Look around. Who makes the decisions here? If it’s not very balanced, think about how you can change that. Hire and promote more women, gender-diverse and nonbinary people.
One of the gendered drivers of violence is men’s control of decision-making and limits to women’s independence. How can we counter that? One way is to ensure that women have their own sources of income, and are seen in positions of authority, both for their own sakes and as role-models for other women. Promoting women also counters stereotyped constructions of masculinity and femininity, another driver of gendered violence.
Check that you’re including people of colour, LBTIQA+ folks and people with disabilities. Who isn’t in the room? What has excluded them from being here?
Diversity isn’t just a buzzword. Creating a diverse team at work or community isn’t about gathering a bunch of different people and then expecting them all to do everything exactly the same. But rather to value the fact that everyone’s differences make the team stronger as a whole.
Every year, between November 25 — the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women — and December 10 — International Human Rights Day — there are 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.
This year we’ve created a series of posters for you to print out at work, home or your local library, and to put up in your kitchen, community hall, meeting room at work — wherever you like. Help create a world where women, nonbinary and gender-diverse people are safe, respected, empowered and able to make genuine choices in their lives.
Violence towards women, nonbinary and gender-diverse people is a community problem. Everyone in the community, from schools to sporting clubs, can play a role in changing the structures, norms and practices that lead to gender-based violence.
Some of these actions will be individual and some will be collective: gender-based violence is a structural issue that we all need to work together to address.