16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence 2024
We all deserve to be safe, equal and respected. More than 1 in 3 women have experienced men’s violence. Safety for women is not a given in any community – and neither is respect. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Each year, 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is a global campaign led annually by UN Women, running from 25 November (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) to 10 December (Human Rights Day). During the 16 Days of Activism, communities around the world join the call to prevent and eliminate violence against women and girls. Organisations, local council, workplaces, sports clubs and other community groups host activities and events in a drive for greater conversation and change. On Friday 22 November, join thousands of Victorians for the 16th annual Walk Against Family Violence in the Melbourne CBD.
CMY’s work in Family Violence
CMY has been working with, addressing and responding to family violence across our work in the community sector, undertaking work in the Gender Equity, Healthy and Safe Relationship space over the past few years through programs such as Speak Up, Shout Out & Culture Spring.
Working with numerous partner organisations throughout the years, CMY is proud to have expanded its Family Violence portfolio into research as well as service delivery. CMY’s latest work has involved the development of a framework for recognising and responding to multicultural young people experiencing family violence, as well as program delivery in the Adolescent Family Violence (AVITH) space.
Our work has included:
- Contextualising and understanding the causes of violence when we are talking about young people from multicultural communities
- Providing an intersectional and trauma informed lens to the work
- Managing FV risk and recognising the unique experiences of each young person and family we work with
- Whole of family work in addressing how harmful behaviour has ripple effects in the home, community and beyond
- Providing an integrated response to young people and their support systems with the aim of reducing conflict and addressing harm
- Meeting young people ‘where they are at’ in providing innovative and creative methods of engagement, and therapeutic interventions
- Co-location in the service delivery areas linking in with youth clubs, parenting groups and wider community engagement
- Co work working alongside key youth and family services to provide holistic wrap around support
CMY continues to engage and amplify the voices of young multicultural people in this space, with projects such as:
- Services such as Adolescent Violence in the Home (AVITH) offers a specialist response for young people and/or their families when there have been experiences of harm and family violence within the home, including where young people (up to 18 years of age) have enacted harm.
- Developing the ‘I need to know you’re safe’ framework highlights the lived experience, needs and challenges of multicultural young people when accessing the family violence service system.
- Release of the ‘Better the devil you know than the system you don’t understand’ paper, which creates better outcomes for newly arrived young people experiencing family violence
This year for the 16 days of activism against gender based violence, our team is thinking about a number of important and reoccuring themes which continue to emerge in our work: intersectionality, intergenerational views, the role of bystanders in safe intervention and drivers of violence.