YWCA Week Without Violence

Week Without Violence is a world-wide YWCA initiative recognised in over 100 countries each October, which aims to encourage the community to identify sustainable alternatives to violence. Week Without Violence puts violence against women on the public agenda and is linked to an important area of local advocacy for the YWCA of Canberra. 

Week Without Violence 2011

In 2011 we celebrated Week Without Violence by launching 76 Rose Street – an interactive exhibition that provided a unique opportunity to visualise domestic violence through a simple recreation of an ordinary apartment. 

Complementing the exhibition is our interactive web tool which raises public awareness of domestic violence in Australia and informs people about how to get help should it be required. The aim of the tool is to make domestic violence more visible and bring it out from behind closed doors. 

The exhibition and web tool were made possible with assistance from the ACT Government.  Click here to visit the interactive web tool.

 

Week Without Violence 2010

In 2010 we held a panel discussion on men and violence and their role in preventing violence against women. Speaking on the panel were Chris Higgison of Relationship Australia; Libby Loyd, Chair of the National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Justin Harrison, CA Technologies Brumbies Rugby Forwards Coach and former Brumbies and Wallabies player.

Each Panel member brought a wealth of information and some personal insights into the discussion. The audience comprised of YWCA of Canberra members, staff, supporters, senior high school students and representatives of community organisations working in this field, who engaged in the discussion through a Q and A session. It was a great achievement to put violence against women on the public agenda in this way, and to facilitate thought provoking discussions and individual reflections.

The YWCA of Canberra also enjoyed being apart of the coalition of women’s organisations that each year brings Reclaim the Night to the streets of Civic. Women took the streets blowing their whistles, waving their banners, raising awareness about sexual violence against women and demanding their right to live without fear and reality of rape and male violence.
 

Week Without Violence 2009

The YWCA of Canberra continues our strong focus on primary violence prevention work, by delivering the Relationship Things Training to youth and community workers who are working outside the mainstream school system.

The Relationship Things training was developed and delivered in partnership with Relationships Australia and welcomed a diverse range of youth and community workers from the ACT and the regional areas of Yass, Murrumbateman, Bungendore and Queanbeyan, as well as YWCA of Canberra program staff.

The training provided a safe environment to have very challenging discussions about power, gender, masculinity and femininity, and the nature of gender based violence. The participants explored how to work within an ethical approach and how to navigate ethical dilemmas in their work with young people.

The Relationships Things Training was funded by the Sexual Assault Prevention Education (SAPE) Grants Program administered by National Association of Service Against Sexual Violence (NASASV), who aimed to test the six National Standards for sexual assault education prevention programs. In January 2009 the YWCA of Canberra participated in the consultation during the development of Framing Best Practice: National standards for the primary prevention of sexual assault through education.

Week Without Violence 2008

In October 2008, the YWCA of Canberra launched the Relationship Things Resource Kit designed for professionals working with young people, providing a comprehensive range of activities to engage young people and support them to expect and build safe and respectful relationships. The Relationship Things Resource Kit is one of a series of Relationship Things community resources aim to prevent sexual assault and gender-based violence. Ultimately, this stream of work will better equip young people with the tools to develop and maintain safe and respectful relationships.

Week Without Violence 2007

As part of Week Without Violence 2007, the YWCA of Canberra launched a series of three Relationship Things posters. The Relationship Things posters are designed around three key themes, Respect, Communicate, Choose, drawn from the Relationship Things booklet. The posters are designed to display in schools and youth venues where young people can seek further advice and referral.

Week Without Violence 2006

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In Week Without Violence 2006, the YWCA of Canberra worked in partnership with the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre to present the combined Seventy7 Pairs of Shoes and Reclaim the Night exhibition at the Canberra Centre, entitled 30 years on…How safe are we?

The Seventy7 Pairs of Shoes exhibition highlighted the 77 intimate homicides, on average, that take place every year in Australia. 77 prominent Australians donated their shoes as a symbolic reminder of the lives lost to domestic violence each year. Shoes on display included donations from Cathy Freeman, Missy Higgins, Andrew Denton, Germaine Greer, and Jason Gillespie, just to name a few! Many of the shoes were accompanied by a quote about domestic violence written by those who donated their shoes. These quotes were sometimes heartfelt, revealing personal stories, sometimes inspiring, sometimes challenging and at times a call to action, particularly to men, to do their part to prevent violence against women.

The exhibition was launched by Senator Kate Lundy at the Canberra Centre. A Chorus of Women brought us a reflective and moving performance which honoured the women who have survived and those whose lives have been lost. The joint exhibition was on display in the Canberra Centre for one week, attracting attention and interest about the issue of violence against women. The YWCA of Canberra and the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre also set up a stall in the Canberra Centre with staff from both organisations providing information and engaging in discussion and dialogue with passers by about the exhibition and the issues it raised.

The Seventy7 Pairs of Shoes exhibition is an initiative of the YWCA Scotland. It was developed in Australia by the YWCA of Adelaide and formed part of a YWCA travelling exhibition across Australia.

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