Council on board gender action plan

TEN councils in the Loddon Mallee region, including Swan Hill, have affirmed their commitment to eradicating violence against women thanks to an action plan launched by a women’s health advocacy group. 

On International Women’s Day earlier this month, Women’s Health Loddon Mallee (WHLM) unveiled a four year plan for the primary prevention of violence against women in the Loddon Mallee region.

Now, plaques containing the plan’s commitment statement are to be installed in the ten Loddon Mallee councils, including the foyer of Swan Hill Rural City Council’s main office on Splatt Street. 

The plaques are part of a push by WHLM to encourage local governments in the Loddon Mallee area to take greater responsibility for tackling the problem of violence against women.

WHLM executive director Linda Beilharz, in Swan Hill to present the plaque to mayor Les McPhee last week, said every Loddon Mallee council has subscribed to the action plan, which puts forward a set of principles and priorities to address the underlying causes of violence such as gender inequality and gender stereotypes. 

“[The plan] doesn’t tell them what to do but it provides them with strategies to guide their work,” she said.

“We’re working with the people who influence the norms and behaviours and attitudes.”

For more on this story, pick up a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (March 30, 2016).