Published October 19 2017
Local students are making their voices heard this week, standing together for gender equality.
More than 600 students from Sydney Road community school and Coburg high school are taking part in the Clothesline Project as part of Week without Violence. The project sees students paint pro-active messages on t-shirts to raise awareness of gender equality, respect and empowerment, and its link to family violence.
Health promotion officer and gender equality champion at Merri Health, Kat Thorn, explained that local schools were involved in this year’s event, in an effort to stop gendered violence from an early age.
"We’re thrilled to be working with secondary school students this year. As the next generation of leaders, they have so much to say about how our community can work together to address gender inequality and disrespect. We know that family violence is an issue that young people care deeply about and Week without Violence is a great opportunity for their voices to be heard,” said Kat.
The activity is led by Fawkner’s Urdu-speaking women’s group, and will see the t-shirts on display at the schools, as lead schools in the Department of Education’s respectful relationship initiative. The event is followed by the 16 Days of Activism campaign and White Ribbon in November, activities that raise awareness of gender-based violence.