Domestic Violence NSW (DVNSW) Launches New Advocacy Priorities during 16 Days of Activism
Today we acknowledge International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the start of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence – an annual campaign to call for elimination of all forms of gender-based violence and to promote gender equity.
Today, we remember the 38 women who have died this year in Australia at the hands of violence. 38 women with families, careers, and people who loved them. 38 women who died in tragic circumstances. This is 38 too many.
Today, we remember and honour them.
Domestic and family violence is a horrific human rights violation. Every year in Australia, on average, one woman dies each week and one child every fortnight due to domestic and family violence.
We are saying no more.
After months of consultation, planning and developing, DVNSW is launching six new advocacy priorities which represent and promote the key issues our specialist domestic and family violence sector face.
It has been a turbulent year in our sector. Trailblazing women like Brittany Higgins, Chanel Contos and Grace Tame have lit up our television screens and our social media feeds, bringing attention to the nation-wide crisis of domestic, family and sexual violence. They have helped platform our advocacy to ensure gender equality becomes more of a priority in our country, and not just an aspiration. We stand with them, our sector and all the allies, and use our powerful voices to speak up in the face of adversity.
The momentum of our new advocacy priorities will be built through our thought leadership, sector development and capacity building, as well as our collaborative approach that builds on community mobilisation, awareness raising, a commitment to change and of course – empowerment of victim-survivors.
DVNSW has always maintained a strong sector voice which promotes positive change, as well as flexibility for an ever-changing landscape. Our members strengthen us, and our strength is in our powerful collective voice. We are a trusted and respected source when it comes to informing and inspiring others, and we look towards what is possible in the future. We are the thought leaders who spark evidence-based conversation, collaborate and influence with a focus on action and innovative solutions to make change.
Over 16 Days of Activism, we will be sharing our new advocacy priorities. We are unanimous in our calls for investment in long-term, systemic change. For us it is more than a vision or a mission, it’s lifesaving. To live free from the fear of violence. To be equal. To have a future. And we won’t stop until it is achieved.
DVNSW’s Advocacy Priorities
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to live safely and free from gendered violence
- Sustainable, non-competitive and long-term resourcing for the DV sector
- Safe and sustainable housing options for women, children and LGBTQIA+ people experiencing gendered violence
- Children and young people are supported as victim-survivors in their own right and live free from gendered violence
- A trauma and gendered-violence informed justice system
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities to live safely and free from violence