Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697630257523.pdf (Australia)
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2 The role of gender inequality in all spheres of life in contributing to the prevalence of domestic violence ...................................................................................................................... 3 Recommendations ................................................................................................................. 6 The role of gender stereotypes in contributing to cultural conditions which support domestic violence, including, but not limited to, messages conveyed to children and young people in the marketing of toys and other products, education, and entertainment.
............. 7 Early years .......................................................................................................................... 8 Young people ................................................................................................................... 10 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 12 The role of government initiatives at every level in addressing the underlying causes of domestic violence, including the commitments under, or related to, the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.
............................................................. 12 Women in leadership ....................................................................................................... 13 Women’s economic inequality ........................................................................................ 14 Federal Government ............................................................................................................ 16 State and Territory Governments ........................................................................................ 17 Local Government ................................................................................................................ 17 Monash City Council Gender Equity Strategy .................................................................. 19 The Generating Equality and Respect program ............................................................... 19 Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 24 References ........................................................................................................................... 25 Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Introduction Violence against women has profound impacts on the health and wellbeing of women, families and communities.
Violence against women is highly prevalent and alarmingly widespread in Australia with serious health, social, cultural and economic ramifications.

Just over one in five Australian women have experienced sexual violence since the age of 152.

 One in three Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 151.

  Almost every week, one woman is killed by her current or former partner3.
 Intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to preventable death, disability and and illness in Victorian women aged 15–444.

 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are disproportionately impacted.

In comparison with other women in Australia, Indigenous women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised from family violence5 and almost 11 times more likely to be killed as a result of violent assault6.
It is estimated that violence against women will cost the national economy $15.6 billion by 2021- 2022 unless effective action is taken to prevent this violence7.

 Violence against women is a crime predominately committed by men known to their victim/survivors, while violence experienced by men is predominately committed by male strangers8.

Violence against women cuts across culture, age, ability, and social and economic status.
Due to a number of reasons including social stigma, fear of perpetrators and victim blaming, the extent to which violence against women occurs is perpetrated is significantly under-reported, therefore making the true extent difficult to determine.

In Australia, domestic and family violence is the most prevalent form of violence experienced by women.

The majority of those who experience family violence are women and the majority of perpetrators are men9.
This submission is based on the assumption that by working to influence and change the key drivers of violence against women, alongside addressing reinforcing factors, we will reduce family violence.

Approaches which recognise the gendered nature of violence are in keeping with international good practice10.

1 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety Survey 2012, cat.

no.

4906.0, www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.

nsf/mf/4906.0 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Personal Safety Survey 2012, cat.
no.

4906.0, www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.

nsf/mf/4906.0 3 Dearden J and Jones W, ‘Homicide in Australia: 2006 – 06 National Homicide Monitoring Program Annual Report’, Australian Institute of Criminology, 2008.

4 VicHealth, ‘The Health Costs of Violence: Measuring the Burden of Disease Caused by Intimate Partner Violence’, 2004.
5 The Australian Productivity Commission, Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage - Key Indicators 2014 (2014), available at: http://www.pc.gov.au/research/recurring/overcoming-indigenousdisadvantage/key-indicators-2014/key-indicators-2014- report.pdf 6 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Family violence among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, Cat.

no.

IHW 17 (2006) 71, http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=6442467912.
7 National Council to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, ‘The Cost of Violence Against Women and Their Children, 2009.

8 Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘Personal Safety Survey’, 2012.

9 Australia’s National Research Organisation on Women’s Safety, Key Statistics on Violence Against Women, 2014.

10 Our Watch, Policy Paper 3, International Evidence Base, 2014.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash While violence against women is prevalent and serious, it is preventable.

Primary prevention strategies seek to prevent violence before it occurs.
Preventing violence before it occurs is about addressing the core drivers of violence against women through addressing the deeply ingrained attitudes, beliefs and inequitable values that give rise to men’s violence against women.

It also means engaging the institutions, including all levels of government that through their policies, practices or lack of action may reinforce these beliefs or allow them to continue11.
Some primary prevention strategies focus on changing behaviour and/or building the knowledge and skills of individuals.

However, the structural, cultural and societal contexts in which violence occurs are also very important targets for primary prevention.

Strategies that do not have a particular focus on violence against women but address its underlying drivers are also primary prevention12.

The prevention of violence against women involves long term change.
Research shows the inverse relationship between gender equality and violence by an intimate partner, with countries with greater equality between women and men tending to have lower levels of violence against women, based on the leading global indices for gender equality.

This is illustrated in the table below13.


Our responses to the key considerations posed by the Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality detailed below have been informed by our insights and lessons learned in planning, implementing and evaluating preventing violence against women and gender equity initiatives.
The role of gender inequality in all spheres of life in contributing to the prevalence of domestic violence Violence against women exists along a continuum from sexist jokes, gender based discrimination, street harassment, sexual harassment and assault, family violence, rape and murder.

Outlined in the Victorian Family Violence Protection Act 2008, it takes many forms including, physical, sexual, financial, spiritual, emotional and psychological.
Men’s violence against women is an extreme outcome of gender inequality.
Gender inequality - a social condition where unequal value is afforded to women and men and there is an unequal distribution of political, social and economic power, opportunities and resources across of levels of 11 Our Watch, FAQ’s about the issue, http://www.ourwatch.org.au/Understanding-Violence/FAQs-about-the-issue 12 VicHealth, ‘Preventing violence before it occurs: A Framework and Background Paper to Guide the Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women in Victoria’, 2007.
13 United Nations Development Fund for Women, Investing in Gender Equality: Ending Violence against Women and Girls, 2010.

Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash society - is at the core of violence against women14.

Gender inequality is perpetuated and maintained by formal and informal structures, norms, attitudes and behaviours at all levels of life.
Gender inequality is also influenced by and intersects with others forms of systemic discrimination and disadvantage.

Redressing gender inequality and attitudes and norms which support and condone violence against women are at the core of the new national framework to prevent violence against women, Change the Story.

The key drivers of violence against women are deeply pervasive, longstanding and persistent.
Gender inequality affects all spheres and influences on life – from the individual to families, communities and societies.

In Australia, despite achieving significant gains for gender equity in recent decades, inequalities for women remain across many areas of life, restricting their ability to fully and equally participate in all elements of life, in both public and private spaces.
Due to social structures, norms, attitudes and behaviours towards women and their perceived role in society, the ability for women to experience the same rights, opportunities and privileges as men is limited.

inequalities.

For example, women from culturally and It is important to acknowledge that women and men are not homogenous and there is significant diversity within and between women and men.
As a result, women may face very different experiences and linguistically diverse communities can face specific challenges and may experience racism and discrimination on the basis of skin colour, religious affiliation, ethnic origin and other identity characteristics such as dress codes.

The intersection of gender inequality with other issues that women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities can face, may compound the risk, experience and impact of gender inequality and violence15.
Similarly, others characteristics such as disability, sexuality and age intersect with gender inequalities and can be the basis of discrimination.

The following statistics highlights some of the gender inequalities experienced by Australian women:  The pay gap between women’s and men’s fulltime weekly earnings is 17.3 percent16.

 Despite many women with children being in paid work, women continue to spend more than   double the amount of time each day than men caring for children17.
In the 2014 Order of Australia awards, 71.1 percent of recipients were male and 28.9 percent of recipients were female18.

In Australia, 44 percent of women with disabilities are in employment, compared 53 percent of men with disabilities19.
While the causes of violence are complex and multifaceted, there is significant international and national research that shows that the gendered drivers against women include:  Condoning of violence against women;  Men’s control of decision-making and limits to women’s independence in public and private life 14 Our Watch, VicHealth, Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia, 2015.
15 Our Watch, Working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities, http://www.ourwatch.org.au/What-We-Do- (1)/Culturally-and-Linguistically-Diverse-Communities 16 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Gender Pay Gap statistics, March 2016, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender_Pay_Gap_Factsheet.pdf 17 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4125.0main+features6157Feb%202015 18 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4125.0main+features6157Feb%202015 19 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4125.0main+features6157Feb%202015 Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash  Rigid gender roles and stereotyped constructions of masculinity and femininity  Male peer relations that emphasise aggression and disrespect towards women20.
The gendered drivers of violence against women which consistently predict higher rates of violence against women are illustrated in the following diagram from ‘Change the Story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia’.

Together these key drivers create a social environment in which women’s lives are devalued, men’s sense of entitlement is elevated and men’s use of violence to maintain their power is excused.
The following diagram illustrates how the permission or justification for violence is learned and reinforced familial environments21.

institutional, organisational and community and/or through social, Preventing violence against women by addressing gender inequality and violence 20 Our Watch, VicHealth, Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia, 2015.
21 Our Watch, Submission to Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence Part One, 2015. http://www.ourwatch.org.au/MediaLibraries/OurWatch/our-publications/Our-Watch-submission-PART-1-RCFV-Victoria- 05062015.pdf Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash There is international consensus that by addressing the drivers of violence against women, we can prevent violence against women from occurring in the first place.
Essential actions to address the gendered drivers of violence against women are:  Challenge condoning of violence against women  Promote women’s independence and decision-making in public life and relationships  Foster positive personal identities and challenge gender stereotypes and roles  Strengthen positive, equal and respectful relationships between and among women and men, boys and girls  Promote and normalise gender equality in public and private life.
This is illustrated in the following diagram22: The City of Monash recognises the complexities involved in delivering primary prevention of violence against women initiatives to a diverse population of women.

Women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities can face specific challenges and in addition to gender inequality, can experience discrimination on the basis of skin colour, religious affiliation, ethnic origin and other identity characteristics such as dress codes.
The intersection of gender inequality and adherence to rigid gender stereotypes with other issues that women from culturally and linguistically diverse communities can face, can compound the risk, experience and impact of violence23.

We recognise the need for primary prevention initiatives to target specific communities, including women and men from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
Council advocates for future prevention initiatives to take a tailored approach to be inclusive and sensitive to the needs and supports required by the culturally and linguistically diverse women, in addition to a complementary whole of population approach.

Recommendations 1.

Adopt a long term vision to the approach and funding of primary prevention of violence against women initiatives, acknowledging that generational cultural change is required to prevent violence against women.
22 Our Watch, VicHealth, Australian National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety, Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia, 2015.
23 Our Watch, Working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities, http://www.ourwatch.org.au/What-We-Do- (1)/Culturally-and-Linguistically-Diverse-Communities Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash 2.
Fund primary prevention initiatives that are underpinned by a clear theory of change and have an explicit focus on addressing the gendered drivers of violence against women and that take a tailored approach to be inclusive and sensitive to the needs and supports required by the culturally and linguistically diverse women, in addition to a complementary whole of population approach.
Primary prevention initiatives need to incorporate partnerships, investment in workforce capacity and mutually reinforcing multi-sector, multi-setting and multi-layered activities.

3.

Primary prevention initiatives should be designed to contribute to the evidence base and be underpinned by a strong evidence base and theory of change.

Dedicated planning and evaluation phases, sharing of lessons, impacts and outcomes should be explicit in all prevention initiatives and funded accordingly.

4.
4.

That work with men to prevent violence against women requires careful consideration and should not be undertaken unless it aims to transform gender relations in support of gender equality and does not unintentionally reinforce existing gender inequalities which privilege men over women.

5.

That primary prevention programs must uphold the mantra of ‘first do no harm’.
It is essential that communication, program messages and program activities seek to positively transform gender relations and do not unintentionally reproduce gender inequalities.

It is vital the prevention of violence against women remains the constant focus of primary prevention activities and that although some prevention activities might have a stronger and more explicit focus on gender equity, the ultimate aim of preventing violence against women is not lost.

6.
6.

The role of gender stereotypes in contributing to cultural conditions which support domestic violence, including, but not limited to, messages conveyed to children and young people in the marketing of toys and other products, education, and entertainment.
As detailed in Change the Story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia, levels of violence against women are significant and consistently higher in societies, communities and in intimate relationships where there are rigid distinctions and adherence to gender stereotypes between the roles of men and women and between masculine and feminine identities24.
Research has also found that men who hold traditional and hierarchal attitudes about gender roles and intimate relationships between men and women are more likely to hold violence supportive attitudes, such as a sense of entitlement and ownership of female partners, are more likely to perpetrate violence against women25.

Adherence to rigid gender stereotypes influences violence against women in the following key ways: 24 Our Watch, VicHealth, ANROWS.
‘Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia’.

2015.

25 Our Watch, VicHealth, ANROWS.

‘Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia’.

2015.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash  A sense of entitlement over women, including over their bodies, associated with traditional masculinity may result in the use of force and violence being used by some men, particularly within intimate partner relationships  Violence may be used to enforce gender roles or ‘punish’ women when they do not conform to rigid gender roles and identities  The gendered division between the public spaces, such as work, and private spaces such as the home can isolate women and make them more dependent on men.
 Both men and women who see boys and men and girls and women as having specific, distinct and inherent characteristics are more likely to condone, tolerate or excuse violence against women26.

Adherence to rigid gender roles stereotypes assist in maintaining inequalities between women and men.

Stereotypes justify gender discrimination more broadly and reinforce and perpetuate historical and structural patterns of discrimination.
Harmful gender stereotypes can be seemingly benign such as women being nurturing, girls wearing pink, men being un-emotional and boys wearing blue.
Other stereotypes are blatantly negative and have a more direct link to the perpetration and condoning of violence against women, such as women being overly emotional and that all women should meet an ‘ideal’ appearance of sexual attractiveness, which can cast women as targets for objectification and sexual exploitation, and can cause hostility for women who do not meet these standards.
While such stereotypes about men needing to be in control and be dominant over women at both a societal and relationship level can directly link to the perpetration of men’s violence against women, as controlling behaviour is key factor in abusive relationships, these subtle stereotypes can be just as harmful to women’s experience of violence and gender inequality.

Gender stereotyping limits women’s access to economic, political and social wealth and their access to power and control.
Gender stereotypes are socially and culturally constructed.

Stereotypes can and do change over time.

To address the including the adherence to rigid gender stereotypes as a driver of violence against women, it is essential to challenge gender stereotypes and roles and instead promote positive personal identities at the individual, community and societal levels.
Examples of this may include encouraging and supporting children, young people and adults to reject rigid gender roles and develop positive personal identities that are not constrained by gender stereotypes and promoting and supporting gender-equitable domestic and parenting practices, including through workplace initiatives27.
Early years The early years in particular are a time when rigid gender roles and stereotypical notions of what it means to be masculine or feminine are shaped, but also a time when we can have a positive influence on children’s and families understanding of gender norms.

There are many opportunities for early years educators, policy makers and children’s program developers to have a positive influence of gender equality through children’s play, language, toys and storytelling, to name a few.
Gender stereotypes can box both children and adults into narrow definitions of ‘ideal’ masculine and feminine behaviours and identities, which overwhelmingly positions men and boys as superior to 26 Our Watch, VicHealth, ANROWS.

‘Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia’.

2015.

27 Our Watch, VicHealth, ANROWS.


‘Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia’.

2015.

Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash female and girls28.

Such stereotypes also limit the ability of both adults and children to explore personal interests, opportunities and responsibilities - now and into the future.
Relevant to the early years, these stereotypes play out through both overt or implicit social norms and practices such as the belief that women are best suited to care for children, that boys are more interested in rough and aggressive play and that girls are more sensitive and emotional than boys and therefore different education and childrearing strategies should be used29.
Many influences on children imply that there are ‘typical’ ways of being a boy or girl, thereby minimising awareness of the wide variety of gender expressions which exist within, as well as between, the sexes.

Many children’s books and television programs still portray a world in which males fill traditionally masculine roles such as fire officers or postal officers, whilst females are often limited to either princesses or mothers.
Increasingly, toys and games are marketed as being ‘for’ one gender or the other – dolls and ovens are for girls and trucks and construction toys are for boys.

There are many television shows, books and toys aimed at boys that limit the male identity to being about action and physical strength, with boys also portrayed as much less likely to display empathy or nurturing skills – abilities that are generally assigned to female characters.
Female characters are often portrayed as ‘beautiful’ or ‘pretty’ and in search of a prince, reinforcing ideas that a female’s worth lies in her appearance and need to be in a relationship with a man.

Female characters are less likely to be protagonists or leaders in stories30.
Through its extensive reach with children and their families, the early years sector including educators, maternal and child health nurses, program managers, service planners and funders provides a key avenue through their service and practice to promote gender equality, challenge adherence rigid gender roles and examine and understand unconscious bias relating to gender equality.
Victorian local governments, including the City of Monash, have led the way in promoting gender equity in the practice and programming of early years and maternal and child health settings, through strong partnerships and funding from the Victorian Government and VicHealth.

Examples of initiatives undertaken in this space include:  There are significant opportunities for libraries to promote gender equality through their  collections, public space, events and activities.
Monash City Council developed a children’s picture booklist of children’s books which challenge gender stereotypes and provide broader ideas about who girls, boys, women, men and people who identify as diverse genders can be, what they can be interested in and achieve.

Integration of gender equity into Maternal and Child Health Services and practice to encourage and support greater engagement of men and fathers in all aspects of child rearing.
Over 15 local governments in both metropolitan and rural areas have implemented the Baby Makes 3 program through their Maternal and Child Health service.

The three-week group program aims to promote gender equality and equal and respectful parenting for first time mothers and fathers during the transition to parenthood.

The program has been extensively evaluated.


The program has also built the capacity, skills and confidence of 28 Monash City Council, Promoting gender equality and challenging gender stereotypes: children’s picture books, 2015. http://www.monash.vic.gov.au/files/assets/public/our-services/violence-against-women/children-books-promoting- gender-equality-challenging-gender-stereoypes-booklist.pdf 29 Our Watch, VicHealth, ANROWS.
‘Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia’.

2015.
30 Monash City Council, Promoting gender equality and challenging gender stereotypes: children’s picture books, 2015. http://www.monash.vic.gov.au/files/assets/public/our-services/violence-against-women/children-books-promoting- gender-equality-challenging-gender-stereoypes-booklist.pdf Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Maternal and Child Health nurses to promote gender equality and father engagement in their practice with families.
 Professional development sessions have been held at a number of councils for early year’s educators.

The sessions have aimed to increase educators understanding of the role of gender norms in preventing violence against women and children and practical strategies they can use in their service, environment and practice to challenge adherence to rigid gender stereotypes with children and their families.
Young people Young Australians are highly exposed and influenced by violence against women and gender inequality in the settings in which they live, work, recrate, study and play.

This is evident in recent research and data regarding the prevalence of violence against women experienced by young women and in attitudinal data.
Evidence from the 2013 National Community Attitudes Survey Towards Violence Against Women shows that young Australians have more violence supportive attitudes than other age cohorts and are less likely to support gender equality in decision making in intimate relationships31.

Positively, this life stage is also a time during which prospects for prevention are particularly strong.
Violence prevention and gender equity programs and initiatives’ have been shown to be effective using a comprehensive integrated, whole of school and youth setting approach has been taken, they are recognised as a key cohort to drive attitudinal and behavioural change.
We applaud the commitment by the Commonwealth Government to respectful relationships education, in particular the strengthening of the position of Respectful Relationships in the Australian Curriculum with specific content in the Health and Physical Education learning area and through the personal and social capability across the learning areas and the funding of resources for teachers, parents and students on Respectful Relationships on the Safer Schools website.
International and national research has demonstrated the effectiveness of ‘whole of school’ approach to respectful relationships education, in which an integrated and comprehensive approach to primary prevention is taken within schools or other youth settings.

Such initiatives aim to address the gender based drivers of violence against women through multiple approaches with schools, teachers, non-teaching staff and the broader school community.
A whole school approach which provides students with multiple exposures to key messages across the curriculum and in different areas of the school and community is more likely to result in sustained changes at the individual level to promote gender equity and non-violence.

This is illustrated in the following diagram: 31 VicHealth, Young Australian’s attitudes to violence against women (summary of findings), 2015.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Key elements of a whole of school approach32 By taking such an integrated approach, it is more likely that schools can create a culture where gender stereotypes and discrimination are challenged, violence against women is not tolerated and gender equality is promoted.
It is also critical that schools adopt organisational policies and practices which promote gender equity among its staff, acknowledge the role of schools as workplaces33.

Like a number of other sectors in Australia, there is gender inequality between men and women in leadership positions within schools, despite significantly more women employed in schools than men.
It is also critical that professional development is undertaken by teaching and other school staff on areas including curriculum delivery, primary prevention, unconscious bias, gender equity and responding to disclosures.
It is also important to acknowledge that in addition to schools and formal learning environments such as tertiary and training institutions, there are other youth settings, including local government youth services, which have significant reach and engagement with young people in their local communities.
This includes young people who are engaged in study and/or work and may also receive primary prevention messages and activities through these settings, as well as young people who are disengaged from study, work and other services who are less likely to be exposed to primary prevention activities.
Similar to a whole of school approach, youth services can also adopted a whole of service approach to respectful relationships with young people they work with and can model equal and respectful gender relationships through their planning, services, policies, programs and interactions.

Victorian local governments deliver a broad range of services and programs aimed at supporting the personal and social development of young people and their social inclusion.
Many of these programs and services focus on violence against women and range from primary prevention activities aimed at connecting all young people with their communities and promoting equal and respectful gender relationships, through to early and secondary intervention programs.
Local government youth services often play a critical partnership coordination and facilitation role with other youth practitioners and youth settings in their municipality, with many supporting schools to implement respectful relationships education, or delivering such programs in local schools.

32 Our Watch, Respectful Relationships Education in schools: evidence paper, 2015.

33 Our Watch, Respectful Relationships Education in schools: evidence paper, 2015.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Recommendations 7) That respectful relationships education is consistently included across the Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education from Foundation Level to Level 12 as well as more thoroughly incorporated in other Learning Areas, where relevant.
8) That the Commonwealth and State and Territory Governments resource and coordinate the roll-out of a whole of school approach which would complement schools in their delivery of the respectful relationships curriculum and adopt a long term vision to the approach and funding of Respectful Relationships Education, acknowledging that generational cultural change is required to prevent violence against women.
9) Acknowledge and invest in local government maternal child health, early years and youth services in working to promote gender equity and respectful relationships education.

10) Provide funding for organisations raising awareness about sexualisation of toys for young children and devise incentive programs for toy manufacturers to amend their products to be non-gendered.
11) Establish new standards for qualifications including Maternal and Child Health Nurses, Early Years educators, Youth Workers and Teaching, that address the prevention of violence against women, respectful relationships education, unconscious bias and challenging rigid gender stereotypes.

12) Embed challenging rigid gender stereotypes and the promotion of positive gender identities into the national Early Years Learning Framework.
13) Embed a gender lens across the funding, service planning and delivery of early years and youth services, including those delivered by state and local governments.

The role of government initiatives at every level in addressing the underlying causes of domestic violence, including the commitments under, or related to, the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.
‘Many of the factors influencing violence cross boundaries traditionally existing between government departments, disciplines and settings and between the government and non- government sectors34’.

Violence against women is entrenched in Australian society.

Preventing violence against women requires a long term, sustained approach by all levels of government and the community to address its pervasive, underlying causes.
Preventing violence against women and achieving gender equality requires our elected political representatives to drive and champion the policy reforms that are needed to build a stronger, more productive and fairer Australia for all.

34 VicHealth, Preventing violence before it occurs: A framework and background paper to guide the primary prevention of violence against women in Victoria, 2007.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Ensuring that gender equity and gender transformative actions are embedded within all federal, state and local government policies and programs is essential, particularly those policies relating to the social determinants of health such as education, employment, housing, health and transport.
It is also critical that all levels of government commit to addressing gender equity within their organisations as large workplaces at both a cultural and structural level.

Women in leadership Research shows an inverse relationship between gender equality and violence by an intimate partner, with countries with greater equality between women and men tending to have lower levels of violence against women, based on the leading global indices for gender equality35.
For example, the Global Gender Gap report 2013 identified Iceland as the most gender equitable country in the world and its rate of violence against women is 19 percent over a lifetime.

In comparison, it is estimated that Australia’s rate of violence against women is approximately 33 percent and its ranking on the Global Gender Report was 2436.
In Nordic countries with a quota for 42 percent of women in government, In Australia, gender inequality is evident in the disparity between women and men in senior leadership positions at all levels of government and the private sector.

Increasing the visibility of women in leadership at all levels of government, the corporate sector and non-government organisations is critical.
In 2012, the Australian Census of Women in Leadership found:  Women make up only 12 percent of the boards for ASX 200 companies and 35 percent of positions on government boards.

 Women make up only 9 percent of executive key management personnel of the ASX 200 companies and of the top 500 companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, only 12 of them had female Chief Executive Officers37.

As of March 2016, only five out of the 22 Federal Government Cabinet members were women.
In Victoria, only 34 percent of elected Councillors are female38.

While the Council elections held in November 2012 resulted in all 79 councils having at least one female councillor for the first time, ten Councils still have only a single female councillor – considerably less than the percentage of women making up their communities.

Globally, female candidates standing for national government elections achieve higher levels of representation when there are legislated or voluntary quotas in place.
In 2012, electoral quotas were used in 22 countries holding elections.

In countries with quotas in place, women won twenty- three percent of seats whereas in countries without quotas, they won twelve percent of seats39.

This demonstrated that quotas, both legislated and voluntary, are an effective mechanism to fast-track women’s political representation.
To be effective, quotas must be supported by political will and commitment from the major political parties, they need to be ambitious targets, ensure that women’s names are placed on winnable ballot positions and ensure there are meaningful sanctions for non-compliance40.

35 United Nations Development Fund for Women, Investing in Gender Equality: Ending Violence against Women and Girls, 2010.

36 World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report, 2013.
37 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australian census of women in leadership, 2012.

38 Victorian Local Governance Association, Participation of women in Victorian local governments factsheet, December 2015.

39 Inter-Parliamentary Union, Women in Parliament in 2012: the year in perspective, 2012.

40 Inter-Parliamentary Union, Women in Parliament in 2012: the year in perspective, 2012.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Women’s economic inequality Equal access to education, employment and income is vital to gender equality.

Inequities in employment, income and working conditions continue to disadvantage Australian women.

For example:  The pay gap between women’s and men’s fulltime weekly earnings is 17.3 percent41.
 Despite many women with children being in paid work, women continue to spend more  than double the amount of time each day than men caring for children42.

In 2014-15, the labour force participation was 65.1 percent for women and 78.3 percent for men and of these, 43.8 percent of women worked part-time compared with 14.6 percent of men.

This number rose to 62.2 percent for employed women with a child under 5, while part-time rates for fathers of young children were just 7.7 percent43.
 On average, Australian women currently retire with half the superannuation of men, and earn $700,000 less in their lifetime44.

 Women’s access to equal employment is partly determined by the inequitable division of domestic labour and caring responsibilities.

For example women spend nearly twice as long as men on primary activities associated with unpaid work, spending more time on domestic activities and childcare and 81 percent of Australian single parents are women45.
The economic inequality experienced by women in Australia is particularly apparent as women age.

Older women are likely to be in relationships and social environments where traditional norms about gender equity, intimate relationships and gender norms exist46i.

They are likely to have a high degree of economic dependence on male partnersii because over their lifetime they have experienced the gender pay gap and gender superannuation savings gap.
As a result, older women are at higher risk of homelessness.

Enhancing gender equity has significant economic and productivity gains which impact local, state and national economies.

Research shows that increasing female participation in the workforce by 6 percent had the potential to add $25 billion annually to the Australian economy47.

Inequality between women and men has a number of negative consequences for women.
Women’s opportunities to progress their career is limited because employers are more likely to provide full time and permanent staff with professional development and because of both conscious and unconscious bias regarding gender and leadership.

Recommendations from the Australian Human Rights Commission Gender Equality Blueprint provide an important framework for actions to redress gender inequity within workplaces.
These include:  Traineeships and recognition of prior learning as additional pathways for women  Initiatives that support women to enter into traditionally male dominated sectors and industries 41 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Gender Pay Gap statistics, March 2016, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/Gender_Pay_Gap_Factsheet.pdf 42 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4125.0main+features6157Feb%202015 43 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators 44 COTA, COTA Welcomes Inquiry into Superannuation Gap for Older Women, http://www.cota.org.au/australia/News/NewsList/2015/cota-welcomes-inquiry-into-gender-gap.aspx 45 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Gender Indicators 46 Our Watch, VicHealth, ANROWS.
‘Change the story: a shared framework for the primary prevention of violence against women and their children in Australia’.

2015.

47 Grattan Institute, Game changers: economic reform priorities for Australia, 2012.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Improved parental leave opportunities  Support and retention of women in leadership roles   Flexible work options for women and men as part of the workplace culture  Increase of government benefits, affordable, accessible and quality child care, carer support and increase and maintenance of the disability insurance scheme (with a gender lens applied)48.
The ability to work from home is a key element of modern workplace flexibility49.

Many Australian workers, such as carers (including parents), those with a disability or aged over 55, are entitled to request flexible working under the Fair Work Act 2009.

It is estimated that almost one quarter of Australian workers worked at least part of their time from home50.
There is significant evidence which shows the benefits of flexible work conditions to employers including increased productivity and job satisfaction51, reduced absenteeism and sick leave52, improved staff retention53 and a wider pool of applicants from which to recruit from people who may find it hard to be part of the traditional workforce such as carers, people with disability and people living in rural and regional areas54.
There are also multiple benefits to employees including fewer mobility problems, less travel time and cost, increased ability to manage work-life balance, and greater flexibility in working hours55.

Flexible working conditions are important for both female and male employees in balancing paid work with out of work commitments and interests, and in providing greater opportunities for men to choose to be more actively involved in caring56.

The impacts of flexible work practices on gender equity are complex.
Women are far more likely than men to utilise part-time work, parental leave and other non-standard working patterns.

On the one hand, flexible work practices have supported many women to re-enter the workplace after a period of absence from the workplace, often due to caring responsibilities.

However, on the other hand, use of flexible work conditions has the potential to reinforce the gap between men and women in the workplace.
There are fewer opportunities for combining flexible work, particularly part-time work, with access to promotions and associated pay rises, management and supervisory positions, which are traditionally dominated by men57.

Because more women than men both request and access flexible work conditions, it is often assumed that flexible work is more relevant to women and workplace policies and practices are 48 Australian Human Rights Commission, Gender Equality Blueprint, 2010.
49Job Access Australia, How to provide a flexible workplace, http://www.jobaccess.gov.au/content/how-provide-flexible- workplace 50 Australian Public Service Commission: Teleworking, http://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-apsc/parliamentary/state-of- the-service/sosr-2012-13/chapter-nine/teleworking 51 Centre for Ethical Leadership, A review of the evidence regarding work-life policies, 2013.

52 Centre for Ethical Leadership, A review of the evidence regarding work-life policies, 2013.
53 Centre for Ethical Leadership, A review of the evidence regarding work-life policies, 2013.
54 Job Access Australia, How to provide a flexible workplace, http://www.jobaccess.gov.au/content/how-provide-flexible- workplace 55 Australian Public Service Commission: Teleworking, http://www.apsc.gov.au/about-the-apsc/parliamentary/state-of- the-service/sosr-2012-13/chapter-nine/teleworking 56 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Engaging men in flexible working arrangements, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/20130829_PP_engaging_men_flex_work_2.pdf 57 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Engaging men in flexible working arrangements, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/20130829_PP_engaging_men_flex_work_2.pdf Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash often developed with this perspective in mind58.
While there have been significant changes in Australian workplace cultures over the last few decades, persistent gender stereotypes such as women are more natural carers than men, that men should be the ‘breadwinner’, that women returning from maternity leave don’t want to move up the management ranks or that both male and female employees that work part-time or from home aren’t committed to their careers, affect both women and men’s females use of flexible work conditions.
Australian research shows there are significant gender differences in the uptake of flexible work.

A survey of 2,887 Australian workers found that 24.2 percent of women had requested flexibility compared to 17.3 percent of men.

Requests were also much less likely to be reported by those working in male-dominated industries and male-dominated jobs.
Almost 25 percent of men surveyed did not request flexibility despite not being content with their current work arrangements, and having a preference to work fewer hours.

Men were almost twice as likely than women to have their request for flexibility declined59.

In a survey of Australian male employees, lack of flexibility was reported by 37 percent of young fathers as a prime reason they had seriously considered leaving their organisation in the previous six months60.
Federal Government Actions and communications from Federal Government set an important precedent for the promotion of gender equity and the prevention of violence against women.

Council commends the government’s strong commitment to redressing violence against women through the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010 – 2022.
We recommend that the Third National Action Plan has a stronger focus on the primary prevention of violence against women by addressed the gendered drivers at all levels of the socio-ecological model.

We recommend that actions to address gender inequality are strengthened through initiatives that directly address the structural factors that reinforce unequal power relations between women and men.

This can be achieved through ensuring that gender sensitive planning occurs across all ministerial portfolios.
Ensuring that gender equity is embedded within all federal policies and budgetary processes is essential, particularly in policies such as education, employment, housing, health services, childcare, transport, planning and infrastructure and income.

By influencing change at this level, the Federal Government will complement actions to drive normative and cultural change at the community, organisational and individual, family and peer levels.
Council recommends increasing the enforcement powers of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency in ensuring that workplaces adhere to existing law and expanding the sectors required to report under the legislation to the Agency to the public sector.

This would ensure that all levels of government are accountable to ensuring that their workplaces support gender equity and promote inclusive and equitable environments.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics Australian Gender Indicators contribute to the capacity to measure and monitor gender equality and inform policy makers in the development and evaluation of strategies aimed at achieving gender equality.

We commend the Australian Bureau of Statistics on their recent decision to implement an ‘other’ option for gender and sex in their standard for compiling data in recognition that gender identity is not binary and to be more inclusive of all Australians.
58 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Engaging men in flexible working arrangements, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/20130829_PP_engaging_men_flex_work_2.pdf 59 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Engaging men in flexible working arrangements, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/20130829_PP_engaging_men_flex_work_2.pdf 60 Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Engaging men in flexible working arrangements, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/20130829_PP_engaging_men_flex_work_2.pdf Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash The new Global Goals for Sustainable Development are the successor to the Millennium Development Goals.
There are 17 universal goals and 169 targets that all United Nations member states will be expected to work towards over the next 15 years.

The Global Goals apply to all countries, both developed and developing.
The importance of gender equality and women’s empowerment for sustainable development is recognised both in a standalone goal on gender equality and women’s empowerment and in the recognition of gender dimensions in targets across other goals including health, agriculture, education, climate change and economic inequality.
There are explicit targets to eliminate violence against women, with governments agreeing to take action to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation and the elimination of harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
The Global Goals for Sustainable Development provide an important moment to accelerate action on gender inequality and women’s empowerment worldwide.

For the Australian Government to meet their commitments under these Goals requires that national work goes hand in hand with action on Australia’s commitments to address violence against women abroad as a priority international issue.
State and Territory Governments State and Territory governments play a critical role in key prevention settings such as early years, primary and secondary education, family and community services, health, human, sport and industrial relations.
For gender equality to be achieved, it is critical that gender equity is embedded within all policies and budgetary processes is essential, particularly in policies such as education, employment, housing, health services, childcare, transport, planning and infrastructure and income.
All State and Territory governments should develop a long-term policy, action plan and evaluation framework to prevent violence against women by directly addressing the gendered drivers of violence against women, with bi-partisan support.

The policy should be inter-sectoral, intersectional and evidence based and take a whole of government approach.
They can also play an important role in prevention by funding and coordinating primary prevention initiatives at a state, regional and local level, for example the Victorian Department of Crime Prevention’s Reducing Violence Against Women and their Children grants which were implemented in every region of the state.
Local Government The unique and key role for local government in preventing violence against women has been identified by the State Government, the Municipal Association of Victoria and VicHealth.

VicHealth highlights that work to prevent violence against women is most effective when a number of reinforcing strategies are implemented across multiple levels of community life61.
As the arm of government closest to the community, local government has the capacity to influence many of the determinants of health and wellbeing, including gender.

The City of Monash plays a significant role in creating environments that promote the optimal health, safety and wellbeing of all community members.
This role is legislated under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act (2008) and 61 VicHealth, Preventing violence before it occurs: A framework and background paper to guide the primary prevention of violence against women in Victoria, 2007.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash the Local Government Act (1989), mandating councils to provide services that are ‘accessible and equitable’ and ‘foster community cohesion and encourage participation in community life’.
Local governments in Victoria are also bound by legislation which aim to eliminate gender discrimination and promote gender equity, such as the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010 and Sex Discrimination Act 1984.

Additionally, compliance with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 requires Councils to uphold the human rights of all members of its community.
Local governments are extremely well placed to prevent violence against women through their roles in delivering a diverse range of services to local communities and their planning and policy functions.
They play a key leadership role in local communities and have extensive reach and partnerships across the community, including workplaces, sporting clubs, the media and schools, which are all identified by the national primary prevention framework as critical settings to create the attitudinal and behavioral change needed to prevent violence against women.
Given its role in planning, providing community facilities and public spaces, service delivery and partnerships which cut across the social, economic, environmental and cultural domains of civic life, local government is well placed to integrate gender equity into its work using a whole-of-council approach.
Through utilising existing structures, networks, partnerships, relationships and infrastructure, local government can also generate a whole-of-community approach to promote gender equity and prevent violence against women.

Local government often have strong established partnerships with women’s health services, family violence services and other organisations working to ameliorate and prevent family violence.
In addition, as large employers in the local community, they can drive workplace change to enhance gender equity, such as provisions to encourage flexible working environments for men and women and provide opportunities to support women into leadership roles.

The Municipal Association of Victoria is a strong leader and advocate for the vital and unique role of local government in preventing violence against women.
Since 2010, the Victorian Government has funded a Preventing Violence Against Women Policy Advisor at the Municipal Association of Victoria.

Through this dedicated role and expertise, the organisation has been instrumental in advocating and promoting gender equity and ensuring the momentum among Victorian councils on preventing violence against women and gender equity continues to grow.
The Municipal Association of Victoria’s leadership in this area is underpinned by a Leadership Statement which commits the organisation to provide leadership in preventing violence against women through:  advocacy to other levels of government to increase the resources in clarifying, enhancing and implementing legislation and influencing social norms for more equal relationships between men and women.
 building capacity within this organisation, and the sector, to understand the prevalence, seriousness and preventable nature of the problem and the roles that local government can play in addressing gender equity and promoting respectful relationships.

 promoting local government’s role, achievements and best practice in preventing violence against women to the sector and other levels of government.
In addition, championing ‘whole of community’ approaches to raising awareness and responding to opportunities to promote respectful relationships62.
62 Municipal Association of Victoria, Prevention of violence against women leadership statement, http://www.mav.asn.au/policy-services/social-community/gender-equity/Pages/leadership-statement.aspx#statement Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Monash City Council Gender Equity Strategy In November 2015, Monash City Council endorsed the Gender Equity Strategy (2015-2020).
The Strategy builds upon and formalises Council’s longstanding commitment to promoting gender equity and preventing violence against women.

The vision of the Strategy is for an inclusive and gender equitable city, where females and males are treated with respect and have equal opportunities, decision-making power and responsibilities, regardless of their gender.
Monash Council aims to ensure that everyone in the Monash community enjoys the same opportunities, rights and respect, regardless of their gender.

Achieving gender equity is critical to improving the health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities and is a core principle of a fair, safe and inclusive community.

It is the intention of this Strategy that Council will strive towards an integrated, whole of Council approach to gender equity.
Through the application of this Strategy, it is the expectation that gender equity is considered and prioritised in all current and future Council planning, policy, service delivery and practice.

Council commits to promoting gender equity through Council’s role as a:  Leader – we will provide leadership to our community and partners on gender equity.

To affect community change, we need to ensure our culture, policy, planning and programs demonstrate gender respect and equity.
 Advocate - we will advocate for gender equity and the prevention of violence against women at a local, regional, state and national level  Capacity builder – we will support Council, our partners and the Monash community to understand how they can promote gender equity in their everyday work and lives.

 Employer – ensuring Council as a workplace provides equitable opportunities for its male and female employees and maintains an organisational culture which supports gender equity.
Arm of government – ensuring that our decision making, resource allocation, planning, policy and service delivery addresses gender inequalities and is evidence based.

 Healthy Monash Males Program Delivery In addition to the Gender Equity Strategy, to support health equity within the City of Monash, Monash Council established the Healthy Monash Males Program (August 2015 – June 2016).
The program seeks to ensure all male priority groups and the broader Monash male population are effectively engaged through targeted health promotion initiatives to improve health and wellbeing outcomes particularly in the areas of early help-seeking, preventable chronic disease, mental health and social engagement.

Twelve major Monash male health promotion events and activities will be delivered throughout 2015-2016 in response to the Monash Council Male Health Research conducted in early 2015.
The Generating Equality and Respect program The City of Monash was the lead organisation in the Generating Equality and Respect, an innovative, place-based preventing violence against women program.

The program was delivered in partnership with Link Health and Community and VicHealth between 2012 and 2015.

The program aimed to prevent violence against women before it occurs in the Monash community by addressing the underlying drivers of violence against women.
The program worked in the following areas: Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash  Link Health and Community and Monash City Council underwent organisational culture change to promote respect and gender equality within the workplace.

This was extended into the broader Monash community through the promotion of gender equity in their service delivery, policy, planning and practice.
 Baby Makes 3, a program delivered through Maternal Child Health Services which promotes equal and respectful relationships between first time parents during the transition to parenthood.

The program also built the capacity of Maternal and Child Health nurses to promote gender equity and father inclusion.
 A local network, Monash Partners in Prevention Network, was established to support youth practitioners to deliver good practice respectful relationships education in their work with young people and promote gender equality through their programs and services.

 Established a partnership with a local male dominated corporate workplace to support gender equality and respectful relationships through training and organisational cultural change.
Drawing from VicHealth’s decade of research and activity in the prevention of violence against women, the vision of the program was for an equal and respectful Monash community where women are free from violence.
Its goals were to:  Build communities, cultures and organisations that are gender equitable and value and support non-violent norms  Foster respectful and equal relationships between men and women  Realise sustainable primary prevention through strong collaboration with established and new partners  Pilot an innovative model for the primary prevention of violence against women that is transferrable and informs practice.
Generating Equality and Respect is distinguished from other primary prevention initiatives in that it features both depth and breadth of activity, with one community receiving many mutually- reinforcing program activities across many settings.

As highlighted by VicHealth, ‘primary prevention efforts are most likely to be effective when a coordinated range of mutually reinforcing strategies is targeted across these levels of influence’63.
The program was funded by VicHealth with the explicit purpose of trialling a site-based saturation approach to the prevention of violence against women, where activities engage as many settings and population groups as possible (supporting program breadth) and with the intention of establishing and embedding the site and key program initiatives well beyond the funding period (supporting program depth).
Generating Equality and Respect settings, activities and approaches Generating Equality and Respect utilised many of proven and promising prevention techniques that are detailed in the national primary prevention framework, including direct participation programs, organisational development, communications and social marketing.
It also worked across many of the key settings identified by the framework including local government; workplaces; community health services; early years services; youth settings and sport and recreation settings.
The program utilised mutually reinforcing program activities whereby behaviour change was supported through structural change (for example within the workplace and community organisation) and where there was ongoing reinforcement of positive attitudes for gender equality and respectful 63 VicHealth, Preventing Violence before it occurs: A framework and background paper to guide the primary prevention of violence against women in Victoria, 2007.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash relationships (communications, codes of conduct and so forth), hence having a mutually reinforcing effect.
Examples of program activities included: o With individuals: Training and capacity building on gender equity, preventing violence against Women, unconscious bias and bystander o With couples: Baby Makes 3 Group Program to promote healthy and equal relationships among first time parents in the transition to parenthood o With the community: Communications and events, raising awareness of the prevention of violence against women, promoting gender equality and challenging rigid gender stereotypes o With workplaces: Gender equity mainstreamed into planning and policy, gender equity structures, Family Violence leave provisions o With various sectors working with young people: Professional development networks and resourcing for youth practitioners to deliver good practice respectful relationships education o With health service providers: Gender equity audit and planning processes, training clinicians on the relevance of gender equity to the provision of services.
o With partners: Cross-sectoral partnerships operated at both governance and operational levels of the Generating Equality and Respect program have increased commitment by partner agencies and collective impact in the community.

o With the Victorian and broader community: Contributing to the evidence-base on primary prevention.
The program had extensive and dedicated planning and evaluation phases which ensured the program activities were identified based on gaps, strengths and opportunities for primary prevention within partner organisations and key settings.

Elements of program planning and evaluation included: o Prevention Plan of Action o Evaluation Framework and Program Logic Model o Communication Strategy o Sustainability Plan o Evaluation capacity building, using a participatory learning-based approach.
The program also had significant Investment in workforce capacity to build awareness and understanding of violence against women and the knowledge, skills and confidence to prevent violence against women by promoting gender equity.

Generating Equality and Respect defined the workforce for gender equality as all people working within the partner agencies and in key settings, in recognition that we all have a role to play in preventing violence against women.
If we truly want societal change, the influences for change need to be strong and sustained over time and organisations and workplaces play a vital role in this.

The program aimed to establish a collective understanding among those working in partner organisations and settings of the underlying determinants of violence against women.
Adequate investment is required to move from awareness to action and to support the attitudinal and behavioural change for gender equality needed by individuals, organisations and communities.

Evaluation of preventing violence against women initiatives As noted by the World Health Organisation, rigorous evaluation should be an integral part of all initiatives to prevent violence against women64.
Evaluation was built into every step of Generating Equality and Respect using a participatory capacity building evaluation approach, which involved capacity building and ongoing support for program staff workers as key evaluators of their own programs.

This is led by the VicHealth Research Practice Leader and builds on the approach used in 64 World Health Organisation, World Report on Violence and Health, 2002.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash previous phases of Respect, Responsibility and Equality.

See here for more information on the evaluation capacity building approach.

The primary prevention of violence against women is highly theory driven.
It rests on an extensive research base of the key drivers of violence against women, an explicit theoretical linkage between the impacts achieved by primary prevention initiatives which address these drivers, their influence when accumulated and an eventual improvement in the prevalence of violence against women.
As described in VicHealth’s Evaluating preventing violence against women initiatives: A participatory and learning-oriented approach for primary prevention in Victoria, ‘shifting the root causes of violence against women is an undertaking requiring the combined effort of many initiatives over a sustained period of time.
As with other health and social problems, the challenge of addressing violence against women is conceptualised as a long-term endeavour: reducing or ending violence against women is unlikely to be seen in the life of a project or program.

This suggests that the effects of any primary prevention initiative can only ever contribute incrementally to change on the underlying determinants, and that this change in turn contributes eventually to ameliorating the problem65’.
Impacts and outcomes of the Generating Equality and Respect program The evaluation sought to understand impacts and outcomes which support the creation of gender equality as detailed in the program’s Evaluation Framework, in which we aligned anticipated short and medium term impacts to measure change at the individual, organisational and community levels.
It is expected a detailed evaluation report detailing program impacts, outcomes, practice insights and recommendations will be released by VicHealth in mid 2016.

A series of tools and resources based on program lessons and findings to support primary prevention practitioners is also expected to be released in mid 2016.

The evaluation and resources will contribute to the emerging evidence base for primary preventing of violence against women in Australia and internationally.
A collective impact and reach was achieved with local government and community health services as partners given their complementary functions, reach into local community and local and regional partnerships.

International promising practice demonstrates the importance of inter-sectoral involvement in the prevention of violence against women66.

Gender equity is embedded, where applicable, into the policy, planning, service delivery and practice of the City of Monash.
As described above, Monash Council developed a Gender Equity Strategy to drive and coordinate their gender equity and preventing violence against women activities beyond the funded program period.

The Generating Equality and Respect program had considerable reach into the Monash community:  580 people consulted in planning, needs assessment and policy development to support the development of gender equitable organisations and communities.
 Over 1,100 people attended an event or training build their awareness and capacity to prevent violence against women and promote gender equity.

65 VicHealth, Evaluating preventing violence against women initiatives: A participatory and learning-oriented approach for primary prevention in Victoria, 2013.

66 Hayes, T, Gender, Local Governance and Violence Prevention: Learning from International Good Practice to Develop a Victorian Model, University of Melbourne, 2006.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash  Approximately 15,000 people saw the programs’ social marketing message which explicitly drew the link between violence against women and gender inequality – Say NO to violence against women, Say YES to equality and respect.

 Supported and built the capacity of 37 youth practitioners to implement good-practice respectful relationships education.
 58 parents attended the Baby Makes 3 group program which supports first time parents to promote gender equal and respectful relationships in the transition to parenthood.
The program aimed to build the capacity of staff and decision-makers in partner organisations and key settings to increase awareness of violence against women, understanding of the key determinants of violence against women and to increase people’s confidence in promoting gender equality and challenging harmful gender stereotypes in their day-to-day work.
Practice insights from the Generating Equality and Respect program The evaluation found a number of lessons learned and practice insights for primary prevention of violence against women initiatives.

These included:  There are significant impacts and outcomes that can be achieved with local government and community health services as both a setting and partner for preventing violence against women activities.
Gender equity and primary prevention can be embedded into their planning, policy, service delivery and practice which can promote gender equity within their organisations and their local community.

 Champions who received capacity building and support from prevention practitioners are critical to the success of work to support primary prevention and gender equity within organisations.

Champions should exist within various teams, different genders, departments and levels of organisational hierarchy.
In working with new settings, such as corporate organisations, for primary prevention, it is essential to assess the possible points of connection for workforce development and organisational change on gender equity and preventing violence against women, determine the readiness for capacity development and work with where the corporate partner is at in regards to capacity building and awareness raising activities.
  Reinforced how critical it is that primary prevention activities and communication ‘do no harm’.

Communication activities should seek to positively transform gender relations and practitioners should be cautious not to unintentionally reproduce inequalities between women and men through program messaging and activities.
The program also found the importance of having highly visible communication activities, for example social marketing, events and branded resources, alongside organisational change and capacity building work which can often be less visible.

 Having visible organisational leadership and participation by men is crucial to the success of primary prevention initiatives.
It takes time and practice for everyone, including leaders, and women and men, to have the ability and confidence to champion for the prevention of violence against women and gender equality.

 Attitudinal, behavioural and organisational cultural change is supported when the program staff and activities are embedded within organisations and settings.

All conversations and interactions can be opportunities for learning about preventing violence against women and gender equity.
This is important to complement formal training and learning.

 Confirmed the complexities encountered in engaging with men to prevent violence against women.

Capacity development with men to prevent violence against women requires careful consideration and should transform gender relations in support of gender equality.
Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Recommendations 14) Resource local government peak bodies in each State and Territory to provide capacity building and a coordination role for local governments to prevent violence against women and promote gender equity in their planning, policy, programming, service delivery and practice.
15) All State and Territory governments should develop a long-term policy, action plan and evaluation framework to prevent violence against women, with bi-partisan support.

The policy should be inter-sectoral, intersectional and evidence based.

16) That the Commonwealth Government and all States and Territories provide long-term funding and commitment to Our Watch and Australia‘s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.
17) All levels of government undertake a gender audit of existing and new legislations, policies, and regulations over which it has jurisdiction and implement changes to promote gender equality.

18) That the Federal Government implements all recommendations from the Inquiry into the Economic Security for Women in Retirement.
19) That the Federal Government extend reporting under the Workplace Gender Equality Act (2012) to the public sector, including national, state and local governments and statutory bodies.
20) That the Third Action Plan of the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children (2010-2022) strengthen its focus on primary prevention by addressing the gendered drivers of violence against women and integrate an international component into the Plan to ensure Australia meets both its national and international obligations under the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
21) Build local, state and federal government elected member commitment and capacity to prevent violence against women and promote gender equity through systemised and evaluated training opportunities, including primary prevention of violence against women, gender analysis and challenging sexism through bystander approaches.
22) All State and Territory Health Plans should prioritise and include actions to prevent violence against women and promote gender equity to increase the safety, health and wellbeing and equality of Australian women.

23) That all levels of Government actively explore establishing quota’s for women’s representation for elected representatives, statutory agencies, Government Boards and the Boards of publically listed companies.
The introduction of quotas has been found by many countries internationally as an effective pathway towards increasing gender equity and ultimately contributing to the prevention of violence against women.
24) Invest in a workforce development strategy for primary prevention at all levels of government, to build a specialist workforce of prevention policy makers and practitioners which can provide leadership support, technical assistance, policy and program development, implementation and evaluation expertise to diverse Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash stakeholders.
These gender equity and primary prevention specialists should be skilled in designing and delivering tailored, evidence based preventing violence against women and gender equity initiatives.

25) Adequately resource and adopt a long term vision to the funding of specialist family violence and sexual assault response services.

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Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28 Parliamentary Inquiry into Domestic Violence and Gender Inequality Submission: City of Monash Our Watch, Submission to Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence Part One, 2015.

Our Watch, Respectful Relationships Education in schools: evidence paper, 2015.

Our Watch, Working with culturally and linguistically diverse communities United Nations Development Fund for Women, Investing in Gender Equality: Ending Violence against Women and Girls, 2010.
VicHealth, The Health Costs of Violence: Measuring the burden of disease caused by intimate partner violence, 2004.

VicHealth, Preventing violence before it occurs: A framework and background paper to guide the primary prevention of violence against women in Victoria, 2007.

VicHealth, Young Australian’s attitudes to violence against women (summary of findings), 2015.

Victorian Local Governance Association, Participation of women in Victorian local governments factsheet, December 2015.
Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Engaging men in flexible working arrangements, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/20130829_PP_engaging_men_flex_work_2.pdf Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Gender Pay Gap statistics, March 2016, Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Australian census of women in leadership, 2012.

World Economic Forum, Global Gender Gap Report, 2013.

World Health Organisation, World Report on Violence and Health, 2002.

Domestic violence and gender inequalitySubmission 28