chose to highlight the impact of gender inequality on the high levels of family violence.

Case study – Carlton Football Club

As part of its Carlton Respects program, Carlton developed an education program in both schools and workplaces with advice from Our Watch. The schools program also aligns to the Victorian Government Rights, Resilience and Respectful Relationships curriculum. The program, facilitated by male and female Carlton players, is aimed at primary and secondary school students and is offered to schools within its catchment area to the north and north east of Melbourne. Further, the Club also utilise the platform of sport to run two Carlton Respects Games during the AFL & AFLW season.

Having undergone Our Watch’s ‘Workplace Equality and Respect project’, Carlton’s CEO Cain Liddle sits as part of the ‘Male Champions of Change’ program. It has a gender-neutral recruitment policy and adopts a gender-neutral tone on its website, demonstrating its deliberate shift towards a culture that is inclusive and respectful of women and women’s perspectives. Additionally, Kate Jenkins, the Australian Sex Discrimination Commissioner, was a Carlton Football Club Director. Kate has recently stepped down and was replaced by Patty Kinnersly, the CEO of Our Watch, a national organisation driving cultural change against domestic violence. Having a senior advisor on gender issues in one of its top leadership roles further attests to the club’s commitment to genuine cultural change.