General News
9 December, 2025
Pyrenees residents stand against violence
AS part of the 16 Days of Activism campaign, Pyrenees Shire Council hosted the Pyrenees Community Walk Against Violence recently. The reflective walk around the Beaufort football oval gave students from Beaufort Secondary College an opportunity to consider their own steps toward creating a safer, more inclusive world. Mayor Damien Ferrarri said the issue remains close to his heart.
“The prevention of violence towards women and children is very important to me and I’ve been an advocate for many, many years,” he said.
“I was 35 years with Victoria Police, so I’m well aware of what happens and what we need to do. I think we’ve come a long way with raising awareness of family violence and community attitudes, and legislation has come a long way and I think has changed for the better. Having said that, I think we’ve got a long way still to go.”
Cr Ferrari said breaking the cycle requires early action including reporting on the behalf of others.
“If family violence is occurring, we need to break the cycle of it, and that’s through intervention.”
Statistics remain sobering. In Australia, one woman is murdered by her partner or ex-partner every week, one in three women will experience physical violence in their lifetime, and one in five will experience sexual violence.
Speakers Brenda Nakanjako and Jessie Duncan from Women’s Health Grampians addressed the crowd, focusing on inclusivity and the need for change in both community attitudes and workplace environments.
Ms Nakanjako, originally from Uganda, spoke of her personal experiences with harmful public behaviour and how it drives the need for change.
“I ask each one of you, what would you do more of? How will you show respect? How will you help build a safer, fairer community for all women, especially those from diverse and marginalised backgrounds?” she said.
“When we work together and improve our neighbourhood, we build trust, unity and shared purpose. Today we gather to reflect on how we can build safer communities and promote gender equality for all women. It starts with respect. Meaningful change begins with our everyday actions, attitudes and interactions.”
Ms Duncan highlighted the need for proactive inclusion in workplaces using her own experience with neurodiversity to kick start the idea of inclusion.
“Proactive inclusion means removing those barriers to participation before they become an issue,” she said.
“It asks us to remove the burden from the individual, and instead it means that communities are designing spaces with the entire community in mind. It enables us to participate from a strength-based place where we can bring our skills, our diverse ways of approaching problems, and our abilities to communicate and contribute to its health and success.”
Youth Engagement Officer Liz Hardiman also announced the launch of new “escape bags” now available at the Beaufort Community Bank, Pyrenees Community House, Beaufort Police Station and the Pyrenees Shire Council office.
The bags contain essential items for anyone, regardless of gender, who needs to quickly leave a dangerous household or community situation.
“If they have to leave with nothing, they can come to one of those four places in Beaufort and ask for an escape bag,” she said.
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