By Amy Oates
Our society often struggles to have difficult conversations about serious social issues, however, it all starts with a little awareness.
The 16 Days of Activism campaign was established to help our community raise awareness of the drivers of family violence; in particular violence against women.
Every year there is a strong focus on gender-based violence which includes all forms of violence against people based on their gender or violence that affects people of a particular gender disproportionately.
TAFE Gippsland VCAL students at our Bairnsdale campus participated in raising awareness and understanding the issues in their class this year, all facilitated by their teacher, Kim Elliott.
“The students’ engagement and response to the campaign was very positive. They showed a good understanding and engaged in the issue to a really mature level,” Kim said.
Kim said students watched videos recommended by Gippsland Lakes Complete Health (GLCH) and noted the key messages that stood out from the content.
“Students created artwork with messages, in-line with the campaign, on hand templates. The hands were then sent to GLCH and turned into a banner to be put on public display”, Kim added.
The Women in Gippsland Facebook page has also been sharing important insights into understanding the impacts of violence and it offers some advice on how to discuss with all age groups. It sheds the light on how many people this issue affects in our community.
If anyone would like to discuss personal concerns raised by this article, please speak to a trusted person, a team member from TAFE Gippsland’s Student Support Services, call 1800 RESPECT or visit their website.