By Gabriella Payne
Family violence is an often invisible issue that’s hidden behind closed doors – but there are many people in the community working to put a stop to it once and for all.
On Thursday 25 November, the Cardinia Shire Council (in collaboration with Aligned Leisure and Outlook Victoria) held their long awaited White Ribbon Day fundraiser and award ceremony at the Cardinia Cultural Centre, and it was a fantastic morning full of inspiring people and conversations.
A number of notable speakers addressed the audience that morning, including equality advocate, former federal MP and AFL legend Phil Cleary, Outlook CEO Sam Sondhi and Aligned Leisure’s Shane Dunne to name a few.
Mr Cleary’s powerful speech addressed how local sporting clubs could help educate both male and female players on family violence prevention, so that we can create safer spaces that promote equality within our community moving forward.
“I’m confident that we’re going to make progress and seismic change in the coming years,“ Mr Cleary said to the crowd.
“I often say, ’you don’t solve a problem until you know you’ve got one’.
“34 years ago when my sister was murdered, the society didn’t think it had a problem, so from there to here, [there’s been a] massive change,“ he said.
“We’re now capable, but this has to be a microcosm of the whole community, so in all our settings, we have to work on all these principles.“
The Cardinia Shire Council Mayor Jeff Springfield said that it had been fantastic to see community members come together on Thursday morning to raise awareness for this important issue.
“It was great to see the community come together and hear the stories of the people and the advocates in this space,“ Cr Springfield said.
“It’s such an important topic and issue to be raising awareness for, because we all play a role in the community to stop gender based violence.
“This issue brews in the background in our neighbours houses, in the houses of our teammates and in our sporting clubs, and men really need to play a role in addressing this,“ he said.
“I think that’s what White Ribbon is all about – about raising the awareness of what men can do in this space to stop this scourge of family violence.“
A number of awards were given out to outstanding community organisations working to combat this issue on the day, and overall it was fantastic event that looked towards a brighter future for all.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing any form of family violence, contact Safe Steps 24/7 on 1800 015 188 or safesteps@safesteps.org.au
