Join Strathbogie Shire Council and representatives from Safe and Equal, Victorias peak body for specialist family violence services to hear stories from a lived experience and gender-based violence prevention perspectives.

Kym Valentine will be sharing her passion for raising awareness and challenging stereotypes about those who experience family violence. Using her compassion and warmth Kym will share ways that community can support each other to recognize and respond to family and gender-based violence.

Following this Jo Darling will facilitate a conversation with Kym Valentine and Hannah Dwyer in understanding the movement towards ending family and gender-based violence in Victoria.

Kym Valentine is a Survivor Advocate with Safe and Equal, she shares her lived experience to influence policy, practice and prevention of violence within the Specialist Family Violence Sector as well as with community organisations and the private sector.

She has previously held the role of chair at VSAC (Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council) worked with FARE (Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education), where she consulted on the relationship between alcohol and family violence and gave extensive input to reforms of the Liquor Control Reform Act.

Kym is well known to many for her long-running and much-loved role in the television show Neighbours, she has extensive experience as a television and theatre actor, as well as in teaching.

Hannah Dwyer is the Prevention Program and Campaign Advisor at Safe and Equal leading the delivery of the 16 Days of Activism Grassroots Initiative. She works closely with Respect Victoria to support Councils, Women's Health Services and Community Organisations in all campaign activities. This is her third 16 Days campaign and she loves seeing the campaign reach further and across different communities each year.

Jo Darling is the Lived Experience Program Lead at Safe and Equal, coordinating a team of Survivor Advocates to engage in advocacy opportunities across the specialist family violence sector, community organisation, government and private sector. Jo works with organisations to build capacity to work alongside people with lived and living experience of family violence to utilise their specialist skills and knowledge to create change.

Light lunch, tea and coffee provided.