THIS starts with a photo of a door in a bid to open more positive talk on one of the most confronting issues in the community.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A Future Shapers group has launched a social media-led campaign Safety4U, encouraging men and women to submit photos representing the concept of safety.
For one participant, this was the door to their parents' house - a door to the house where they grew up and where they arrived "bags in hand" after a physically and emotionally violent relationship in their 20s.
Future Shaper Vanessa Brady said the project aim was to create an exhibition in a place like a cafe, similar to the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, to create "touch points" in spaces people might not typically expect.
Ms Brady said the idea was sparked after attending a corporate responsibility forum earlier in 2023 and getting to understand The Ballarat Foundation's Vital Signs report, which showed the latest rate of family violence common assault in this city was about 12 per cent higher than the state average.
Further to this, the group found via Victorian advocacy body Safe and Equal that one woman was killed every week due to family violence, that police attend a family violence incident every six minutes in Victoria and that children were present in about 30 per cent of these cases. Family violence was also the leading cause of homelessness for women and children.
The group's aim was for everyone to consider and realise where or how they felt most safe.
"We wanted to try and find a positive slant compared to negative in trying to have conversations and raise awareness in the community," Ms Brady said. "We know family violence can impact anybody. This is why want to try and get people talking about 'what does safety mean to you?'
"Everybody is quite different - for one person it might be a family holiday place but for somebody else, the holiday place might not feel safe. The representation is quite different...we just want to get people talking about this as an issue because the statistics are quite horrifying."
Future Shapers is an experiential leadership program, formerly known as Leadership Ballarat and Western Region leaders' forum, run via Committee for Ballarat.
Participants come from diverse backgrounds and industries to consider the big issues and opportunities in the wider Ballarat region. As part of this, participants work on group projects to lead positive change.
For the Safety4U campaign, anyone aged 18-plus is encouraged to submit images with their take on safety to the group's social media channels. The groups asks that images do not have any identifying features.
Ms Brady said she was exciting and nervous for her group to launch its project, but she was also keen to watch awareness building.
"We hope to take this beyond the [Future Shapers] program," Ms Brady said. "We want to kieep collecting photos and maybe even be talking a Ballarat International Foto Biennale exhibition in two eyars' time.
"This is something we're quite passionate about."
- If you or someone you know is in need of crisis support, phone Lifeline 13 11 14.
- 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) is a national hotline for Australians experiencing family violence or sexual assaultYou can phone the Ballarat Centre Against Sexual Assault, in Sebastopol, on 5320 3933.
IN OTHER NEWS
Sign-up for The Courier's news alerts direct to your inbox. Select Breaking News Alerts in My Newsletters & Alerts in your account preference centre.