Help prevent family violence in Cardinia Shire

The annual summit is a free opportunity for community members and organisations to come together to discuss ways to stop, prevent and end family violence in Cardinia Shire.

This year’s summit will take place on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 May at the Cardinia Cultural Centre and will cover:

• What family violence looks like                                                
• How it can be stopped
• Explore actions to address family violence within Cardinia                                           
• How the laws work                                          
• Where people can get local support

Tuesday 17 May: 9.15am to 3.30pm

Official summit opening

Keynote speaker: 

• Andy Young of The Orange Door on The Orange Door Access Point

Presentations on:

• What is financial abuse and how to recover by WIRE
• How to encourage people to take action against violence against women and children by Common Cause          
• How to recognise and respond to family/domestic violence by WHISE
• Respectful Relationships in Schools - what is it and does it work by the Department of Education and Training
• Who contributes to stopping, preventing and ending family violence in Cardinia Shire by Service Mapping
• How can we action Council’s Liveability Plan by Community Solutions

Wednesday 18 May: 9.15am to 2.45pm                                                               

Keynote speaker:

• Jennifer Jackson of the Victim Survivors Advisory Council on ‘how advocacy creates change’

Presentations on:

• Holding perpetrators to account and protection of victim/survivors by The County Court
• Impacts of family violence on children by Windemere
• Our local one stop support service by The Orange Door
• What they do, how they do it and why by Victoria Police

Cardinia Shire Mayor Councillor Jeff Springfield is encouraging community members to register to attend the event.

“This year’s summit is set to be the best yet, with two days of impressive keynote speakers, as well as workshops which will enable all participants to take action to create a community where people are empowered to align their efforts to end family violence,” he said.

“Our whole community needs to be involved to prevent family violence and to support those impacted, especially children and young people.

“The summit will help our growing community take the first step in being able to do this by Increasing attendee's knowledge and awareness of our local family violence service system, as well as available support services.”

Tickets to the summit are free and can be reserved at: bit.ly/38pnATB

The Together We Can Community Leadership Summit is a partnership initiative consisting of community members and local government and not-for-profit organisations.

Please note, in line with community feedback, events that were previously scheduled to take place on Wednesday 18 May from 6.45pm to 9pm have been postponed. A new date will be announced soon!

• If you have used violence against a family member and want help to stop, call Relationships Australia Victoria on 1300 364 277.
• If you or someone you know needs free counselling about experiencing sexual assault or family violence, call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
• If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call the police on 000. If it is not an emergency and you want Police to investigate, call 131 444.

For more information about the 2022 Together We Can Summit, call the Collective Impact Team on 1300 787 624.