Movember partners with Department of Social Services
The Movember Institute of Men’s Health has partnered with the Commonwealth Department of Social Services to reduce gender-based violence.
Here’s what you need to know.
Movember partners with Department of Social Services
The Movember Institute of Men’s Health has partnered with the Commonwealth Department of Social Services to reduce gender-based violence.
Here’s what you need to know.
Movember partners with Department of Social Services
The Movember Institute of Men’s Health has partnered with the Commonwealth Department of Social Services to reduce gender-based violence.
Here’s what you need to know.
Gender-based violence is a serious problem in Australia. It also disproportionately affects women, children, and marginalised communities.
Movember, via the Movember Institute of Men’s Health, is partnering with the Department of Social Services to tackle the problem. Our mission? To disrupt the cycle of violence through initiatives that engage boys and men in all their diversities.
We'll be funding and promoting programs under the Healthy Masculinities initiative. That means improving the health and wellbeing of young boys and men, while also promoting a positive culture.
So far, the Movember Institute has pledged AUD $3.2 million in funding. The money will bolster Movember’s already extensive collaborative efforts with young men to further understand and promote healthy expressions of masculinity. The ultimate goal is to develop evidence-based strategies to shape and improve future initiatives in this field.
The numbers must change
Gender-based violence disproportionately affects women, children, and marginalised communities.
In 2022–23, one woman in Australia was killed every 11 days by an intimate partner, marking an alarming 28 per cent increase in homicides year on year.
In the first four months of 2024, gender-based violence claimed the lives of 25 women. That’s an increase of 11 deaths compared to the same period last year.
Indigenous women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised due to violence than non-Indigenous women, and six times more likely to die as a consequence of family violence.
How we’re taking on gender-based violence
The Movember and DSS partnership aims to develop evidence-based strategies that inform future funding and service delivery in the field of healthy masculinities.
The funding will build a community of practice across Australia with the explicit aim of developing healthy masculinities.
Funding will go to initiatives that will:
- Study how online platforms, including media environments and the ‘manosphere’ influence the mental health of young men.
- Support men to embrace less restrictive, more expansive forms of masculinity.
- Improve attitudes and behaviours associated with healthy masculinities.
- Enhance community understanding of masculinities and their impact on gender-based violence.
- Facilitate knowledge exchange among organisations and government entities.
“We are proud to collaborate with the Department of Social Services to address gender-based violence in Australia. Our goal is to elevate the voices and experiences of young boys and men, engaging them as integral parts of the solution. By promoting healthier expressions of masculinity, we aim to foster more respectful behaviours and create safer communities for all. Sustainable change means reinforcing these healthy expressions of masculinity in all the spheres where boys and men interact, whether online, in the media, in workplaces, schools, sporting clubs, or communities.”
Professor Simon Rice,
Global Director of the Movember Institute of Men’s Health
About this partnership
The Movember Institute of Men’s Health
The Institute is a groundbreaking initiative that will save lives and accelerate progress in the field of men’s health. It exists to accelerate research and translate it into practical, real-world outcomes to address critical men's health issues: mental health, prostate and testicular cancers, gender-specific health care, and men's health literacy. Notably, the Institute has committed a significant initial investment of AUD $100 million over the next five years into these cause areas.
Department of Social Services
The Commonwealth Department of Social Services’ mission is to improve the economic and social wellbeing of individuals, families and vulnerable members of Australian communities. The Department’s mandate covers a wide range of services and initiatives. These include programs for families and children; housing support, seniors; communities and vulnerable people; disability and carers; women’s safety; and mental health.
Media queries
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