A community-led gathering will take place in Geraldton, bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members from Geraldton, Mullewa, and Northampton to yarn about ways to end Family and Domestic Violence (FDV) in their communities. The event will provide a culturally safe space for discussion and focus on raising awareness about FDV primary prevention.
The gathering is part of the Midwest Yurla Wangga Family Domestic Violence (FDV) Primary Prevention Towards Ending Violence Project, an initiative led by the WA Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) at The University of Western Australia.
The Yurla Wangga project focuses on engaging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men to promote healthy masculinities, foster positive peer relationships, and challenge harmful cultural norms that contribute to FDV.
Supported by a grant from the Western Australian Department of Communities, the project aims to create opportunities for open discussions about FDV primary prevention.
The gathering will facilitate conversations around the meaning and significance of FDV prevention, men's healing, and broader community healing. The research project group will provide feedback to the community of its findings so far. Another key focus of the event will be on empowering women by providing a space for Aboriginal women to engage in FDV discussions and share their experiences.
Jamie Strickland, Yurla Wangga Advisory Group member, highlighted the significance of the event:
“I think it’s extremely positive to see our mob gathering and talking about important FDV issues that impact the health and wellbeing of our community. By getting together to talk about ending FDV, it provides an opportunity to hear and listen to the voices of our community, and for us to look at what we can do and how we can all play our part to support each other and drive positive change for our mob and our community. I would like to see more of this.”
The gathering will introduce the importance of men’s healing, inviting discussions on what this might look like and how it can contribute to positive change. By strengthening families and empowering both men and women, the event seeks to build safer communities and create lasting change in the Midwest.
The FDV Community Gathering will be held in Geraldton and is open to community members from Geraldton, Mullewa, and Northampton. It aims to promote discussion, raise awareness, and drive positive change towards ending FDV. Most importantly it brings everyone together, all genders, in a common aim towards ending violence against women.
The event is being held on Wednesday 5 March from 9am to 3pm at the Aboriginal Learning Centre at Central Regional TAFE.
For more information, please contact: WACRH Project Officer Levi Thorne on 9956 0200 or 0484 126 793.