Last year Ballarat took to the streets in a powerful, emotional protest against gendered violence. The devastating deaths of Samantha Murphy, Rebecca Young and Hannah McGuire sent shockwaves through every part of the community, and together residents turned their collective grief into collective action.
The Victorian Government responded to the community’s calls with support for a four-year community saturation model to disrupt and shift the drivers of violence in Ballarat. Since then, Respect Victoria has been privileged to learn from and collaborate with people, organisations and communities across the city to envision a safer community and develop the foundational model.
Following 12 months of co-design, consultation and collaboration, today we launch the next steps in a people powered approach to ending gendered violence. Respect Ballarat is about every part of the community coming together to take action for a Ballarat where everyone is respected, safe and free from violence.
The model builds on the strengths of existing primary prevention and early intervention work, while creating opportunities for tailored, local approaches to reduce the prevalence of gendered violence in Ballarat. The foundational model does this through a focus on specific people and places, reaching the community where they live, learn, work, and play.
Respect Victoria has partnered with Ballarat Foundation to administer a $1 million grants program that will contribute to the outcomes of Respect Ballarat. Funding will be available to local organisations working in purposeful partnerships to deliver prevention and early intervention initiatives that support the goals of the model.
The generosity, honesty and dedication with which Ballarat has approached this work has left a deep impression on Respect Victoria and the family violence sector. While there is significant work happening across the country and in Ballarat, this is the first time a violence prevention approach of this kind has been resourced and supported at this level. The Respect Ballarat model will build lessons for prevention nationally and internationally.
Read more about Respect Ballarat.
Quotes from community members
“Ballarat has shown the country what community-led change looks like. The Saturation Model is not just a response to tragedy — it’s a commitment to long-term, local action that reaches every part of our community. This is not about short-term fixes. It’s about changing culture — and that takes time, trust, and collaboration. Ballarat is ready, and Women’s Health Grampians is proud to be part of this journey.” - Jennie Courtney, CEO Women’s Health Grampians
“These conversations are surfacing not just challenges, but also ideas — about how to close gaps in services, raise awareness, and strengthen community understanding. It’s essential that people from diverse cultural backgrounds feel genuinely heard and valued in this work. This project is modelling what true co-design looks like — placing community voices at the centre and embracing the principle of ‘nothing about us without us.’” — Shiree Pilkinton, Centre for Multicultural Youth