The federal government’s ‘Plan to reduce violence against women – Immediate Government Actions’ states:

“the Australian Government will invest $9 million to improve the quality and uptake of respectful relationships programs nationally.”

It goes on to say that 6 programs have been selected to be piloted over 31 sites in school and non-school settings and that the South Australian Keeping Safe program will be evaluated.

A number of workers have approached me looking for more information about this money, what will be done with it and what it means for current projects. The information I can provide below is hearsay but will hopefully serve to allay fears and give workers some idea of where they stand.

Basically the $9 million will be to cover the next 5 years. The first year of the plan involves the 6 pilots but beyond that nothing has been set in concrete. An external evaluator will be contracted to over-see the evaluation of the pilots and there may be opportunities for other projects to volunteer for inclusion in the evaluation. (The contractor has not been engaged as yet so no promises.) The Office for the Status of Women is aware that there are many other respectful relationships projects running across the country and do not see these 6 as being the last word on primary prevention of violence against women with young people.

The OfSW’s plans for Restpectful Relationships Education over the remaining years will be somewhat defined by the outcome of the pilot evaluations. 

The OfSW are interested in hearing the concerns of workers in the field and learning more about projects/plans that are happening on the ground. So if you have concerns or questions or are running a project NOW would be a good time to write to Minister Tanya Plibersek so that the OfSW is aware of your needs and able to keep you in the loop about relevant developments.

Her address is:

The Hon Tanya Plibersek
Minister for the Status of Women
PO Box 6022
House of Representatives
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

HINT: if you request a response of some kind they have to send you one.