Starting a conversation around domestic violence will be the goal of this weekend’s White Ribbon Family Fun Day.
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Organised by the Dubbo Violence Prevention Collective, the day – which will run at Victoria Park from 10am to 12pm – will highlight the domestic violence services available in Dubbo, while also offering free activities for the family.
There will be a jumping castle, petting zoo, live music, free barbecue, show bags and more.
Mission Australia Central and Far West NSW area manager Megan Boshell said she wanted to bring domestic and family violence out from behind closed doors.
“We have in the community some pretty significant rates of family and domestic violence and it’s really important to make sure victims make sure they know where they can access support, whether that is overtly or whether they need to know what doors they can access quite discreetly,” she said.
“It’s important even those who aren’t experiencing family and domestic violence understand what some of the signs might be and understand what services there are as well to point people in the right direction if they need to.”
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In Dubbo, domestic violence-related assault is twice as high as the NSW average, according to the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.
On Friday the Dubbo Violence Prevention Collective is also hosting a free screening of ‘Loves Me, Loves Me Not’ for high school students and service providers.
The movie is about Angela Barker’s domestic violence abuse when she was 16-years-old. Ms Barker will also be a guest speaker at the event, as well as attending the Family Fun Day.
“To have something for school students, first of all, they’re the next generation but we’re also very aware of the fact that sometimes relationship issues can start when people are younger in that adolescent period and we really want young people to know what’s okay and what’s not okay and what a healthy relationship looks like,” Ms Boshell said.
The Dubbo Violence Prevention Collective is comprised of organisations such as service providers, members of the Dubbo Neighbourhood Centre and police.
“Domestic Violence impacts all of our different services in different ways and we all have a different role to play in that and it’s important we all work together to address something that is impacting the whole community, not just impacting one service,” Ms Boshell said.