Say NO to Domestic and Family Violence
and YES to Respectful Relationships
During the past year we’ve worked with all Clubs throughout the District and kept you up to date with the DFV campaign and our various activities and events. But as we’re coming to the close of the current Rotary year, it is a good time to reflect on what our DFV Committee has undertaken and achieved in our inaugural year in operation. We started by forming an active and dedicated Committee drawn from representatives from across the District with an interest and/or expertise in the campaign. This group of around 25 Rotarians then worked in a teams-based structure to accomplish the following:
Community Walks – during the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, Rotarians walked to highlight our stance to Say NO to Domestic and Family Violence and YES to Respectful Relationships. Each of the walks was different. Some have been held in conjunction with ‘Reclaim the Night’ events, others were organised by Rotary Clubs themselves in their local patch, while others were conducted by local councils or by local DFV organisations. Overall Rotarians walked as part of the 15 or so community walks in Penrith, Mosman, Castle Hill on the Central Coast, and everywhere in-between. Donned in our purple T-shirts and carrying banners and core flute signs, we stood alongside other service Clubs like Lions, Zonta and Soroptimists, politicians from all parties and levels of government we held tight to women and children with lived experiences of DFV. It was humbling and a privilege to undertake these walks – so well done all for supporting these walks and helping to raise awareness and spread a strong and powerful message that the scourge of domestic and family violence must be stopped. And just when you thought our pedometers where full, we did it again at the District Conference in Terrigal in March 2024. This time round we were joined in our walk by students from Terrigal High School and together with some further fundraising at the Conference dinner, went on to raisearound $10,000 for the DV account.
Projects – all Clubs in the District were encouraged to undertake or collaborate with other Clubs to undertake projects specifically related to DFV. And boy did you take this message on board!! By mid-March approx. 45 projects, were underway with 1500+ hours spent and $150,000 raised. By year end this has increased to 55 projects, more than 2000 hours volunteered and in the vicinity of $200,000 raised and contributed to the victims of domestic and family violence. So far this Rotary year, 60% of clubs in our District have engaged in projects and activities related to DFV (eg guest speakers, Walks, Food collections and the funding the school program Love Bites.) This has provided in dollar value close to $150,000 and in terms of time spent working in this space in excess of 1500 hours.
Education – a key highlight for the DFV Committee was the highly successful educational webinar: “Practical Ways to Stop Domestic + Family Violence in Your Community”. This event took place in May 2024, which is designated as DV awareness month, and saw 420 Rotarians and non-Rotarians from around Australia New Zealand and the Pacific Islands register for the event and have 200 online during the live feed. Held in conjunction with DV NSW, and facilitated by Wahroonga Rotarian, Sallianne McClelland, DG Christine Owen was joined in a panel discussion by Annabelle Daniel OAM (Founding CEO Women's Community Shelters, Chair DV NSW, Chair Coercive Control Implementation Taskforce), Jess Hill (NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence 2024, Journalist, Author and Educator on Coercive Control), and Dannielle Miller OAM (Educator, Freelance Writer, Best Selling Parenting Author and Director of Walk The Talk with Women's Community Shelters). The webinar was yet another valuable initiative to help spread awareness, provide assistance, and offer resources to combat family and domestic violence. If you haven’t seen the webinar yet, you can access it here: https://youtu.be/sf4hv4RY8dY
Raising Awareness – many Committee members have been active in raising awareness of DFV in all forms with their own Rotary Clubs, other Clubs in their cluster, Rotaract Clubs and with other community groups and service organisations. We’ve also been engaging with key partners in the DFV space such as the NSW Police Force, with whom NSW Rotary Districts share a Memorandum of Understanding. Many of our community walks were undertaken in conjunction with Police colleagues and yet more officers from Local Area Commands have visited local Clubs as guest speakers on the topic of DFV. The regard in which Rotary is held is demonstrated none better than by 
being invited by the NSW Police Commissioner to hold an exhibit at the upcoming DV Conference for NSWPF staff around Coercive Control: The Silent Crime, 27-28 June 2024 at Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park.
being invited by the NSW Police Commissioner to hold an exhibit at the upcoming DV Conference for NSWPF staff around Coercive Control: The Silent Crime, 27-28 June 2024 at Accor Stadium, Sydney Olympic Park. Educational Scholarships – establishing a strong and lasting legacy in the prevention of DFV has been a key consideration for the Committee over the year. To this end we are in the final stages of establishing scholarships that support the educational endeavours of individuals impacted by DFV to enrol or re-enrol in TAFE or university studies so as to leverage change in their lives and assist in sustaining the needs of their family, as well as for higher degree research in DFV that effects change in policy and structural reform. To help seed this project, our sponsorship team is working on obtaining grants, working with corporate sponsors, as well as planning for our next big event – a Garden Party fundraiser on Saturday 21 September (1.30-4.30pmm) at The Vicar, Dural. So, save the date for what will be a wonderful way to take this project forward.
As you can see my friends, a very busy and productive year for a Committee who only commenced its role in August 2023. We’ve punched well above our weight but still have so much more to go. The good news is, that this campaign and the DFV Committee will keep on with the important work we do, as incoming DG Niranjan as well as DGE John Campbell and DGN Michele Ellery have all committed to this cause during their terms with the same vigour and passion as DG Christine.
In closing I’d especially like to thank the members of the DFV Committee for their hard work, insight and resourcefulness throughout the year. My thanks also extend to all Rotarians across the District who have confronted this difficult issue, collaborated alongside us and who have embraced the challenges that come from working in this space – well done! And finally, to DG Christine who hasn’t waned throughout the year, in her commitment to the DFV campaign and who has helped to ensure strong foundations have been laid for the future success of our campaign.
Until the new Rotary year,
Best regards, Janelle Craig Chair District 9685 DFV Committee