Gendered Violence Strategy Grants

• Project Funding: $1000
• Project: EmpowerU: Rights, Worth, and Voice is a 3-week workshop series that focuses on psychoeducation to empower female and female identifying UNSW students with the essential knowledge and skills that promote healing, self-care, and empowerment.  We will focus on breaking the chains of self-blame and societal gendered violence victim blame messages, cultivate self-worth and kindness and fostering skills to connect to your emotions and body. This workshop series is a safe space to strengthen or reclaim your sense of self and explore your entitlement to human rights. Through group support, knowledge sharing, and interactive activities, you'll gain the tools to recognize potentially abusive behaviours and cultivate a life defined by self-worth and empowerment.
• When: Week 2 to week 4 Term 2, 2024 
• How can I sign up: Please send expressions of interest to s.kroon@unsw.edu.au

• Project Funding:  $2000
• Project: This collaborative project between UNSW students and staff, “Gendered Violence: Identify, Interrupt, Disrupt”, promotes a hands-on approach to inform and empower students. It aims to equip students with the tools to recognise and tackle gendered microaggressions, discrimination, sexism and violence in their daily lives, and comprises three elements:  

- A comprehensive UNSW survey on combatting gendered violence, accessible to linguistically and culturally diverse student communities.

- An interactive SEXtember stall to share knowledge, empower students to confront sexism and discrimination, and create meaningful change.

- An accessible online resource for UNSW students to explore what gendered violence is, and how to address it. 

• When: 2024
• How can I sign up: Contact: penny.griffin@unsw.edu.au

• Project Funding:  $3000
• A UNSW student sexual harassment awareness campaign based on NSSS data, to address current issues and encourage students to reconsider harmful attitudes. The specific content will be developed alongside students, especially vulnerable cohorts, and will target high-risk settings such as Club events. 

• When: 2024

• Project Funding:  $5000
• Gendered Violence Response training was delivered to club executives and student leaders to address sexual harassment at UNSW by leveraging the power of peer support. Recognising that survivors often turn to friends for help, this initiative provides training to Club executives and student leaders. This training, tailored to the current student cohort's needs, aims to equip students to respond effectively to disclosures of sexual misconduct while respecting survivor confidentiality.
• Completed October 2023.

• Project Funding:  $5000
• Project: This project involves creating a culturally inclusive, safe space for students who are experiencing trauma in the context of gendered violence. The space is being co-created with students and will be supervised by mental health clinicians in the Psychology and Wellness space. The space will be therapeutically designed to be calming and will utilise evidence-based sensory interventions to assist in lowering distress
• Need to use the space? Contact: Renee Griffen at r.griffin@unsw.edu.au

• Project Funding: $5000
• Project: The "How Do You Like It?" workshop aims to create a safe and inclusive space for students to engage in conversations about healthy intimate relationships. This clay workshop will empower students to explore their own boundaries, understand consent, and develop effective communication skills that normalise the expression of personal needs and preferences to ensure safe, consensual relationships are fostered. Through innovative collaboration and engagement with arts-based knowledge ways, students will make their own handmade mug and build creative capacity for communication by practicing skills such as deep listening, purposeful reflection, and mindful expression. 
• How do I sign up for a workshop: Contact: Bridey.martin1@unsw.edu.au

• Project funding: $5000
• Project: The project aims to empower members of the community to call out problematic behaviours and attitudes as a proactive measure to raise awareness and foster a constructive dialogue on the issue of gendered violence. Consequently, it aims to enact cultural change to make academia safer for women and intersecting minorities. Through a combination of large and small group sessions, the project will educate participants on how to identify and respond to problematic behaviour and provide effective support for survivors. Through engagement with senior school/faculty staff, the project additionally aims to lead to implementation of policy/administrative changes to create a safer work environment.
• Interested to find out more? Contact: grace.j.yan@unsw.edu.au

• Project funding: $5000
• Project: REALationships is an engaging 90-minute workshop for UNSW 1^st year college students that aims to foster positive relationships and communication. This workshop is informed by student feedback and is designed to empower students to cultivate meaningful connections and lifelong skills by addressing the following areas: 1) Examine power imbalances and complexities within relationships using video clips and discussions, dissecting societal influences on gender dynamics. 2) Enhance communication skills by mastering boundary-setting, managing tough talks, and deciphering verbal/non-verbal cues. 3) Navigate relationship behaviours, acknowledging both positive and negative aspects, while learning conflict resolution techniques and self-soothing strategies. This workshop aims to cultivate a cultural shift through education, nurturing relational intelligence and communication. 
• This is a UNSW Colleges and Psychology and Wellness initiative to be delivered to 1^st year students living in UNSW operated colleges. 
• Interested to know more: Contact Sarah Kroon (Psychology and Wellness) s.kroon@unsw.edu.au or Kate Thomson (UNSW Colleges) kate.thomson@unsw.edu.au

• Project funding: $5000
• Project: The project aims to educate and empower the UNSW Canberra community on gendered violence. Under this project, we will organize interactive panel discussions focusing on gender norms, respectful behaviour, gendered violence, reporting options, and support in the university and ACT. Open to all staff and students, these panel discussions will play a crucial role in enhancing awareness around gendered violence and equipping individuals with the tools to prevent and report such incidents effectively.

• When: 2024
• Interested to find out more? Contact: Raj, r.kaithwar@unsw.edu.au

• Project funding: $5000
• Project: UNSW Colleges is going to replicate the Consent Conversations started in 2023 by developing a workshop in a similar style (acted out scenarios and discussion groups) by catering specifically to returning students. The returners workshops will be aiming to incorporate bystander intervention, partner violence and will have deeper level discussions around sexual violence.  These workshops will run across 4 sessions, led by Joy Townsend and groups will be of 6-8 people, led by the Residential Fellows and Residential Assistants.  
• When: 2024
• Who is this workshop for? This workshop is aimed at returning students in UNSW accommodation.
• For more information, contact: Lauren, l.ryznar@unsw.edu.au

• Project funding: $2000
• Project: UNSW Canberra, in collaboration with GVRN from ADA, will facilitate a training package for students and staff that contextualises GV in the study, work and family environment. The workshop will address common scenarios experienced by people with lived experience of GV, signs and behaviours to look out for, psychological and manipulative abuse, responding to disclosure, and next steps when supporting a victim of GV specific to the ACT. This initiative will be available for both students and staff, ensuring the visibility and messaging of GV is captured and shared within all cohorts of the campus community. 
• When: March/ April 2024
• Want more information? Contact Tom Tom.arthur@adfa.edu.au