Today, leading Victorian experts from the Women’s Community Services Sector are launching a resource for business to help them take action to end family violence.
The resource will help workplaces choose the right training and consultancy services to build their capacity to address gender equity and family violence.
“This free resource has been developed collaboratively by 14 community sector organisations. It represents an incredible source of expertise to support HR managers, learning professionals and employers in Australian business who are looking to engage organisations for gender equity and family violence training for their staff” said Ciara Sterling, Thriving Communities Partnership CEO
“We were motivated to write this resource as too often we are hearing stories about poor and sometimes dangerous training being provided. Training that lacks the knowledge and expertise obtained by working with victim survivors on the ground” said WIRE CEO Julie Kun
“We know that business is making significant changes to create gender equity and take action to prevent family violence. All those involved in the development of this resource have significant experience in understanding what needs to occur to make those changes. We know that a key question often asked of the community services sector is what do I look for in a training provider? This resource seeks to answer this question in a way that resonates with all employers and workplaces” said Kristine Olaris, Gender Equity Victoria (GEN VIC) Conveyor.
The resource is published by the Women’s Information and Referral Exchange (WIRE) on behalf of over a dozen community services training services operating in Victoria and nationally and outlines the business case for focusing on gender equity and family violence, a checklist for getting started, principles for best practice training and what to look for when selecting a training and consultancy partner.
“There are so many things that employers need to consider when addressing gender equality and family violence in the workplace. Selecting the right training provider to partner with is just one. Any capacity development needs to be safe, provide accurate information and constructively challenge the unhelpful attitudes that leads to gender inequality and family violence. Our goal with this resource is to provide the right, helpful guidance to support good outcomes for all businesses to create workplace cultures of respect and equity” said Kit McMahon, CEO, Women’s Health in the South East (WHISE)
Businesses will vary in their skills, resources and motivations for addressing family violence and creating equitable workplaces. We know that different organisations take different pathways to achieve gender equality and address family violence. This resource is designed to work for all organisations – grassroots to multinational – and for whatever stage of the process they are at.
The resource is available now via the Women’s Health in the South East Website (https://www.whise.org.au/resources/choosing-family-violence-and-gender-equity-training-and-consultancy-delivers-resources) and also through the Thriving Communities Partnership website (https://thriving.org.au/Issues-and-Insights/family-violence/policy—guidelines )
Media Contacts:
Julie Kun – CEO WIRE: 0432821430
Kit McMahon – CEO Women’s Health in the South East: 0408250272
Hashtags: #Equity #Equality #PVAW #FamilyViolence