What is The Man Question?

It's a conversation many are having about the role of men in preventing gendered violence, and one the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health invite you to explore with us at this event. If you're a gender equity advocate, policy maker, prevention of violence practitioner, service provider, researcher, or part of the women's health sector, this event is for you.

How to effectively engage men in violence prevention has long been a complex and urgent issue, and one that has been elevated into public consciousness over the past year. Yet the impacts of migration, racial discrimination, and cultural context remain largely overlooked in these conversations. It’s time to change that.

How do we engage men in gendered violence prevention without sidelining the leadership and expertise of migrant and refugee women? What does an intersectional feminist approach to engaging men in gendered violence prevention truly look like? How do assumptions about masculinity and ‘culture’ influence this work, and what are the limitations of these concepts?

The Man Question will delve into these vital questions in a half-day event featuring expert speakers sharing their insights, followed by a thought-provoking panel discussion. The event concludes with a networking lunch where you can continue the conversation.

Event Details:

📍 Where: The Wheeler Centre and livestreamed

📅 When: 17 March

⏰ Time: 9:30 am – 1:30 pm

9.30am - 10.40am: Acknowledgment of Country by Nartarsha Bamplett (Queen Acknowledgements) and opening addresses

10.40am - 11.15am: Five minute - Five answers. What is your answer to the Man Question?

11.15am - 12.00pm: Networking lunch for in person attendees

12.00pm - 1.00pm: Panel discussion and Q&A

Ticket Options:

Organisation Ticket ($100): For those attending on behalf of their workplace. This is a great use of a professional development budget—a chance to gain expert insights, network, and bring back knowledge to your team.
Individual Ticket ($40): For those attending in person but not representing an organisation.
Livestream Ticket ($30): Can’t make it in person? Watch from anywhere

Financial barriers should never prevent participation in conversations about women’s safety. Free tickets are available for those who need them, no questions asked, just place an order for a Free Community Access ticket. For any questions regarding ticketing, please email Anne Johnston at annej@mcwh.com.au

Accessibility information:

The event is located on the second floor of the Wheeler Centre building, accessible via a ramp as well as stairs.
Assistance animals are welcome (drinking water provided on request).
The Wheeler Centre operates a hearing loop in our Performance Space, which allows patrons who are wearing a hearing aid to tune in to the frequency of the venue.
There will be live captioners for the livestream and Auslan interpreters are available if requested two weeks before the event date (please contact annej@mcwh.com.au)
If you are hard-of-hearing, we will reserve seats that are a few rows back from the front of the audience, as these are where the best sound is (sound can be quite bouncy in the front few rows). Please indicate this in your booking form so we can reserve a place.
The venue space features two large air purifiers at either end to eliminate 99.9% of viruses, allergens and pollutants
The Wheeler Centre has accessible/gender neutral toilets in the foyer area

For more information about venue accessibility, please visit: https://www.wheelercentre.com/visit/access

Introducing our speakers

Hosted by Nour Haydar

Host and Senior Producer at Guardian Australia

Nour Haydar is co-host and senior producer of Guardian Australia’s daily news podcast Full Story. Prior to joining Guardian Australia in 2024, Nour was a federal political reporter with ABC News at Parliament House in Canberra, and a fill-in presenter on ABC News Breakfast. Nour has regularly reported on gender-based violence and was an inaugural fellow for the Our Watch Fellowship in 2019.

Nesreen Bottriell

CEO Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights

Nesreen Bottriell is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights, an organisation committed to addressing gender inequality and advocating for the rights of Muslim women and girls in Australia. As a dedicated advocate, Nesreen is committed to social justice and advancing the rights of marginalised women, children and their communities and seeks to foster understanding through meaningful dialogue to address social inequity.

Nesreen has 20 years executive leadership experience within the not for profit, community and international development sectors and has contributed to multiple research publications on Islamophobia & Discrimination and Family Violence. She holds a Master of International and Community Development (MICD), a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Bachelor of Commerce (B.Comm, CPA qualified). Nesreen sits as a Board director on the Respect Victoria and Safe + Equal Boards.

Dr Innocent Mwatsiya

Research Fellow, La Trobe University

Dr Innocent Mwatsiya is a Research Fellow with the Reducing Gender-Based Violence Research Group, at the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research in the La Trobe Rural Health School. Innocent is currently conducting research in the Partners in Prevention of Sexual Violence project, which received funding from the Federal Government to evaluate community-led primary and secondary prevention of sexual violence interventions. Innocent has expert knowledge and experience in engaging men and boys, primary prevention of family violence, sexual violence and violence against women and in child protection. He has worked for Respect Victoria, the state's dedicated organisation for the prevention of family violence and violence against women. He has also worked in Child Protection in different jurisdictions both in Australia and abroad.

Dr Shane Tas

Principal Advisor, Masculinities, Our Watch

Dr Shane Tas is Principal Advisor, Masculinities at Our Watch. In this role he was project lead and author of the Men in focus report and continues to support evidence-building activities in the prevention sector. Shane also advises on, and helps develop policy responses, campaigns and practice resources relating to masculinities and working with men and boys in prevention of violence against women. Prior to his role at Our Watch, Shane worked at the University of Melbourne as a researcher and educator in gender and sexuality studies with a particular focus on men and masculinities. Shane lives and works on Wurundjeri country in Naarm, Melbourne.

Priyanka Ajit

Project lead, Our Watch

Priyanka Ajit is a project lead at Our Watch, a national leader in the primary prevention of violence against women and their children. She is leading a project which builds on existing prevention approaches and evidence to ensure these strategies are not only effective, but also responsive to the needs of multicultural communities. Priyanka’s background in project design, implementation and policy development enables her to bring a thoughtful, strategic approach to her work to drive meaningful social change.

As part of her work, Priyanka recently led a national consultation that brought together key stakeholders to gather insights, share experiences and shape the direction of the project. Findings from this consultation highlighted the need to tailor prevention messaging and approaches to better reflect the experiences of migrant and refugee men and boys.

Shankar Kasynathan

Volunteer Facilitator, The Open Exchange

Shankar is a former Commissioner for Multicultural Affairs and is currently an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Reconciliation, and Deputy Chair of the Migrant Workers Centre.

Over the past 20 years, Shankar has been using every tool in the shed to tackle public policy challenges facing new and established communities across Victoria, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the ACT. In one capacity or another, he has worked for local, state & territory governments, VicHealth, Oxfam, the National Heart Foundation, Amnesty International and the Red Cross.

In 2022, Shankar along with others, built The Open Exchange as a response to what was seen as a gap in the community to support migrant men to address family violence and mental health challenges; that weren't court ordered or embedded in mainstream community health services. With a focus on employment and work rights, the Open Exchange has been described as the migrant community's response to the Men's Shed movement.

Dr Adele Murdolo

CEO Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health

Adele is the Chief Executive Officer of Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health. She is from an Italian migrant background and a passionate advocate for building the status of migrant and refugee women through research, practice and policy.

Adele has a PhD in History and Women’s Studies and extensive specialist research and practice expertise in taking an intersectional feminist approach to gender equity, health and violence against women in multicultural communities. Adele’s research and policy output, and strong leadership of MCWH for more than 2 decades has made a significant contribution to building the evidence base for improving migrant and refugee women health outcomes in Australia. Adele is widely sought after to provide expert advice to governments on migrant and refugee women’s priority health issues. She is a member of numerous national, state and ministerial councils and taskforces, including, currently, the National Women’s Health Advisory Council, the National Multicultural Health Advisory Committee, the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine Council, among others.

Acknowledge of Country by Nartarsha Bamblett

Founder of Queen Acknowledgements and IndigUcation

Nartarsha Bamblett is a proud First Nations woman dedicated to nurturing connections and fostering authenticity in every aspect of her life. As the founder of Queen Acknowledgements and IndigUcation, she passionately serves as a speaker, Indigenous facilitator, space holder, and mentor. Yet, her most cherished role is being a devoted mother to her children.

Nartarsha's purpose is to inspire change, promote healing, and cultivate a deeper understanding of Indigenous traditions and practices. When you experience the transformational power of her work it guides you towards a place of wholeness and connection with ourselves, our communities, and the deeper world around you.

The Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health is a national, community-based organisation, led by and for women and gender diverse people from migrant and refugee backgrounds. We have been at the forefront of prevention programs for 46 years, where we have built our specialist, feminist and intersectional expertise to ensure that our work remains culturally respectful and responsive to the needs of migrant and refugee communities.

Contact the host of The Man Question: Engaging migrant and refugee men in gendered violence prevention