Five days of activism
Melbourne’s Jewish Care is embarking on five days of activism in an endeavor to increase knowledge and awareness of family violence and its impact on women, children and families.
Hugh Cattermole
The program starts today, the day before White Ribbon Day, a day that aims to encourage men and boys to take a stand and speak up against male violence towards women. Jewish Care will be active on social media with information and messaging about domestic violence.
Jewish Care Chief Operating Officer, Hugh Cattermole, said: “…it’s the responsibility of all men to take a stand”. Hugh believes that education about respectful behaviour towards girls and women starts in the home. “This campaign encourages me to reflect on the messages I send to my son about how he should behave towards the females in his life, and what messages I give my daughter about her rights to live life safely and free from violence… none of us want our children to be a statistic.”
Jewish Care is also launching a staff education campaign commencing with a morning tea for all staff and volunteers, where the organisation will release two videos – one encouraging men to champion the endeavour of becoming more respectful towards women and taking a no tolerance stance, and another video about Michelle, a victim of domestic violence talking of her ordeal and the support provided by Jewish Care.
Jewish Care CEO, Bill Appleby along with the Jewish Care Board have recently supported the development of Jewish Care’s Family Violence Position Statement and a Family Violence Leave Policy, that provides for three days leave per annum on top of all other leave provisions for staff that may require it due to family violence issues.
Jewish Care is a proud supporter of White Ribbon Day and proud to work alongside Jewish Taskforce Against Family Violence and Tzedek, endeavouring to educate and support the community to take a stance against violence towards women and children.
To view Jewish Care’s Position Statements visit www.jewishcare.org.au/statements
