The report, Maintain the Momentum, provides a bird’s eye view of Victoria’s nation-leading work to prevent violence before it starts. It captures the broad-ranging activities now happening across the state, from the newly launched Respect Ballarat community saturation model, to gender equality programs in schools and social change campaigns, like Respect Victoria’s What Kind of Man Do You Want To Be?
The report finds that more Victorians than ever recognise that gendered violence is wrong and want preventive action to stop it before it starts. However, despite community outcry, primary prevention is still not being funded at the scale required to drive population-level change.
The Three Yearly Report makes 15 recommendations to the Victorian Government to safeguard progress and push forward. These include providing dedicated and enduring funding, strengthening the prevention workforce, and addressing emerging threats like the rise of online misogyny and AI-facilitated abuse.
The report identifies that the last three years have seen online misogyny radicalising boys and men intensify, the weaponisation of generative AI to harass and abuse women, and the consumption of increasingly violent pornography by children and young people. Without strong leadership and investment, these forces threaten to send us backwards.
Quote from Respect Victoria CEO, Helen Bolton:
“Everyone has the right to be safe, equal and respected. This report shows that Victoria’s collective efforts are creating change, but we cannot step back now. In the face of rising online misogyny and other complex challenges, we must bolster our prevention system to protect the progress we have made.”
Quote from Respect Victoria Chair, Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon:
“This report shows we are making significant progress towards breaking the cycle of violence. Victoria’s prevention efforts are nation-leading, but the crisis of family violence and violence against women remains real and urgent.”
Spokespeople available for interview:
- Helen Bolton, Respect Victoria CEO (Melbourne)
- Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Respect Victoria Chair and international leading scholar specialising in the prevention of violence against women and children (Melbourne)
Media contact:
Chloe Cornford | 0401 988 960 | chloe@upstride.com.au