Shifting community attitudes and behaviours

We are working with the Queensland community, schools, businesses, religious and sporting organisations to drive a significant shift in community attitudes and behaviours together.

Through our collective efforts, we will embed respectful relationships and a zero tolerance approach to domestic and family violence (DFV) throughout the community so that everyone, everywhere, feels safe, supported and protected.

Creating cultural change

We are progressing initiatives to challenge and change cultural attitudes and behaviours that contribute to the cycle of violence and keep DFV behind closed doors.

Key initiatives include:

• partnering with the Griffith University MATE Bystander program’s free Be there app which allows direct access to tools that empower, educate and support a bystander in assisting someone who is experiencing DFV
• establishing the Women’s Safety and Justice Taskforce to examine coercive control and review the need for a specific offence of domestic violence and the experience of women across the justice system
• developing and implementing the new Queensland women’s strategy 2022–27
• developing and implementing the Domestic and family violence prevention engagement and communication strategy 2016–26
• developed a survey to measure Queenslanders’ attitudes towards DFV
• developing and implementing the Respectful Relationships education program
• partnering with OurWATCh to pilot a whole-school approach to respectful relationships education in 10 Queensland state primary schools
• becoming a member of Our WATCh
• developing and implementing the Queensland women’s strategy 2016–21 (PDF)
• developing and implementing the Queensland violence against women prevention plan (PDF)
• developing and implementing the Domestic and family violence media guide (PDF) (or DOCX)
• establishing the Queensland Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board
• expanding the Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month community grants program.

Leading the way for Queensland workplaces

DFV is a workplace issue. Workplaces can play a significant role in influencing long-term cultural change in our community.

We are leading the way for Queensland workplaces in sharing insights and resources that promote violence prevention in the workplace, support employees affected by DFV, and promote a safe, respectful and inclusive workplace culture.

Key initiatives include:

• the Domestic and family violence prevention corporate and community organisation engagement framework, setting a high-level vision of the work to be undertaken in partnership with the Queensland Government and corporate and community organisations to create safe and supportive workplaces and community hubs, to create lasting change to end DFV in Queensland
• partnering with MinterEllison, DV Connect and Challenge DV to strengthen Queensland workplaces' response to employees who use or may use violence and abuse
• partnering with Challenge DV to implement the Recognise, Respond, Refer eLearning program within agencies
• participating in the White Ribbon Australia Workplace Accreditation program
• implementing the workplace package available for all workplaces to adopt and tailor
• introducing DFV leave for government employees
• creating a more inclusive and diverse workforce through the Queensland public sector’s Inclusion and diversity strategy 2021–25 and Gender equity strategy 2015–20
• fostering transformative workplace culture and initiatives to champion positive and healthy workplaces
• the Queensland Government calling on the corporate sector and community organisations to pledge their commitment to act against DFV.