Respect Ballarat aims to reduce rates of gendered violence in Ballarat over a 10 year period, with a particular focus on intimate partner violence. It does this by supporting and coordinating primary prevention and early intervention work, aiming to 'saturate' Ballarat with concentrated prevention action, including:
- funding for tailored work to challenge the gendered drivers of violence
- partnerships across local and state-based organisations working to prevent gendered violence
- community mobilisation and capacity-building to strengthen support for and uptake of prevention efforts
- backbone support from Respect Victoria to connect and coordinate prevention actions, share learning, and continue building evidence on what works.
What is Respect Ballarat trying to change?
To prevent harmful behaviours from occurring, the evidence tells us we need to identify the positive behaviours we want to see. We have worked with the Ballarat community and violence prevention experts to identify six key behaviours that will enable this change:
- community leaders and organisations consistently model and promote respectful, non-violent behaviour and create safer spaces for conversation about gendered violence
- people engage in informed, compassionate conversations about gendered violence that value survivors' experiences and avoid harmful stereotypes
- men engage in ongoing reflection and critical conversations about masculinity, expressing emotions and care in ways that foster safety and equality
- men engage in shared decision-making, shared household labour, and childcare in partner relationships
- boundaries and consent are respected by partners in intimate relationships
- people speak up when they hear sexist jokes and slurs, or observe controlling behaviours, such as naming the harm and encouraging respectful alternatives.
What is community mobilisation?
Community mobilisation is a community-led approach to social change. The evidence tells us it’s a critical element in the success and sustainability of place-based initiatives like this one.
In the context of Respect Ballarat, it means supporting community groups, individuals and organisations as they build their own approaches to and momentum for challenging the gendered drivers of violence. Support might include providing communities with tools, education, information and resourcing.
Community mobilisation helps connect and reinforce the outcomes from settings-based interventions in the model, by increasing their collective reach and influence across Ballarat. It is especially important for ensuring that communities historically under-served by prevention efforts are connected to the vision and efforts of Respect Ballarat.