- Date:
- 18 Dec 2019
Building a world that is fair for everyone does not happen by accident. Every single day women experience discrimination: at home, at work, on public transport, in the media and on sporting fields. Discrimination has very real consequences. We know that negative attitudes towards women lead to poor outcomes for women. Gender inequality and rigid gender roles also result in poorer outcomes for men and boys. The compounding and intersectional nature of discrimination leads to extreme disadvantage for some Victorians, of which gender inequality is just one part. That is why we need a gender equality strategy. Only through a deliberate strategy built on evidence will we create a fairer Victoria.
Safe and Strong: A Victorian Gender Equality Strategy outlines a five-year plan to support the attitude and behaviour change required to deliver gender equality and prevent violence against women. Because we know that gender inequality is a key driver of family violence, Safe and Strong complements Free From Violence, Victoria’s strategy to prevent family violence and all other forms of violence against women.
Through Safe and Strong, the Victorian Government is using all its levers: legislation, policy development, budgeting and public sector employment to achieve gender equality. Safe and Strong enables individuals and organisations across Victoria to contribute to ending gender inequality.
Achieving gender equality will take time, but Safe and Strong is helping Victoria take steps in the right direction. Through our work in the Victorian Public Sector and across workplaces, businesses, sporting associations, health providers, media and the arts, we have made real progress towards the goals laid out in Safe and Strong. It is important that we champion this success and maintain the momentum generated so far.