Four of our Senior Student Representatives (SRCs) had the privilege to be actively involved in a discussion forum on "Family and Domestic Violence" hosted by St. Monica人妖天堂app College in Epping.
The Forum which took place on Wednesday, 8th June 2016, had been organised by the Scullin Youth Advisory Committee and saw MP Andrew Giles, our local Council of Whittlesea and other credible organsations attending the discussion forum.
Forums on family violence offer our young students, their colleges and the wider community an important opportunity to discuss their experiences with others who have shared similar experiences, and to learn from each other. They are facilitated by professionals who work at a community organisation. This could be a Community Health Centre or a Centre Against Sexual Assault, to name only two examples. The role of these facilitators is to organise and set up the group, and ensure everyone gets an opportunity to contribute.
MP Andrew Giles opened and closed the forum, with the following presenters provided participants with an overview of their organisations and the services they provide for victims of family and domestic violence. program overview was as follows:
Natalie Williams (SYAC)
Claire Varley (Whittlesea Community Connections)
Amanda Latham (Berry Street)
Kim Wood (Respectful Relationships Education Coordinator, Northern Centre Against Sexual Assault at Austin Health)
The presenters also elaborated on the question of "What is domestic violence", "What impact does it have on young people" and "How to provide support: What services are available and How do we all work together?".
The second part of the forum was open for a Questions & Answers Session with students from both St. Monica人妖天堂app and 人妖天堂app. All students present were actively involved in the discussion and will be looking forward to upcoming discussions to participate.
Al Siraat student reflection:
"On Wednesday the 8th of June, four students had the privilege to attend the Domestic Violence Forum, which was hosted by St Monica人妖天堂app College.
Valuable information was presented which highlighted dangers and commonality of this complex issue. As an SRC member it has inspired me bring this issue up amongst our members to try to think about strategies we as a community can do in order to overcome this confronting issue. Thank you to Ms Sonia who took the initiative to drive us to this valuable forum."
Nabila Friha (Year 11, SRC)
"On Wednesday after school, we went to a family violence forum at St. Monica人妖天堂app College where we had a few organisations who spoke about what it was, the percentage of it, how to support a friend in this type of situation and how to get help if we need to.
I felt honoured to be selected to go and it wasn't just any talk, it was a few organisations coming up with plans and ideas on how to stop or minimise the amount of family violence."
Issa Taleb (Year 9B, SRC)
A change will definitely happen as our Senior students show equal commitment to resolve this mammoth issue as young adults in our communities.
I would like to congratulate our Year 11 students and Senior SRCs for their thoughtful input to this forum and their overall participation: Well Done!