Empowering every Australian to stand up, speak out and act to prevent men’s violence against women is just one of the powerful messages of this year’s White Ribbon Night.
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The campaign is being held nationally from July 27 to 29.
This year’s theme focusses on every Australian involved in a sport – whether a fan or competitor - to not sit by when violence occurs, but to speak out.
With one in three women experiencing violence by someone they know, a weekly chat on the side of a sporting field with someone they trust could make a difference.
Intimate partner violence contributes to more death, disability and illness in women aged 18 to 44 than any other preventable risk factor.
Dubbo’s White Ribbon ambassador Chris Fallon said while he wasn’t aware of any White Ribbon Night events happening in the City, he still urged the community to make themselves aware of the campaign.
He also encouraged residents to support White Ribbon Day, which is held later this year. Mr Fallon said years ago you wouldn’t hear about domestic violence, but views were changing.
“A big problem with domestic violence is that it is environmental and kids who grow up with seeing and experiencing it, think its normal,” he said.
To help combat the problem, Mr Fallon would like to see a coordinated approach from schools, community groups and sporting clubs to get to youth early to make them aware of the dangers.
“Because it’s not cool and it’s not funny,” he said.
Mr Fallon said with so many campaigns, wee as a community can be somewhat charity fatigued, which makes it difficult to get peoples attention.
“But I think the great thing about White Ribbon is that its message is so easy to support, even if people are just aware if it,” he said.
“If you see something, call for help. Don’t stand by and not do anything. Speak up because if you’re not part of the solution then you’re part of the problem.”
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According to the latest NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) report, Dubbo’s domestic violence reports decreased from a high of 440 incidents in 2015, to 387 in the year to March 2018.
Mr Fallon said while he welcomed the decrease, we as a community still need to work on lowering those stats through education.
“Domestic Violence is anything. It’s kids being hurt by members of their families, it’s men hurting women and it’s women hurting men,” he said.
“It’s all genders and we all have to take responsibility.”
According to White Ribbon Australia over 12 months, on average, one woman is killed every week by a current or former partner.
Although Mr Fallon said the statistics for women in domestic violence relationships was alarming, he had a message for them.
“They think they can’t go anywhere or have no-one to talk to, but they’ve got to know that someone will listen to them,” he said.
To find out more information on White Ribbon Australia please visit www.whiteribbon.org.au