By Dane Waters
The first week of April was very significant for the community of Geraldton. Local services, businesses and community got together to launch an awareness raising week full of events to shed light on the devastating impact of family violence. In Australia, 1 in 6 women have experienced physical or sexual violence and 1 in 5 have been sexually assaulted or threatened. These statistics are even more alarming at the local level. So in response to this, the Geraldton community joined together to make a stand together to say violence is never okay.
Numbers and statistics do not convey the wider impact that family violence has within the community. They don’t represent the fear of a woman (and often their children) in hiding from their abusive partner, or of the wider family scared for the safety of their daughter, sister or grandchildren. Statistics do not capture the worry of the family violence counsellors who have helped deal with an incident and are constantly worrying if that person is okay.
Health Communication Resources Inc. stands with the Geraldton community and all other communities to say violence is never okay. We have been first responders and seen the devastating impacts of family and domestic violence. We will continue to work tirelessly to raise awareness of family violence in the community by using the powerful tool of community media.
For more information about the project, check out https://communityrespectandequality.com.au/