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Respectful Relationships: Changing the Story

Last week we talked about Salesian as a lead school in the Victorian Government Respectful Relationships initiative. What does this mean for our community, and most importantly, our students?

Changing the Story Video 

Context:

The Royal Commission into Family Violence into 2013 highlighted the:

  • Devastating impacts of family violence on our children and our communities 

Critical role schools and early childhood services play in preventing and responding to family violence.

The key drivers of violence: 

  • Condoning of violence against women. 
  • Men’s control of decision making and limits to women’s independence in public and private life. 
  • Rigid gender roles and stereotyped constructions of masculinity and femininity. 
  • Male peer relations that emphasise aggression and disrespect towards women. 

In schools, being part of the initiative means working in the prevention space. This means the term ‘Respectful Relationships’ has a very specific meaning – the building and promotion of gender equity in relationships, and the challenging of gender stereotypes. This definition is based on clear evidence that challenging gender stereotypes and promoting gender equality helps to address gender-based violence.

We want to be part of changing the story for our boys, for our girls, and for all our young people.