Call it out: Community takes steps to end gendered violence in City of Greater Shepparton

Advocates and authorities agree the real number of cases is considerably larger, with barriers preventing victim-survivors from reporting the crime or contacting a support service for help.

This is why grey ribbons are scattered among the orange, to represent the unknown extent of domestic and family violence occurring in households across the community.

Greater Shepparton Women's Charter Advisory Committee organised the public installation and expected it would take hours to tie more than 1600 ribbons to the fence.

But with plenty of supporters helping, all the ribbons were up within 20 minutes — a testament to the level of public concern about the issue.

The event launched Shepparton’s participation in 16 Days of Activism Against Gendered Violence — a global campaign — and for committee member and organiser Meena Malla, the ribbons served as a simple and effective way to raise awareness of how the issue affects the whole community.

“The main purpose is to spread awareness,” she said.

Goulburn Valley Afghan Association women’s leader Zahra Haydar Big often refers women in her community to domestic violence services, however, because there isn’t help of the same nature readily available in Afghanistan, some women are hesitant to reach out.

“Accessing family support services isn’t against our religion (Islam) or culture, but there is some stigma,” she said.

Greater Shepparton Youth Committee members showed up to tie a ribbon in honour of all people harmed by domestic, family and sexual violence.

Committee member Trinity Crumpen-Winmar said gendered violence was something young people should be discussing among their peers.

“That’s part of what the committee is about, to talk about taboo stuff and try and find solutions for them,” she said.

“We’re trying to just get them out on the table, so everyone’s aware of it.”

Azat Sahin, one of the relatively few male identifying people in attendance, said confronting gendered violence was not “just about protecting women”.

“It’s about educating men, so I think if more men come to activism events like this, there would be less cases (of gendered violence),” he said.

Gendered violence affects all age groups in greater Shepparton, although some are more heavily represented than others, with half the reported incidents in the year to June 2021 victimising people aged between 25 and 44.

About one quarter of victim-survivors who made a police report during that period were in the 25- to 34-year-old age bracket, and another quarter were aged between 35 and 44.

During that time, 80 per cent of reported incidents of family violence in City of Greater Shepparton involved female victims.

Although it provides some insights, Victorian Crime Statistics Agency data is limited.

It does not include information about multicultural and LGBTIQA+ intersections and it is based solely on police reports, whereas many people experiencing domestic, sexual or family violence choose to self-refer to support services rather than report a crime.

During the 16 days of activism, Shepparton support services are rallying to increase visibility among hard-to-reach groups and connect with those who are experiencing violence at home.

About 90 people took part in a walk on Friday, November 26, organised by Greater Shepparton Family Violence Prevention Network.

Now in its 13th year, it was the second time the walk had been held locally.

The walk ended in Monash Park, Shepparton, where people from support services set up stalls to talk about gendered violence and what kind of help was available in the Goulburn Valley.

VincentCare Marian Community specialist family violence services program manager Rachel Williams said the event had grown significantly since its inception.

“It was an absolute success and better-attended than we anticipated,” she said.

“We’re hoping to do it again locally next year; it’s ultimately to start a conversation but also to show our support for victim-survivors.”

Services offering support to victim-survivors of gendered violence in the Goulburn Valley include: VincentCare, Berry Street, Shepparton Specialist Family Violence Court, BeyondHousing, The Bridge Youth Service, Primary Care Connect, Greater Shepparton City Council, Rumbalara, The Orange Door, Goulburn Valley Centre Against Sexual Assault, and Victoria Police.

Additional reporting by Lachlan Durling.

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