Free workshops for victims and survivors
Beenleigh Neighbourhood Centre is hosting a series of free skills-based workshops during May to support, empower and educate women in honour of Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention Month.
The centre’s Community Development Officer, Anthony Ketland, says according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one woman was killed every 15 days by an intimate partner in 2021.
He also notes that many community members who engage with the centre’s programs experience, escape or have survived DFV.
‘Whilst we acknowledge that DFV is responsible for the deaths of both men and women, DFV is considered a gendered issue and we thought this was the ideal time to launch a calendar of activities to support female survivors of DFV,’ he says.
The ‘Together’ program will equip women with important skills needed to manage areas of life that are often impacted by DFV.
In the Financial Superwomen workshop, finance and business experts will teach participants how to regain financial security and stability. Topics include how to budget and how to ace rental applications.
Other workshops will cover subjects like cooking, legal literacy, emotional self-defence and more.
‘We hope participants will gain confidence, learn new skills and strategies and, most importantly, feel supported and safe,’ Anthony says.
‘Although it’s likely many participants will return to a dangerous situation, we hope that with the skills and strategies they have learned, they will feel stronger and more prepared.’
Anthony believes programmes like this won’t end DFV overnight. ‘But I do feel that activities such as ours, coupled with an ongoing national drive for respectful relations, can help, even in a small way, to address the problem.’
To ensure the program is accessible for as many women as possible, there will be child-minding, transport and interpreting services available upon request.
All workshops will also be held at the centre to reduce anxieties associated with seeking support for DFV.
‘Our community support officer Tyahn Jack holds the DFV cause close to her heart and has worked tirelessly to develop the program from a concept to a fully-fledged program,’ Anthony says.
‘The most rewarding part of planning has been working alongside the passionate service providers who will be facilitating our activities, as well as having the privilege to speak with women who have enrolled in the workshops.’
Other centre events in the pipeline include a PTSD awareness barbecue, World Elder Abuse Awareness Day activities, Beenleigh Family Multicultural Day and more.
Participants can register for workshops via this form.
