Grampians

Covering: Ballarat, Ararat, Golden Plains, Hepburn, Hindmarsh, Horsham, Moorabool, Northern Grampians, Pyrenees, West Wimmera, Yarriambiack.

Established in 1991, Women’s Health Grampians is funded by the Victorian Government. It covers 11 local government areas across the Grampians region with the aim of supporting systemic change to impact positively on the lives of women in the Grampians region. We provide women in the

community with information, support and access to services and health practitioners, to assist them in making informed decisions about their health. Prevention of Violence against Women is one our key priority areas.

Regional partnership and plan

Communities of Respect and Equality: A plan to prevent violence against women and their children in the Grampians Region 2016 – 2020 (CoRE Plan) outlines a whole of community approach to achieving a shared vision for a safe, equal and respectful society for everyone. Women’s Health Grampians led the development, and continues to support implementation in partnership with a Reference Group and CoRE Alliance involving more than 60 significant organisations, clubs and networks who are committed to the vision and to taking action. CORE resources are numerous and include this video, the guide - What can member organisations do?, and community of practice sessions that support members to take action. All those who want to take action towards the vision for “A safe, equal and respectful society for everyone”, are invited to become part of the Grampians CoRE Alliance partnership. Through the Alliance, we can move in the same direction, independently and collaboratively within a supportive network to collectively achieve this vision.

One of our key programs: Act@Work

Act@Work is an organisation-wide program that enables workplaces to address the underlying causes of violence against women and to prevent it occurring, both in the workplace, and in our broader community.

“Provided a wide range of ideas about what violence is, there were some things I have never considered”

It develops leadership level support, an internal Action Group, a workplace assessment and a tailored workplace action plan that focuses on sustainability. These are supported and reviewed over time.

“I understand now that leadership and courage is needed to create cultural change”

At the start of 2017, 15 workplaces were active in the program, representing over 3,200 employees in the Grampians region. Evaluations have shown very successful results with 93-96% of participants highly likely to take specific actions recommended with the training.

“Very thought provoking.”
“I felt confident and educated about the facts.”

“It made me reconsider my brother’s comments about a woman who had been involved in domestic violence and how she was to blame because she kept going back to him. After doing the workshop, I spoke out and said what a difficult position she is in and how hard it is to leave a relationship like that.”