How We Prevent Violence Against Women

A Region Free From Violence

WHISE works to prevent violence against women using evidence based primary prevention techniques and strategies. At its very core, our work is about promoting and normalising gender equality in public and private life.

WHISE is the backbone organisation for the regional strategy for the prevention of violence against women Promoting Respect & Equity Together 2021-2025 - A Strategy to End Gendered Violence in the Southern Metropolitan Region

WHISE employs an intersectional feminist framework and partners with organisations across the Southern Metropolitan Region. These include local councils, community health services, community service organisations, and more. Altogether this work aims to:

  • Broaden the diversity of organisations across the region engaging with the primary prevention of gendered violence and promotion of gender equality.
  • Collectively increase the application of intersectional gendered lens planning across all projects, policies, services and health planning practices.
  • Continue to strengthen combined practice and expand expertise across the region through collective learning and sharing opportunities

To learn more about how we do this, see our PRET Year 1 & 2 Action Plan and PRET Evaluation Framework 2022

Promoting Respect & Equity Together Regional Strategy

PRET is the second regional strategy for the primary prevention of gendered violence for the Southern Metropolitan Region. 

What is Violence Against Women and Gender Based-Violence?

"Violence against women is any act of gender-based violence that causes or could cause physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of harm or coercion, in public or in private life."

— UN Declaration

The prevention of violence against women (PVAW) is about stopping violence before it starts. The evidence is very clear that violence against women, including coercive control is driven by gender inequality and worsened by other forms of discrimination and systemic power inequity.

Violence against women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights in the State of Victoria. The good news is that if we all work together, violence against women is absolutely preventable.

 

What is the Impact and Cost of Violence Against Women?

  • On average, an Australian man murders his current or former partner at a rate of one woman per week & one man per month.1
  • Men's use of violence in domestic and family settings is the principal cause of homelessness for women and their children.2
  • Violence against women has wide-ranging and persistent effects on women’s physical and mental health. The greatest of these is mental illness, with anxiety and depression making up 58% of the disease burden resulting from violence.3
  • 1 in 4 women has been sexually assaulted at work.4
  • $323 BILLION estimated cost of violence against women to Australian economy by 2044-45.5