16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence - 25 November - 10 December 2022
25 November 2022
Source: Women's Health in the North
Friday 25 November 2022 is the first day of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.
This campaign is a call to action highlighting that gender-based violence against women is a violation of human rights.
Beginning on 25 November which is International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the campaign spans 16 days to finish on 10 December which is World Human Rights Day. These dates were specifically chosen to link violence against women and human rights.
healthAbility is committed to taking a lead on preventing violence against women. It is a priority within our organisation’s Community Health – Health Promotion plans. Our organisation is proud to be a partner of the Building a Respectful Community partnership in the North and Together for Equality and Respect Strategy in the east that are united with around 50 local organisations working for a gender equitable, safe and respectful community.
As a workplace, we are committed to ending gender-based violence for all our staff, clients and our community.
Below are some of the key messages from Women's Health in the North (WHIN) we'll be sharing through the 16 Days to demonstrate the simple, everyday actions we can all take to be part of ending gender-based violence and building a gender equitable, safe and respectful community.
📞If you need to speak to someone, support is available.
For an emergency, call 000.
For crisis support you can speak to someone at Lifeline 24 hours, 7 days a week by calling or texting 13 11 14.
For help, please contact:
1800 Respect on 1800 737 732
Safe Steps (24hr) on 1800 015 118
EDVOS on 9259 4200 (Outer East) the Orange Door 1800 354 322 (Inner East)
The Orange Door on 1800 319 355 (North)
Challenge victim blaming
Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime is in some way held responsible for what has happened to them. Victim blaming is evident in questions such as ‘What was she wearing?’ ‘What was she doing walking home by herself?’ and ‘What did she think was going to happen if she got drunk?’.
Victim blaming is also present in the question, ‘Why doesn’t she just leave?’. Focussing on women’s behaviour when they have experienced violence means we fail to hold men to account for their actions in perpetrating violence.
This is an example of how our society condones and enables men’s violence against women. Challenging these attitudes is essential if we are to prevent violence against women and create safe and respectful communities.
This video from OurWatch is a useful introduction to consent, victim-blaming and the importance of listening to survivors.
Movies that explore, defy and celebrate gender and gender equality
There is no better way to question and expand our understanding of gender-based violence and learn about gender stereotypes than to learn through books and movies.
This 16 Days, from November 25 to December 10, 2020, commit to watching at least 3 of the movies below, and share them with a friend. By educating ourselves and others we can move into purposeful action, and end gender-based violence for good.
Movie list:
- A Little Chaos
- Bend it Like Beckham
- Bombshell
- Calendar Girls
- Enola Holmes
- Erin Brockovich
- Hidden Figures
- Made in Dagenham
- North Country
- On the Basis of Sex
For more information about these movies please take a look at the Movie List
Celebrate gender diversity through books
Our Health Promotion team have made posters of books that support gender equity and inclusion for children.
Reading books that celebrate gender diversity and challenge rigid gender stereotypes is an excellent way for children to see beyond the binary of male and female categories and to challenge outdated gender norms. This type of literature encourages children to think about who they are, what they can be and what they can achieve in the future
These books will help us to…
Support all people to feel seen
Expand the way we think
Encourage us to be inclusive
Books for Pre-school Children
Click here for the large version of the Pre-school poster
Books for Lower Primary School Children
Click here for the large version of the Lower Primary School poster
Books for Upper Primary School Children
Click here for the large version of the Upper Primary School poster
Books for Secondary School Children
Click here for the large version of the Secondary School poster
Encourage or role model healthy masculinity
Research shows that 95% of the violence women have experienced in Australia is at the hands of men. Clearly violence against women is a men’s issue too.
Australian men’s belief in rigid masculine stereotypes has a stronger impact on whether they will use violence, sexually harass women, or experience mental ill-health, than other factors including their education levels, where they live or their cultural heritage.
We need to challenge stereotypes that associate masculinity with control, power and aggression. Masculinity must be acknowledged as diverse, nuanced and multi-faceted if we are to support boys and men to be free to choose who they want to be and prevent violence against women.
Learn about elder abuse and challenge ageist attitudes.
The impact of gender on our lives does not disappear as we age, and older women are at similar risk to intimate partner violence as younger women, as well as sexual abuse and forms of elder abuse perpetrated by family members and carers. This can be linked to ageist attitudes that marginalise older women and frame them as ‘sexless’ or position them as invisible. Ageism is normalised and commonplace. Examine your own attitudes towards older people and challenge ageist attitudes when you hear them. For more information visit the Respect Victoria website
Role model consent with young people in relation to image sharing and safe online relationships.
Modelling consent with children creates the groundwork for their understanding of respectful relationships and healthy boundaries. By talking to children about online safety early and often, we lay the foundations for safer online experiences as they grow older. The same rules for consent apply online, as they do offline:
1. Only a freely given yes means yes.
2. Consent can’t be implied, inferred or coerced.
3. Consent can always be revoked at any time.
This campaign #FreeToBeOnline is standing with girls around the world to call for social media companies to improve their ways of reporting abuse and harassment in a way that actually works for girls.
Chat with an older person about changing gender roles and norms over their lifetime.
Did you know that before 1956 female teachers had to resign before getting married? Or that women couldn’t drink in bars before 1956? Or that Aboriginal women were only granted the right to vote in 1962, 60 years after non-Indigenous women attained that same right?
The continued activism for gender equality in Australia might be taken for granted but these successes need discussing and celebrating, especially as we look to the future. Check out the gender equality timeline from Victorian Women's Trust and chat with an older person in your life about how gender roles and norms have changed over their lifetime. What have you learnt from an older person about changes to gender in their lifetime that surprised you?
Support the self-determination and active participation of women with disabilities
International Day of People with Disabilities is on 3 December 2022. It is a day to highlight how gender inequality interacts with ableism to exacerbate inequalities for women with disabilities, and to promote the rights of women with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic and cultural life.
When discrimination on the basis of gender and ableism ends, women with disability will no longer experience barriers to participation in the community. International Day of People with Disabilities highlights the importance of women with disabilities being able to participate equally in all aspects of society, including social settings and events like parties. It places the onus on people without disabilities to make that possible, in all settings and across social, economic, cultural and political life.
