Community chalks messages of hope

TO mark the end of Ballarat’s 16 days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence campaign, community members gathered at Alfred Deakin Place to participate in a mass messaging event.

The Walk the Talk, Chalk the Walk initiative, organised by Women’s Health Grampians, was held on Wednesday 10 December and community members wrote messages of hope, support and action on the ground in chalk.

“So many people are very conscious of the number and level of [gender-based violence] that there is around this area, which unfortunately is higher than the state average,” Rotary Club of Wendouree Breakfast member Rosemary Waghorne said.

“I think many, many people want to do anything they can to help reduce that.”

The 16 days of activism campaign runs internationally annually from 25 November to 10 December and aims to prevent, and ultimately end, gender-based violence.

It starts on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and ends on Human Rights Day.

Women’s Health Grampians CEO Jennie Courtney said it is important to engage people of all ages.

“We know that the reasons or what we call the drivers of gender-based violence are quite complex and do start from the very beginning of life when we decide to put boys in blue and girls in pink,” she said.

“Those stereotypes and conditions can lead further down the line to someone feeling that women are less than men and that men can be violent towards them.

“It’s really important that the messages we are giving to adults is the same as children.”

Ten-year-old Flora wrote messages encouraging the community to respect and love women and stated that people should always feel safe be themselves.

“I want people to feel really happy and… that they don’t have to be stereotyped,” she said.