Whittlesea CALD Communities Family Violence Research Report 2012 | Page 5

Funding
The WCFVP has attracted funding of approximately $221,000 since 2012.
This includes generous donations from Victoria Legal Aid, the Scanlon
Foundation, Victorian Women’s Benevolent Trust (VWBT)/Grosvenor
Foundation and City of Whittlesea Community Development Grants.
Victoria Legal Aid funding allowed the project to employ a project worker in
2013/14 and Whittlesea Community Connections continued to fund this from
June 2014.

Total
funding

$221,000

VWBT/Grosvenor Foundation and Scanlon Foundation grants funded a successful CALD Women’s
Support Group Grants scheme, distributing $20,000 in grants to six local women’s groups in 2014
and enabling the project to provide these groups with family violence training, community legal
education sessions and other support. VWBT/Grosvenor Foundation funding also supported
creation of a women’s advisory group consisting of local women to provide ongoing feedback and
support to ensure the project continues to meet the needs and requirements of the community.
Using Scanlon Foundation funds, the project started developing partnerships with local
community and religious leaders aimed at building their capacity to become anti-violence
community advocates. It also allowed the project to engage Monash University’s Gender,
Leadership and Social Sustainability unit to develop and begin implementing a robust evaluation
framework.
Project partners and donors rallied together when the opportunity arose to deliver a pilot Arabicspeaking Men’s Family Violence Group in early 2015. The funding goal was met following
generous financial and in-kind contributions from inTouch, Victoria Legal Aid, Scanlon
Foundation, City of Whittlesea, The Salvation Army Crossroads, and Men’s Behaviour Change
specialist Tom Griffiths.
In 2015 remaining funds will be used to implement a second round of CALD Women’s Support
Group Grants with additional training and support opportunities for these groups. The project will
continue to build relationships and capacity build local community and religious leaders, and will
provide opportunities for the Women’s Advisory Group to build their skills in primary prevention
of violence as well as develop culturally and linguistically relevant anti-violence resources.
The Arabic-speaking Men’s Family Violence Group will provide valuable learnings towards
implementing an accredited Men’s Behaviour Change Group, for which funds will be sought.
In addition to the WCFVP, 2015 will see design and delivery of a $150,000 partnership project,
funded through peak prevention body Our Watch, to engage Whittlesea’s Iranian community in
activities to prevent violence against women and children. Lead by implementing partners
Whittlesea Community Connections, The Salvation Army Crossroads, and Women’s Health In the
North (WHIN), the project will provide valuable tools, resources and learnings to inform
prevention work in CALD communities across Australia.

$150,000
for prevention
of violence
against
women

Funding challenges remain in resourcing the research, development and
implementation of a whole of school program promoting respectful and
equitable relationships in a local primary school. The project will also seek
to secure funding to continue implementing project elements beyond 2015,
as well as secure funding to implement an accredited Arabic-speaking
Men’s Behaviour Change program. Project worker funding is also not
secure beyond June 2015.

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