Some of our awareness and advocacy work:
We grew from a series of Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (WAMIHS) events, the first ever held in Perth, commencing 2014. WAMIHS is an award winning international campaign:
From this inspiring beginning, we formed our organisation, listened to and talked with hundreds of people affected by Family abuse and Violence against women, researched extensively and conducted many more campaigns.
See below for some of the advocacy and awareness activities we have undertaken alongside Guest speaking at a National and local level.
Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (2014 - 2017)
2014 Burswood Park
2015 Trinity College
2016 Elizabeth Quay
2017 Burswood Park
We are proud that we raised over $90,000 for White Ribbon Australia from the WAMIHS events.
illuminate to eliminate (2019 - 2024)
We use the details compiled by the researchers from the Destroy the Joint: Counting Dead Women Australia project to create an Honour Scroll that forms the focus of our campaign. We thank them for this heartbreaking and difficult work.
25 November - 10 December
Your workplace kitchen
Commencing on the 25 November, PVAW shine a light on the xx** women killed by violence in Australia this year. Through a simple, yet powerful display, together we can remember and pay homage to these women.
We will illuminate the national epidemic of Domestic Abuse that Australia is experiencing and eliminate the silent acceptance of abuse in our homes, on our streets and in our workplaces.
For 16 days, in workplace kitchens across the country, we will create a powerful tribute and provide a daily reminder of important Domestic Abuse statistics. This will raise awareness and encourage thought, discussion and action.
We honour the women who have tragically lost their lives to violence and hope that they now rest in peace.
**As at 25 November and updated during the campaign
Ride Against Domestic Violence (RADV) (2018 - 2020)
PVAW administered the 2018, 2019 and 2020 Ride Against Domestic Violence. This event during those years involved high profile members of the community riding their bicycles from Perth to Bunbury, visiting women's refuges along the way.
Donations received for the rider's efforts were then passed on as below:
2018 - six Refuge organisations
2019 - six Refuge organisations
2020 - seven Refuges organisations
During these years, we were grateful to receive an administration fee, which helped us with our ongoing administration costs.
Rotary clubs of Western Australia 2021 - 2024
Some Western Australian Rotary clubs have supported our efforts over the years, inviting us to Guest Speak at member meetings, beneficiary of annual fund raising efforts and ongoing donations.
Thank you for your generosity, opening your member base to hear our messages and inviting us to participate in the Rotary FDV Collective.
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Rotary Club of Karrinyup - donations
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Rotary Club of Heirisson - 2021 Annual Auction beneficiary
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Rotary Club of Western Endeavour - 2022 Annual Quiz night beficiary
Pilot project - Pharmacist specific FDV awareness and action training (2021 - 2022)
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Collaborative research project execution, via $250k grant from WA Department of Communities to develop Pharmacist specific domestic abuse training using the NACC model (Notice and identify, Act, Connect and Care for yourself)
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Organisations involved were PVAW (Project Lead), Curtin University, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (WA Branch) (PSA), Lifeline WA
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An agile project, due to the effects of Covid on the community and pharmacists, with the content achieving PSA certification
Key conclusions:
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Health care professionals are not well educated/knowledgeable about FDV and the impacts
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Participants had improved attitudes, knowledge, skills & confidence after completing the FDV training
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Evidence of an increase in respondents Noticing, Acting and practicing self-Care after the training
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Resources were well received for use within a pharmacy setting
Our Future plans are to take the Pilot project and nationalise the training content for use across Australia.
Family violence Refuges - Christmas projects (2021, 2025)
2021
The Fremantle Foundation provided a donation for this project with the aim being to support women and children in Family Violence Refuges over the Christmas period. We identified a number of Perth metropolitan safe homes and provided family gifts in the form of a Perth Zoo annual pass for Mums and their children, along with a Transperth Smartrider.
2025
We were grateful that the CFMEU - WA branch chose us as the beneficiary of their annual Family Day raffle, with Mick Buchan asking us to ensure the funds went to those who most needed support. This sentiment went further than the proceeds of the raffle, with Site Delegate Bryce collecting donations for site BBQs he coordinated. And we were super happy that once again, Fremantle Foundation supported our project with a donation. So, inspired by the 2021 project and hoping for a larger kitty, we aimed to extend the project to all Safe houses in Western Australia.
Via hundreds of emails and phone calls, we contacted each Family Violence Refuge listed to determine how many women and children they support, balancing gift support options with anticipated total donations. Once again, a successful project was completed:
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42 Refuges supported
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393 Mums, 671 children
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2 Refuges were already well supported and kindly asked their 'allocation' be shared with other Regional safe homes
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Conservative estimate of over 1,500 women and children in Family Violence refuges over Christmas!!! (remember that Refuges are always full and turning people away due to lack of beds and support)
Although this is not our core focus, we are proud that we could provide some support, hope and acknowledgement to those in Refuges.