Hornsby MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Communities, Matt Kean, today welcomed the news that the NSW Government would provide $80,000 to White Ribbon Australia to strengthen engagement with culturally diverse communities and increase awareness about violence against women.
The announcement was made in the lead up to White Ribbon Night, a new initiative which encourages Australians to "have a night in to get the word out" by participating in fundraising events to raise awareness about the impact of violence against women.
"The NSW Government, through the Community Relation Commission, is proud to partner with White Ribbon to tackle violence against women and support agencies like NSW Police to sign up to its Workplace Accreditation Program," Mr Kean said.
"It is recognised that migrant and refugee communities often face unique challenges before and during the resettlement process which may impact upon their understandings of domestic violence.
"In the past decade NSW has welcomed over 30,000 humanitarian refugees and this funding is about ensuring White Ribbon's message is accessible to all communities regardless of cultural background or language," Mr Kean said.
The partnership will focus on:
· Raising the profile of White Ribbon among men from culturally diverse communities;
· Accrediting NSW Government agencies under White Ribbon's Workplace Accreditation Program, starting with NSW Police;
· Recruiting ambassadors from culturally diverse backgrounds and increasing the involvement of religious leaders; and
· Developing culturally appropriate resources in the most relevant community languages, including an online calendar of White Ribbon activities
The partnership will complement the NSW Government's It Stops Here Domestic and Family Violence Framework.
Mr Kean said he welcomed the initiative as one woman is killed by her partner or former partner in Australia every week.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas APM commended the partnership and said his organisation supported White Ribbon's efforts to strengthen multicultural engagement.
"We deal with around 370 cases of domestic and family violence every day, so we are certainly on the frontline in responding to this issue.
"As an organisation we are committed to reducing the damning statistics and we look forward to working with White Ribbon to implement and adhere to best practice policies within our own workplace," Mr Kaldas said.
White Ribbon is a national, male-led campaign to end violence against women which began in 2003 as UNIFEM before becoming a foundation in 2007. The campaign, which originated in Canada in 1991, is today active in over 60 countries.
More information can be found at: http://www.whiteribbon.org.au/.
