“We’ve been taught as guys in modern society that we’ve got to be able to suppress our emotions, but we’ve got to try and reverse that and make expressing our emotions the norm,” the charity’s founder, Aaron Schultz, said.
“What I’ve found with the domestic violence issue is that it’s very reactive; there’s programs there for men when they offend, but there’s no education at the front end.
“What we want to do with our charity is to be able to educate men at the front end, so they’re not getting to that point, so the prevention side of things is critically important.”
The Outback Mind Foundation has produced a 20-minute documentary titled Boiling Point, which can be viewed online for a fee.
“This important and visually striking film highlights the impact that domestic and family violence is having, particularly in regional areas,” Mr Schultz said.
“We encourage proactive employers and sporting clubs to make it available to your teams during the month to help us to work towards reducing risk and creating change in regional areas.”
The film gives voice to lived experienced reformed perpetrators and experts in the field who explain patterns, triggers and impacts on families.
It canvases strategies and solutions, while also depicting confronting domestic and family violence scenes for impact, and is therefore suitable only for viewers aged over 18.
High volumes of family and domestic violence places further pressure on community support services that are already struggling to meet demand in the region.
According to the Crime Statistics Agency, in the Greater Shepparton area, there were 2442 recorded instances of family and domestic violence in 2024-25, with 1277 of those involving children.
Applications for 1317 family violence intervention orders were made at Shepparton Magistrates’ Court and 78 in the Children’s Court during the same period.
A further 266 family violence safety notices were issued by police.
More than 2000 of the recorded family and domestic violence incidents took place at residential locations, according to the agency.
Some 297 Greater Shepparton victims of family and domestic violence were treated in emergency departments in the same period, while 42 were transported to hospital via ambulance.
In addition, the region also recorded 4286 family violence-related offences.
Out of the 1194 unique clients seeking homelessness services, 549 sought a family violence-specific service.
The Outback Mind Foundation says the film can help people to understand their own behaviour or support people close to them, and “shift the way we see what happens behind closed doors”.
To watch the trailer or the full feature, click here.
If you or someone you know is experiencing or perpetrating family or domestic violence, you can phone 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
