Maleny Clubs unite against domestic violence

Front from left, Sherryl Gregory (Rotary), Judith Ross-Smith (Zonta), Val France (Quota) and, back row, speakers included artist Fiona Dempster, Coordinator of Suncoast Cooloola Outreach Prevention and Evaluation (SCOPE) Stacy Oehlman and Officer in Charge Sunshine Coast Vulnerable Persons Unit Snr Sgt Kate Teasdale. Absent Karen Marsh (UnitingCare).

Speakers at a recent public focus meeting at the RSL Hall in Maleny to discuss community responses to domestic and family violence (DFV), emphasised the theme that it is time for us all to act and to call out incidents whenever it is safe to do so.

One of the first initiatives of Speak Up Now — a collaboration of Quota, Zonta, Rotary and Lions clubs in Maleny and the Blackall Range — the invited audience included representatives of organisations across the range, and featured speakers from Sunshine Coast providers of DFV programs.

In opening the meeting Rotary president Greg Williams reminded the audience that one woman was killed in Australia every week by a man known to her.

“So what should be our role, because every one of us has a role to play in this problem, what should we say to the victim or to the perpetrator; how can we call this behaviour out?” he said.

Speakers emphasised that the Sunshine Coast hinterland was not immune to DFV and that it occurred in all levels of society and from all walks of life.

Maleny’s Fiona Dempster, with a stellar public service career behind her setting up women’s help programs, and also the White Ribbon movement, spoke about her current expression of women’s plight in DFV through her illustrative designs of little white books of tile and paper. Fiona is passionate about the idea of bystander intervention.

“Silence helps no one. We have to learn to step in and find a way to ‘have a conversation’ with those we see in trouble before it escalates. It’s time for a change,” she said.

A Queensland Police initiative, Vulnerable Person’s Unit (VPU) was established as the result of learning and understanding what was needed,  what ‘worked’ rather than simply putting perpetrators in gaol or fining them and letting them go home to re-offend. Officer-in-Charge of the Sunshine Coast region program of VPU, Senior Sgt Kate Teasdale, was passionate about her work in this area.

“Our priorities are ‘prevent, disrupt, investigate and respond’ and our strategies are based on these. One of our aims is to strengthen our partnerships with community support agencies,” said Senior Sgt Kate.

Stacy Oehlman Coordinator of Suncoast Cooloola Outreach Prevention and Evaluation (SCOPE)  explained their services included safety planning, risk assessment for women, and for men.

“Our figures indicate the extent of the work we do. For instance in the three months January to March this year we provided service and referral to 541 women; high risk assessments for 245 women; court mention assistance for 483 women; and 345 men’s referrals to appropriate services for assessment and help,” said Stacy.

Men’s DFV counsellor and facilitator at Sunshine Coast UnitingCare, Karen Marsh, said their services covered crisis accommodation; children’s counselling helping them deal with exposure to violence; and men’s behavioural change programs.

“We hold 16 week rolling group sessions so that men coming in at week 1 can see the effect of the therapy on those ending their counselling in week 16. The basis of our work is teaching men not to ‘react’ but learn to ‘respond’,” said Karen.

Audience members were amazed at the amount of help, from crisis accommodation, strategies for ensuring the safety of women and children, to counselling for men available on the Sunshine Coast.

Calls were made for more, and more effective, education in primary school, more acknowledgement and support from men’s sporting clubs, each one of the audience leaving with the determination to ‘change the culture’.

A spokesperson for Speak Up Now said the committee would review feedback from the audience, and information from the speakers in considering their next moves.

“We have already arranged for signage including men’s support phone numbers to be placed in men’s toilets across the Range and these are currently being rolled out.

“We will keep our focus group informed of our next moves and suggestions, and how they can help. 

“In the meantime we hope some of our audience may be inspired enough by the speakers to give us some initiatives we can consider,  as soon as possible,” she said.