City of Salisbury Women’s Safety Summit

As part of a whole-of-community approach to preventing men’s violence against women in the City of Salisbury, we are inviting key leaders from a range of sectors to facilitate workshops to discuss and develop ideas for primary prevention activities that they identify as relevant to their organisations, groups and communities.

As outlined in the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children 2010–2022, we know that there is a diversity of needs across different sectors and groups (for example sporting clubs, faith and multicultural communities, businesses, health and community service organisations and education providers) which may require unique approaches to change attitudes, behaviours and beliefs that create the conditions for domestic violence and abuse.

Join us as we hear from keynote speakers Rosie Batty AO and Dr Michael Salter as well as a panel of community-based representatives reflecting on their roles and experiences in grassroots actions that work towards preventing men’s violence against women. Participants will then be invited to join workshop groups where facilitators will support them to develop their ideas and compile the feedback into a draft Community Response Plan that will contribute to women’s safety in the City of Salisbury.

This summit is brought to you through a collaboration between White Ribbon Australia, the City of Salisbury and the Northern Homelessness and Violence Against Women Collaboration and will be emceed by Brad Chilcott, Executive Director, White Ribbon Australia.

Rosie Batty AO

Rosie Batty knows pain no woman should have to suffer. Her son was killed by his father in a violent incident in February 2014, a horrendous event that shocked not only the nation, but the world. Greg Anderson murdered his 11-year-old son Luke and was then shot by police at the Tyabb cricket oval. Rosie had suffered years of family violence and had intervention and custody orders in place, in an effort to protect herself and her son. Rosie became an outspoken and dynamic crusader against domestic violence, which led her to be named Australian of the Year in January 2015. Since then, Rosie has made the most of her position of influence, campaigning and advocating for necessary systemic and attitudinal change, to address the family violence epidemic.

Rosie was Chair of the first ever Victim Survivor’s Advisory Council for the Victorian Government for over three years in response to the country’s first Royal Commission into Family Violence. Rosie is Co-Chair of the White Ribbon Australia Advisory Council.

She was named by Fortune Magazine as one of its top 50 world’s greatest leaders in 2016 and the most influential person in the Not for Profit sector on Pro Bono Australia’s Impact 25 list. She has also been inducted into the Victorian Honour Roll of Women and is a recipient of The Pride of Australia National Courage Medal.

Rosie received an Honorary Doctorate in 2017 from the University of the Sunshine Coast for her contribution to raising national awareness and action concerning family violence and received an Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday 2019 Honours List.

Professor Michael Salter

Professor Michael Salter is a Scientia Fellow and criminologist at the University of New South Wales. His research is focused on gendered violence and sexual exploitation, including primary prevention, complex trauma and technology-facilitated abuse. He is the author of two books, including the first study of child sexual exploitation in Australia, Organised Sexual Abuse (Routledge, 2013), and an examination of abuse and harassment on social media, Crime, Justice and Social Media (Routledge, 2017), as well as over forty papers on violence, abuse and trauma.

Michael sits on the Board of Directors of the International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation, who awarded him the 2018 Morton Prince Award for Scientific Achievement. He is a member of the editorial board of Child Abuse Review and the Journal of Trauma and Dissociation and an advisor to the Office of the eSafety Commissioner and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. He has extensive experience in the prevention of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault, and has worked with Women NSW and VicHealth on the primary prevention of violence against women, and was appointed as an expert advisor on the primary prevention of child sexual abuse to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.