We know that men’s violence against women isn’t unique to any community, but the solutions are. We believe self-determination and community-led prevention driven at the grassroots is essential in bringing about change at a local level.

On Thursday 26 August 2021, we partnered with White Ribbon Australia to present a conversation with community leaders and expert change makers to learn how you can play a part in creating a future where women and children are free from all forms of men’s violence and abuse.

Facilitated by White Ribbon Australia’s Executive Director Brad Chilcott and Institute of non-violence (IoNV) CEO and Founder, Hala Abdelnour, this webinar presented an incredible opportunity to critically discuss the concepts of self-determination and community-led approaches within a shared mission to end men’s violence.

Our Co-presenter

We thank Executive Director Brad Chilcott and the team White Ribbon Australia for their valuable partnership in this webinar.
In 2011, Brad founded the “Welcoming Australia” movement, now a national organisation with staff in four states, a range of initiatives across Australia and a national network of local government associations implementing the Welcoming Cities framework for building communities where everyone is welcome to belong, contribute and thrive. Brad is the Chair of the Welcoming Australia Advisory Panel and a Board director.

Brad founded and convened the Family and Domestic Violence Advocacy Network in South Australia, created the annual Adelaide White Ribbon March, is on the Board of Reconciliation SA and the Advisory Board Food for Education (Kenya) and was named in South Australia’s 100 Most Influential People in 2018.

He has also worked as the Interim CEO of Australians for Mental Health and as advisor to Tim Costello and the Campaign for Australian Aid, leading the “Elite Influencers” strategy.

Brad was the founder and Lead Pastor of a progressive and inclusive Christian community in Adelaide called Activate Church and was on the national steering committee of Christians for Marriage Equality.

In addition to these advocacy roles, Brad has worked as a Ministerial Adviser at both the State and Federal levels and coordinates Australian support for a school for stateless children and a kinship foster program for Khmer children in Cambodia. Brad writes regularly for The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/profile/brad-chilcott

Our collaboration with White Ribbon Australia demonstrated the value of a body like IoNV coming together with an organisation like WRA to combine our expertise, networks and experiences to deliver a unique conversation to the broader sector. This is most evident in the diverse representation across our panel and the over 650 registered participants. The chat room discussions were seamless streaming throughout the event with equally thought-provoking and insightful contributions.

https://www.whiteribbon.org.au/

Get to know our speakers

Alan Thorpe has over 25 years’ experience working with the Aboriginal Community in Victoria and since 2004 has been funded by the Victorian Government to deliver approximately 20 leadership programs to vulnerable Aboriginal men.

https://www.dardimunwurro.com.au/

Elizabeth Lang is the CEO and Founder of Diversity Focus. Her areas of expertise include intersectional diversity and inclusion, domestic and family violence and human rights. Elizabeth is completing her PhD at Curtin University. Her thesis, ‘Conceptualising Domestic and Family Violence in the Frame of Collectivist Cultures’, seeks to broaden the current conceptual understating of domestic and family violence that has dominated research and practice discourse since the 1980’s. 

https://www.diversityfocus.com.au/

Dr Tracy Castelino has been working to challenge and eliminate injustice and inequality for over 20 years. She has a passion for seeking respectful and innovative ways of working with individuals, organisations and communities to respond to the various issues that cause marginalisation and vulnerability. 

Through ShantiWorks, Tracy and her team work to create a reflective, educative space as a way to explore key issues such as domestic violence, whiteness and racism and responding to trauma. 

https://www.shantiworks.com.au/

Shaynna Blaze is an award-winning Interior Designer, Author, Creative Director, Producer, and TV personality, best known for her role on The Block and Selling Houses Australia. Shaynna is a passionate advocate for women, and a social justice campaigner. She founded ‘Voice of Change Australia’, which uses the arts to unite domestic violence bodies on a single platform to invoke change with one cohesive voice.

https://www.voiceofchangeau.org/