The impacts of domestic and family violence ripple through the community, and as rates across Victoria reach record highs, ensuring everyone is equipped with knowledge and resources to seek assistance or help someone who has been affected has never been more important.
That was the preface when the Rotary Club of Lilydale and Community Bank Mooroolbark decided to partner to host a Domestic and Family Violence Forum on Wednesday 8 October at Japara House in Kilsyth.
“It’s in the international sphere. Everybody’s talking about domestic violence and family violence, and there are so many forms of it, and it affects so many different people,” Lilydale Rotary president Cheryl Mackay said.
“The intention of it is to get as much information to as many people out there as we can. It’s even developing a conversation. It’s making people aware that there are a wide group of people out there that are not OK with what’s happening and that there is somewhere for them to go.”
Wanting to create a safe and welcoming environment, where there is no judgment, the forum is open to everyone to attend, whether as a representative from a sporting club, community group or business, or someone who has experienced any form of mistreatment.
Community Bank Mooroolbark director Sophie Todorov said the hope is that people can learn and leave feeling a little bit more informed and comfortable to provide or seek assistance.
“It’s a starting point, that opportunity to bring education, awareness and networking,” she said.
“We’re actually going to touch on a couple of different aspects of family violence, which is coercive control and elder/financial abuse as well, because they’re not as spoken about or as obvious to detect.
“When community residents think about family violence, most of them will think about physical violence and injuries, whereas coercive control can be just as detrimental in a relationship.”
Two people with lived experience will be in attendance to share part of their story, having been in a coercive relationship and been financially abused, respectively.
Organisations like Safe Steps, Eastern Community Legal Centre, Victoria Police, Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Centre, Orange Door, Yarra Ranges Council and the Bendigo Bank’s Financial Awareness Support Team will have representatives speak on a panel and be present afterwards for further conversations.
Ms Mackay said the forum, and the posters that have been placed in townships, aim to “give some hope and some comfort to people who might be going through this, that there are people out there who have been trying to be vocal and trying to offer education.”
Even if people don’t attend the forum, Ms Mackay said, if people can identify that Rotary or one of the other listed groups is willing to help, that’s also a positive outcome.
“People might feel safe coming to somebody that’s a Rotarian, or someone from Japara House or anywhere else, even if it’s a shop where they saw the sign.”
The forum, while a standalone event at this stage, Ms Mackay said Lilydale Rotary will continue looking at ways to share information and keep conversations about domestic and family violence on the agenda.
“I’m hoping people will not feel so isolated; it’s a problem that is shared,” she said.
There are no registrations required to attend the event, ensuring safety should people wish to remain anonymous.
The forum will be held at Japara Neighbourhood House, located at 54-58 Durham Road Kilsyth, from 6.30pm to 9pm on Wednesday 8 October. Light refreshments will be provided.
“There still is a lot of stigma around it and fear, but if we start talking about it, having conversations addressing it, having people who advocate on behalf of others and calling it out, and really calling upon male champions to do just that as well, hopefully that’ll change the narrative in our local community, and be a loud voice,” Ms Todorov said.
