Sector engagement There is substantial evidence that violence against women and domestic and family violence (DFV) is driven by gender inequality and other forms of discrimination that give rise to power imbalances3. Prevention engages people and communities through the many different environments where they live, work, learn, socialise, and play. These environments are called ‘settings’. Effective prevention requires the coordinated efforts of multiple stakeholders to engage. Throughout the three-year project Council engaged with key sectors in Wagga Wagga, to embed activities that would generate meaningful actions and cultural change. These activities focused on behavioural change and impacts on others and the principles of challenging societal barriers to create action. 3
Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan 2020 - 2023, Department of Premier and Cabinet, VIC.
“To change the attitudes and behaviours often ingrained in sport, we need to create programs, which provide learning opportunities and skills that will not only benefit them in their sporting careers, but also in their personal development as community ambassadors.” Southern Sports Academy Chief Executive Officer, Mark Calverley
Readiness to address gender inequality and DFV Findings from the Community Attitudes Survey conducted in 2016 indicated that Wagga Wagga was underprepared to address domestic violence4, with an overall score on the Readiness for Change Model, between vague awareness and the preplanning stage. As part of theDVproject:2650, actions to address workplace readiness internally at Council and within key sectors was a priority to ensure there was buy-in, capacity and awareness of primary prevention activities. A set of key principles for engaging with sectors was established. This guided implementation of prevention activities by looking at workplace co-design and readiness. 4
Wagga Stakeholders survey & interviews, Wagga Community Attitudes Survey, 2016.
EQUITY AND RESPECT WORKPLACE TOOLKIT
WA G G A WA G G A C I T Y C O U N C I L
15
