A new innovative gender equality campaign by health organisations across the Campaspe region will launch this week.
The virtual awareness campaign was developed by Echuca Regional Health, Campaspe Shire Council, Women’s Health Loddon Mallee and Kyabram District Health Service, and aims to confront the realities of gender equality and challenge community acceptance of outdated attitudes.
It includes two short animations. depicting gender imbalance in an everyday setting — one scenario takes place in a common social environment, while the other addresses healthy masculinity.
“One in three women have experienced violence and we know that gender equality is the key driver of violence against women,” Campaspe Primary Care Partnership executive officer Emma Brentnall said.
“This virtual campaign reflects an ongoing commitment by Campaspe PCP and its partner organisations to educate the local community and break down long-standing stereotypes.
“It aims to demonstrate where and when gender inequity can arise in our day-to-day lives and the necessity to call out inappropriate comments and beliefs at a grassroots level that can be a precursor to violent behaviours.”
The animations were developed by a co-design team and involved research with 120 community members, 11 community groups and 16 individuals.
The team undertook local research to better understand the lived experience of gender and inequity beliefs, attitudes and values.
The official launch of the Campaspe PCP campaign has been timed to coincide with the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.
Staged annually since 1991, the worldwide project starts on November 25 (the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) and runs until December 10 (Human Rights Day).
“We go in to 16 Days of Activism locally knowing that family violence reports to Victoria Police in the Campaspe region rose by 7.3 per cent, from 728 incidents in 2019-20 to 781 in 2020-21,” Ms Brentnall said.
“This data is consistent with evidence that COVID-19 has significantly heightened the risk of violence — and threats of violence — against women in all forms.
“For women already impacted, the pandemic has meant a greater probability of the violence escalating. For those not previously affected, they are more likely to encounter violence for the first time.
“The gender equality message has therefore never been more relevant, and our new campaign is both timely and important.”
The animations will be officially unveiled at an online Women's Health Loddon Mallee event titled ‘Bystander Action Panel — Real World Responses to Gender Inequality’ on Thursday, November 25.