Jesuit Social Services is proud to support this year’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, which encourages all members of the community to work together to prevent violence against women, and reiterates its commitment to lead work that will create stronger, more cohesive communities for everyone.
“We are standing together as a community to say that we know that women do not feel safe, equal and respected, and we are committed to leading and participating in the work that will change that,” said Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards.
“Through The Men’s Project, we are developing and delivering interventions, working in schools and with role models, and conducting research to support boys and men to lead fulfilling lives free from violence. We acknowledge the tireless work and commitment of women’s health organisations and organisations that support victim-survivors of gender-based violence, with whom we hold critical partnerships.”
Jesuit Social Services staff members joined the 16th annual Walk Against Family Violence last Friday, and will participate in a range of activities and reflections across the 16 Days, including The Men’s Project presenting to more than 120 organisations, businesses, sporting clubs and groups from Western Victoria at a forum in Ballarat.
Over the past year, The Men’s Project has delivered more than 100 workshops to more than 2,500 students, teachers and community leaders, and published its second major Man Box research report into the attitudes and behaviours of Australian men, in partnership with Respect Victoria.
The Man Box 2024 report found that men who most strongly agreed with the ‘Man Box rules’ about what it means to ‘be a real man’ were 31 times more likely to believe domestic violence should be handled privately, and 17 times more likely to have hit their partner, compared with the men who least strongly believed in the Man Box rules.
Along with this significant report, Jesuit Social Services recently published a paper in light of the Federal Government’s rapid review of evidence-based approaches to prevent gender-based violence, and made submissions to the NSW Inquiry into the impacts of harmful pornography on mental, emotional and physical health, SA’s Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence, and Victoria’s Inquiry into capturing data on family violence perpetrators.
“We also received new Victorian Government funding to expand our Modelling Respect and Equality (MoRE) program into 240 more Victorian schools, and Federal Government funding as part of its Healthy MaTE trial to equip young soccer players and their coaches across 30 Victorian soccer clubs to lead positive and tangible change on and off the pitch.,” says Ms Edwards.
“Early intervention efforts to positively impact men’s behaviour, as well as research and a deeper understanding about the perpetrators of violence, will help reduce gender-based violence.”
Media enquiries – Kathryn Kernohan, 0409 901 248 or kathryn.kernohan@jss.org.au
