Preventing violence in our community

Maroondah City Council is committed to preventing all forms of violence, including family/partner violence, child abuse, parental, carer, elder and sexual abuse before it occurs, by focusing on gender equality. Council is committed to working towards a community where everyone is safe, valued and enjoys equity of opportunity and outcomes.

The link between violence, unequal relationships and gender equality

Family violence is a serious issue in our community, with research showing a strong association between sexist attitudes, unequal relationships and the perpetration of violence.

In 2019/20 Maroondah Police responded to 1,306 callouts for family violence (13.1% higher than the previous year). Children were present in 28.2% of incidents and 90.1% of incidents occurred at a residential location.

While anyone can experience family/domestic violence, it is predominantly committed by men against women, children and other vulnerable persons. Women are at least 6 times more likely than men to be the victim of physical assault by a current or former partner. Furthermore, the rates of family, partner and sexual violence in the LGBTIQA+ community is estimated to be equal to, or higher than that experienced by non-LGBTIQA+ people.

Sadly most incidents of family violence and sexual assault go unreported. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Personal Safety Survey estimated that only 36 per cent of female victims of physical assault and 19 per cent of female victims of sexual assault in Australia reported the incident to police.

Council initiatives

Council is involved in many initiatives to prevent violence against women in our community, including:

  • Gender Equality Action Plan 2022-2025
  • Women's Health East Regional Together for Equality and Respect Strategy. 
  • MAV Preventing Violence Against Women Network
  • Our Codes Our Clubs, promoting gender equality in sporting clubs to help change the story of violence against women
  • Beyond Sparkles and Superheroes gender equality booklist
  • See Past the Stereotypes series
  • Gender equity, family violence and active bystander training for employees, sporting clubs and early childhood educators
  • One Million Stars to End Violence project, where more than 5,000 community members and 50 community groups and schools engaged in the project.
  • Ask for Angela is a global safety campaign supported by the Maroondah Liquor Accord that promotes safety in licensed venues  
  • Development of Council’s Gender Equity Policy 2018 and Workplace Equality Project 2020

Further information 

For information on these and other Maroondah City Council initiatives, contact Council's Community Planning team on 1300 88 22 33, or go to family violence and sexual assault services.

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