By Lucy Waldron
The Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Council (DFVPC) is taking significant steps to engage local governments across Queensland in their mission to prevent domestic and family violence.
Following recent elections, the council has been revisiting local governments to brief new council members on their efforts and to encourage their participation in the DFVPC’s initiatives.
Last week DFVPC Co-chairs Vanessa Fowler and Bob Atkinson visited the Southern Downs Regional Council to conduct and informative seminar on how local councils can get involved with their efforts.
In a debrief with WarwickStanthorpe Today after the seminar, Mr Atkinson highlighted the importance of grassroots involvement in combating domestic and family violence.
“It’s important for the Prime Minister and the Premier to be supportive, but local government are very close to their communities,” he said.
“The leadership and influence of local government—when mayors and councillors stand up and say the council supports prevention—are crucial.
“This effort is about changing attitudes, beliefs, values, and behaviours, particularly among perpetrators.”
The Prevention Council’s partnership initiative, launched last year, aims to bring all 77 local government councils in Queensland on board as part of their Champions Network.
Ms Fowler said they are hopeful that the Southern Downs Regional Council and others in the state will join their network.
“We aren’t asking councils to spend large amounts of money, but to take a stand and communicate to their communities that there is no excuse for domestic abuse,” Ms Fowler said.
This initiative is part of a broader strategy that includes prevention, early intervention, crisis management, and recovery for both victims and perpetrators.
By forming partnerships and sharing best practices with local governments, the DFVPC aims to address the unique challenges faced by rural and regional areas, where access to frontline services can be limited.
The DFVPC’s efforts include promoting key campaigns such as Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month in May and the 16 Days of Activism in November. These campaigns aim to raise awareness and drive community action across Queensland.
Mr Atkinson emphasised the need for community leaders to move beyond the old rhetoric that councils should only focus on roads, rates, and rubbish.
“We are asking our community leaders to come on board and to have these conversations because domestic and family violence should no longer be regarded as private personal business behind closed doors,” he said.
“We used to live in a time where it was acceptable not to wear seatbelts or to smoke inside, and now it isn’t. We want that societal change for domestic and family violence.”
Mr Atkinson spoke openly about his time in the police force and how it has influenced his drive behind DFVPC.
“My biggest issue in my 44 years in the police department was that people have a right to be safe, feel safe and reach their potential in life. For the victims of domestic violence, they don’t have any of that,” he said.
The mission to create a violence-free Queensland is one that both Atkins and Fowler are dedicated to.
With 44 local councils interested and at various stages of joining their Champions Network, the DFVPC is well on its way to achieving its goal.
“I think we should not be raising our daughters to protect themselves from mistreatment; we need to be raising our sons to respect, value and honour the females in their lives,” Ms Fowler said.
