The Rotary for Domestic and Family Violence group held an eye-opening seminar in Cooroy on Thursday 18 April.
The group is made up of the five clubs in the area of Noosa, Cooroy and Eumundi, who have joined in a concerted effort to bring this problem out into the open and into the public awareness space.
The object of the forum was to widen the understanding of the impact that domestic violence has on the community and to stimulate community action.
The main speaker was Acting Senior Sergeant and Officer In Charge at Noosa Police Station, Ryan Hanlon.
Senior Sgt Hanlon spoke about the problem from the police perspective, how extensive the problem is, how occurrences are categorised, and how the various categories can be addressed under the law.
He addressed the ways for the public to be involved by taking simple actions to address the problem.
Rotary Noosa president Tess Alexandroff said, “The figures relating to DV in our local community are quite staggering, so is the amount of police hours that are taken up attending to this issue.“
The audience consisted of about 80 people and representatives came from police, ambulance, paramedics, State Emergency Services, as well as DV service providers for victims and perpetrators.
A call to action by the local Rotary Clubs aims to highlight awareness within the community by buying and wearing the purple t-shirt ’Say NO to Domestic and Family Violence’.
“If we all wear this DV shirt on Fridays we will be taking the important first step to make a difference,“ Tess said.
“Our local Bendigo Bank has come on board to support our cause, and all staff will wear their purple shirts on a Friday.“
For more information, contact your local Rotary Club.
