How We Prevent Violence Against Women
Preventing Violence Against Women in our Region
One of the ways WHISE works to prevent violence against women in the region is through our third Promoting Respect & Equity Together (PRET) Strategy. The 2025-2030 strategy brings together the work across the region to create safe, equal and respectful relationships, families, workplaces, schools and communities. Read the full strategy below.
PRET is the third regional strategy for the primary prevention of gendered violence for the Southern Metropolitan Region.
Understanding Violence Against Women
"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
If we want to prevent it from happening, we need to understand what it is, what causes it.
Evidence and Research
Primary Prevention of violence against women 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.
Primary prevention work is supported by Women’s Health Service and others such as Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal to work with communities to implement prevention of violence initiatives.