16 Days Of Activism - WHLM

25 November – 10 December 2025

Women’s Health Loddon Mallee has developed the regional 16 Days of Activism Toolkit and campaign resources to support communities and organisations in the Loddon Mallee Region to participate in and lead events and activities as part of the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

 About the Theme  

Respect Victoria and Safe and Equal support organisations across the state of Victoria to deliver activities as part of the 16 Days of Activism. In order to tailor the campaign to our region, Women’s Health Loddon Mallee has developed the regional campaign theme for 2025 as: We Can Change the Story Loddon Mallee. Choose Respect.

How Can We Change the Story? 

To end violence against women it is vital that we draw from evidence-based strategies that are proven to be effective. Our Watch, the national leader in primary prevention of violence against women, has identified four key drivers of gendered violence in our communities, and the most effective strategies to address those drivers to prevent violence before it starts.  

Collective Action

A collective effort is required to address the drivers of violence across all levels of our society. We all need to play our part – individuals, families, organisations, governments, businesses, systems, and whole communities. 

Four Essential Actions to Prevent Gender Based Violence:

• Challenge the condoning of violence against women
  This involves challenging the beliefs that justify, excuse, trivialise or downplay violence against women, or shift blame from perpetrators to victims, as well as challenging the ways these beliefs are upheld through things like workplace practices and laws.

• Promote women’s independence in public life and relationships 
  This means promoting women’s independence in their relationships and families, as well as promoting women’s access to resources and decision-making power in public life, including in workplaces and parliaments.

• Build new social norms that foster personal identities not constrained by rigid gender stereotypes This involves challenging beliefs about how men and women should behave – and what they’re capable of – as well as challenging the ways these beliefs are upheld through social practices.

• Support men and boys to develop healthy masculinities and positive, supportive male peer relationships   
  This involves supporting men and boys to develop healthy ideas about what it means to ‘be a man’ – and positive relationships with other men, that are not built on showing aggression, dominance or control.

For more information about these approaches, visit Our Watch, and check out Safe + Equal’s Driving Change resource

Check out this year's Regional 16 Days of Activism Toolkit + Event Hub via our latest mail out  - https://mailchi.mp/.../16-days-regional-toolkit-and-event...