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More than 1050 Bags of Love to pack & deliver: how can you help?

31/10/2018

 
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WEEKEND OF 01-02 DECEMBER

We need help with:

  • donations of gifts or money
  • set up on Saturday 1 December in the afternoon
    [see below]
  • packing of Bags of Love on Sunday 2 December in the morning
    ​[see below]
  • clean up on Sunday 2 December in the afternoon
    ​[see below]
  • drivers to collect Bags of Love on Sunday 2 December at lunchtime to deliver to Safe Houses in the following 7-10 days
    ​[see below]


​Can you help us
set up on Saturday 1 December?

We would really appreciate the help of men, women and teenagers to help us set up on Saturday afternoon at the Glen Eira College Sports Hall from 2pm.
​It would be really helpful if you could let us know 
 [use I WILL HELP SET UP ON SATURDAY 1 DECEMBER] as your subject line] that you're going to help us with this task.

WHERE?
Glen Eira College, Caulfield - in the Sports Hall, enter from Neerim Road.


​We need help wrapping, packing, breaking down boxes, writing notes, cleaning up...
on Sunday 2 December

We have a job for everyone.
Can you help?

This is our 'big day'. We welcome anyone and everyone aged 5-95.
There's a job for everyone.
Please arrive at about 10am; we expect to finish around about lunchtime.
We also need some great people to either stay back or to arrive to help us clean up - not the most glamorous of jobs but one that needs to be done so please think about helping us with that too.
​
Feel free to just turn up but it would help us 
if you could let us know  [use I WILL ATTEND THE PACKING DAY ON SUNDAY 2 DECEMBER] as your subject line]that you're planning to come. 

​
WHERE?
Glen Eira College, Caulfield - in the Sports Hall, enter from Neerim Road.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
ABOUT WHAT TO BRING:
  1. a smile and sense of humour*
  2. the desire to do something good for someone you don't know*
  3. one or more gifts to pop into our Bags of Love if you can**
  4. some Chrissy paper, cellophane, sticky tape and your own named scissors if you can**
        * mandatory
        ** optional


IMPORTANT INFORMATION
​YOU NEED TO KNOW:

Respect and inclusion are two of impact's fundamental values.
Click here to understand 
impact's vision, mission and core values.


​Can you volunteer to deliver
our Bags of Love?

For the Xmas 2018 Bags of Love exercise, we will need at least 90 [!!!] volunteer drivers so PLEASE put your hand up if you can help.

What's involved? 
You will need to:
  1. preregister that you are prepared to do this
  2. call your designated contact person SEVERAL DAYS PRIOR to Packing Day to arrange a mutually convenient day, time and place for the delivery
  3. collect your 'load' from Glen Eira College on Sunday 2 December between 12 noon and 1pm
  4. complete your delivery in the 7-10 days following Packing Day on Sunday 2 December
  5. understand that the delivery will need to be made during office hours
  6. appreciate the extremely serious need for ABSOLUTE confidentiality in order to protect the women and children taking refuge in the Safe House to which you are assigned
  7. undertake to NOT disclose ANY information whatsoever about the Safe House to which you are assigned: not its name; its address or even its suburb; nor the name, email or phone number of the contact person I have been given to ANYONE including your family, friends, colleagues or any other charity or organisation

If you are comfortable with the above stipulations and can help us, we'd really appreciate it. Please email us [use I WOULD LIKE TO BE AN IMPACT DRIVER as your subject line] with the following information:
  1. your name and mobile phone number
  2. the suburb in which you live or work
  3. how far [in time or kms] you're prepared to drive each way from home or work to make the delivery
  4. confirming that you understand and agree to abide by point 7 above

We will acknowledge receipt of your email and then contact you again in mid-November with the contact details of your assigned Safe House once the jigsaw of matching drivers and Safe Houses has been achieved.
​
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What’s in 'the man box'? Increased violence and suicidal thoughts

30/10/2018

 
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An Australian first study involving 1000 men aged 18 to 30 has found those who conform to traditional definitions of manhood – dubbed ‘the man box’ – are twice as likely to consider suicide and seven times more likely to be violent towards others. Revealing the dangers of “toxic masculinity” for both men and those around them, the study found that there are remarkable health differences between men trapped into the stereotypes of being “a real man” (about 30% of those surveyed ), and those outside the box.

Read the full story here



Campaign to relax Australian gun laws may lead to increased family violence

29/10/2018

 
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Recent revelations about the gun lobby’s role in Australian politics raise profound concerns for those of us advocating for the prevention of family violence. If the lobby succeeds in having Australian laws loosened, we fear that guns will become more prominent in family violence incidents.


​Read the full article here.

SA Attorney-General Vickie Chapman says authorities must address family violence impact on children

27/10/2018

 
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​In the same way that society accepts the dangers of passive smoking, Ms Chapman wants to address the devastating impact of “passive domestic violence” on kids living in abusive households saying that it needs to be “the biggest area of reform” authorities must next address.


Read the full article here

We need to ‘see’ kids impacted by domestic violence

26/10/2018

 
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A recent report from the Domestic Violence Prevention Council finds that "many at risk children and young people are 'invisible' in the domestic and family violence system". Too many women understand this only too well and what that feels like. Read one woman's personal story here.

Vic government puts dollar figure on women's unpaid work

25/10/2018

 
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New research estimates Victorian women are still doing the majority of the state's unpaid work and puts the value of this work at $205 billion. That's 63.2% of the state's unpaid work and is valued at half the worth of Victoria's Gross State Product.

Read the full story here.

There is still much work to do to prevent violence against women and children

24/10/2018

 
If we have learnt anything in recent weeks, it is the job is not done for those working to prevent violence against women and children. Far from it.
When our country is experiencing an alarming increase in the number of women killed by men, (remember this, it is now more than one a week), there is much work to do.

Peak bodies for the prevention and response to family violence have implored each of the major political parties to commit to funding and implement all of the recommendations that followed the state’s Royal Commission into Family Violence.

We need bipartisan support on this. Funding for prevention needs to be ongoing – but importantly, as we increase awareness and education, funding for services responding to those in crisis need more funding to meet the need. 


Read the full article here

HOW MANY OF THESE 36 FAMILY VIOLENCE BEHAVIOURS DO YOU TICK?

24/10/2018

 
When men with histories of family violence sign up for Relationships Australia’s Behavior Change program, this is the checklist they’re asked to fill out...

​Read the full article here

We don't need another new plan to end family violence

24/10/2018

 
The Royal Commission into Family Violence took 13 months to complete, hearing harrowing testimony from hundreds of survivors over 25 days of public hearings.
The commission reviewed nearly 1000 written submissions, cost $13.5 million and was an unprecedented example of government and community collectively committing to ending the horror of family violence.
It would be a terrible shame to see all that time, effort and money disappear into the machinations of short-term politics and quick-fix reactions.


​Read the rest of the article here

impactFUL gets up in the Pick My Project initiative

22/10/2018

 
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please click here for more info!

impact funds new court support service

22/10/2018

 
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impact has fully funded the establishment and ongoing costs of at least the first year of an occasional childcare service at Moorabbin Magistrates Court to enable mothers to finalise legal matters without having their children in court with them. The initiative also involves the Victoria Police and the magistrates’ court and will be run and managed by Emerge.

The following words are taken from Emerge's media statement:

The need for the court support service was identified during consultations with the Bayside Peninsula Family Violence Partnership, according to [Emerge's] Executive Officer, Paula Westhead.

“Currently women attending court with young children are often unable to finalise intervention orders and other matters due to lack of childcare on the hearing date,” she said.

The new service will enable a qualified childcare worker to look after children, while their mums get on with what they need to do.

“Too many children are exposed to often distressing court scenes, adding to the stress experienced by their mothers,” Paula Westhead said.

The childcare worker will be supported by volunteers. The service will be available for preschool aged children for mothers who have no childcare in place.
​
The program addresses a major issue identified by the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence of an inaccessible and complex justice system in which victims do not always feel safe. The program relates to Recommendation 70 that all ‘Magistrates’ Court of Victoria headquarter courts…..provide adequate facilities for children and ensure that courts are “child friendly”

What the numbers can and can't tell us about Relationship Abuse

18/10/2018

 
We all see the horrible stats - 64 Australian women needlessly and cruelly killed so far this year: most at the hands of someone who once had told them, 'I love you'. But the numbers are only part of the story.

To show up in the statistics for Relationship Abuse, and hopefully not on the death statistics, the crime, and it IS a crime, has to be reported. All too often, Relationship Abuse continues for many years before authorities find out it’s happening.

Delayed reporting is a significant issue but it is NOT one which should diminish believability. Experts say the closer the relationship between victim and perpetrator, the higher the chances that there will be a significant delay in reporting.

Some victims keep quiet out of shame or for fear that they won't be believed: after all, their perpetrator might be a well-known, well-respected person. Others have nowhere else to go and view silence as a way of keep a roof over their heads. Some suffer abuse in the hope that their children, siblings or pets won’t be harmed. There are many, many reasons why people are hesitant to report the abuse or violence being perpetrated upon themselves or their loved ones: and that has to change.

The first step towards encouraging that change is to develop a clear societal understanding that it is NEVER the victim's fault: violence is ALWAYS a choice and the perpetrator needs to take full responsibility for any violence or abuse they carry out - and to suggest otherwise is victim-blaming. 

Victim-blaming marginalises the victim/survivor making it harder for them to come forward and report the abuse. If the survivor knows that you or society blames the survivor for the abuse, s/he will not feel safe or comfortable coming forward and talking to you.
Victim-blaming attitudes also reinforce what the abuser has been saying all along: that it is the victim’s fault this is happening. It is NOT the victim’s fault or responsibility to fix the situation: it is the abuser’s choice. By engaging in victim-blaming attitudes, society allows the abuser to perpetrate Relationship Abuse while avoiding accountability for those actions.

So, what can you do about it?

  • Challenge victim-blaming statements when you hear them
  • Never agree with abusers’ excuses for why they abuse
  • Let survivors know that it is not their fault
  • Hold abusers accountable for their actions:
    do not let them, or others, make excuses like blaming the victim, alcohol, or drugs for their behaviour
  • Acknowledge that survivors are their own best experts and provide them with resources and support
  • Reframe the question from 'Why does the victim stay?' to 'Why does the perpetrator abuse?'

Remember if you are aware of abusive behaviour and don't speak out against it, your silence communicates implicitly that you see nothing unacceptable taking place.

Do nothing and you may as well lend a hand.

Government warns it's own myGov portal can be used by abusive partners to track down victims

18/10/2018

 
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Parents fleeing domestic violence are being urged to deactivate their children's myGov accounts, amid concerns abusive partners can use the portal to discover where spouses and children are living.
An email circulated by staff at the Queensland Department of Child Safety, Youth and Women has warned that a group of doctors had raised concerns about abusive partners being able to access the updated address details of their child through the Federal Government's myGov portal.


Read the full article here

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impact acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People as the First Peoples of Australia, the traditional owners of the lands and waters throughout Australia: lands and waters which have never been ceded.
​We recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and community and we pay our respects to their peoples, their cultures, their languages and to their elders past, present and emerging.

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