The importance of primary prevention

An RMIT panel looks at how gender equality is the key to preventing violence against women oliii GUii rnuL~ soM EQUENT DEPRIVING PR OFFEND ERS ROYOKING PRIVATELY DDEPRESSION UNAB I FORMS DEPRI VATI NMAINTAINING SSIFICATION

BY DIPANJALI RAO

Culuires. Norms Practices. These are the three things said to be at the heart of the tragically high incidence and prevalence of v iolence against women in Australian society. Primary prevention efforts are aimed at changing these three variab les, about taking action to address these soc ietal drive r s o f vio lence agai nst wom en to prevent violence from occurring.

A panel discussion compcising researchers, academics, practitioners and policy advisor s, " Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women: From Local to Global" organised b y R.MlT's Gendered Violence and Abuse Research Alliance (GeVARA) discussed the importance of, and approaches to, primary prevention.

D r Anastasia Powell, founding member and co-convener of GeVARA, who opened and m oderated the discuss ion, explained how women te nd to face violence in a private space, and at the hands of their male partners or ex-partners, whi ch is a significant barrier ro seeking justice.

Women with disabilities a nd women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities face addi tio nal barriers such as language barriers, cultural issues and lack access to services. Th ese barriers, and fear of repercussio n s are why a large m ajori ty of wome n don't report violence. Also, the

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violence does n't end whe n they leave.

" This i s why primary prevention is important," said D r Powell "Because if we only direct our efforts to stopping violence that is already occurring, we will fo rever be righting wrongs and piecing together lives of men, women and children back together."

The discussion kicked off wit h the panel reflecting on current efforts. Ki m \'(lebster, who manages the National Community Attitudes Towards V io lence Agai nst Wo m e n Survey (NCAS) t alked of how responses to violence have improved, but the prevalence of viole nce hasn' t changed since the 1980s Dr Larissa Sandy, lecturer i n justice and legal studies at RlvfIT, w h ose work focuses on gender and sexuality in Southeast Asia said , "lt is a co mmunity approac h. lf we don't work o n the risk faccors (i n th e community) that cause v io lence, patterns of viole nce will continue and we will see very little change."

Dr Loren D ays, senior policy ad v isor on interseccionali ty at OurWatch, delved into these risk factors. ,cEviclence shows tl1at a context where women h ave less power, value, digniLy, choices, agency is a context of gender inequali ty, which is the root of v iolence." Prin1ary prevention is about changing that context of gender ineq uality.

Damien Grenfell, Direccor of tl1e Centre of Global Research, R.MlT, and research advisor on NEHULA1 , a program to encl violence agains t women in Timor Leste, took a more personal app roach He reflected on his experiences of masculinity when he fi rst started working Ln the university sector, and its implications on broader culture. "I witnessed acute inequality, and I saw how (female) colleagues were judged in sexual terms rather than for thei r creative attribu tes an d m e r it I saw how women who we re hired as researchers dropped off bm mal es would continue."

Emma Fulu, founder of the Equali ty Institute, went one step furtl1er co say that primary prevention is not simply t he absence of violence, it i s where everyone across the board has equali ty and can live w ith d ig ni ty.

" Goals like unive rs al education, inclusion in health care, s afe cities and so o n can't be addressed if we don't work o n preventing violence against wo m e n," she said "The benefits of preventing violence are far beyo n d just the cost of v io le nce. It is beyond our imaginatio n how much we can improve so many aspects of society if we address this issu e."

O n attiuicles, cul tures and practices that contribute that gender equality, the workplace was iden tified as a place co target primary prevention of violence against wo m e n. D r Sandy said that workplaces could contribute by training staff to recognise signs of D V, run bystander action campaigns, cond uct gender audits, have fan1ily violence leave policies, and train their staff to combat gende r bias

D r Days from Our Watch taU,ed of intersectionality, or the strucuiral and social challenges and discrimination as a result of one's identity or ability: ethnicity, disab ility, ge n der, sexual o rientation, etc, and how prevention policies must be adapted to assist different communities The probability of vio lence ag ainst women increases when their gender i ntersects with, say, disability, or a minority ethni city. While taking an intersectionaJ approach ro preventio n, "A lot of coordination has ro hap p en between multiple sectors, which hasn't always happened," said Dr Days D r Grenfell talked of hi s experiences in Timor-Leste, but caution ed that it was ea sy to dismiss violence as being a 'cultural' proble m.

"Violence is violence is violence," he said. "We shouldn't seek to create id ealised ve rs io n s of our own society (in Australia). \"X'e need ro confront rhe reality that botl1 societies are violent."

Dr Emma Fulu talked of overseas primary prevention education programs that show pro mise. These included community programs, school b ased programs and parenting programs. " Programs tl1at address root causes such as masculinity and gender equality, and programs that work witl1 both m en and women are effective."