By Alana Mitchelson
AN ALL-BOYS Berwick secondary school is striving for recognition as a White Ribbon school by educating young men about the importance of standing up against violence against women.
Berwick Grammar School expects to obtain White Ribbon accreditation next year after completing a two-part workshop run by the charity, focused on embedding domestic violence education within the curriculum.
Teacher Alice Carlisle and deputy principal Anthony Smith commenced training with the White Ribbon Foundation in term three and have another session in the new year.
The pair were invited as guests to a special White Ribbon breakfast hosted by the Governor, Linda Dessau, on White Ribbon Day, attended by the Foundation’s co-founder Michael Kaufman.
Ms Carlisle said she was particularly passionate about this cause because she had had a personal experience with domestic violence.
“We’re actively supporting the White Ribbon message and have already started embedding it in our curriculum,” she said.
“We’ve run a short program for our Year 9 students called ‘Be the Hero’ to encourage students to build positive relationships with everyone, but especially women.
“Violence against women can take many forms, from physical and sexual assault to the use of belittling language.
“The program taught them about what is okay and what is not okay, not only the physical but emotional awareness as well.
“I think that particularly since we’re a boys’ school, it’s important to get that message across.”
Meanwhile, school captains Noah and Sean ran the show at the White Ribbon Day school assembly, sharing an insight into the dangers of using a language such as ‘…like a girl’.
They encouraged their peers to take the oath on the White Ribbon website to prevent men’s violence against women in all of its forms.
Cardinia Shire deputy mayor Jodie Owen spoke to Berwick Grammar students during their White Ribbon Day assembly on Friday 25 November about her grandmother’s ordeal with domestic violence and stressed that tackling this issue was everyone’s responsibility.
She also quoted some alarming statistics in the shire.
Victoria Police reports show that there were 1364 family violence incidents reported in Cardinia Shire during 2014-’15. That’s 15 per cent higher than the state average.
In Australia, at least one woman is killed by her partner or former partner every week.
School head Charles Swanepoel said the school looked forward to becoming a White Ribbon school.
“As one of our school values is social responsibility, we instil in our boys a culture of respect and educate them the impact that their actions and decisions have on our society,” Mr Swanepoel said.
“Being young men of compassion and integrity, we encourage them to form respectful relationships and make a stand against the strong prevailing winds of social injustice.”
Students raised $920 through the purchase of white ribbons, wristbands and a gold coin donation for a casual clothes day at school.
For more information, visit www.whiteribbon.org.au.
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault or domestic violence, call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call triple zero.
