16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence grants awarded

Aligned Leisure

16 Days of Activism Campaign | $750
Nillumbik Leisure Facilities will turn orange for the 16 Days of Activism, raising awareness of gender-based violence. Staff will wear orange, and members can engage through a ribbon tree, art and heart walls, and a 16,000 burpee challenge.

Arthurs Creek Primary School

Social and Emotional Literacy Learning | $750
Delivery of an evidence-based emotional literacy program of learning around social and emotional wellbeing. Students will learn to develop the language to describe emotions, recognise and name the emotions they are feeling, understand that all emotions are valid, develop a toolbox of strategies to help them regulate when emotions are escalating and to read others so they can demonstrate empathy for them. Students will also learn how to negotiate socially challenging moments safely, respectfully and fairly. They will learn to be active, collaborative and respected contributors to the school community. The program will be launched at school assembly on Friday 28 November.

Eltham Junior Football Club

AFLW Draft 2025 | $750
Celebrating the opportunities for girls in footy at an event to watch the AFLW Draft 2025, marking the progress of equality in AFL. Featuring a festive atmosphere, AFLW player appearance and insights to inspire girls to play and feel a strong sense of belonging and equality. The event is on Monday 15 December from 6.30pm.

Eltham High School

Stories for Change | $600
Empowering students to explore diversity and inclusion through literature, fostering empathy, critical thinking, and respectful dialogue. By engaging with diverse voices and stories, students will develop a deeper understanding of how to embody school values, respect for diversity, and individuality.

Our Lady Help of Christians Eltham

Respect Mural | $750
Employing a local artist to work with students to design a mural for the school, communicating values of respect for self, respect for others, and respect for our environment, with an emphasis on inclusive symbolism, equality for all and inclusion.

Sacred Heart School Diamond Creek

Living Our Values: Student-Created Picture Story Books | $750
Empowering student voices by publishing six student-created picture storybooks that celebrate the school's values while embedding the messages of the 16 Days of Activism: gender equality, respect, inclusion, safety, and healthy relationships.

Strathewen Primary School

A Strathewen Celebration of Wonderful Women | $630
Hosting a community celebration of wonderful women, sharing and showcasing the incredible lives and achievements of local women through a day of intergenerational storytelling and activities. The event will include storytelling, panel discussions, musical performances and a special afternoon tea. This session is on Tuesday 9 December and is open to the wider community.

Aligned Leisure

16 Days of Activism Campaign | $498
Building on last years’ campaign, Nillumbik Leisure Facilities will start conversations with their thousands of members and users by 'painting their centres orange' to raise awareness throughout the 16 Days of Activism campaign.

Diamond Creek Primary School

Embracing Equality Through Art | $500
Diamond Creek Primary School will collaborate with a local artist to create an art piece that embodies their school value of 'respect'. This artwork serves as a visual representation of the schools’ commitment to gender equality and will leverage the power of art to raise awareness, challenge stereotypes, and inspire action towards a more equitable world.

Diamond Valley College

Read with Pride | $500
Diamond Valley College will be curating and displaying a selection of books that spark meaningful and positive conversations around gender, equity, sexuality and inclusion. This project will be led by students and supported by literacy specialists, librarians and local Respectful Relationships staff to ensure books speak to the diverse experiences and needs of young people, and explore core themes around respect, equity, identity and diversity in safe ways.

Eltham Primary School

Improving Gender Equality and Respect for Diversity Through Literature | $500
Students and teachers will be supported to conduct a school-wide audit of literature to evaluate gender stereotypes and storylines, and assess and enhance the representation of cultural linguistic and diverse people, people with disabilities, sexual diversity and same-sex families.

Eltham South Preschool

Kindness Tree | $375
Eltham South Preschool will create a Kindness Tree to promote the importance of kindness and respect for oneself and others. Over the course of the 16 Days, children will build a 'tree' with paper and cardboard, adding 'leaves and flowers' bearing short descriptions of acts of kindness they have performed or observed. The ephemeral art piece will help reinforce the collective responsibility towards cultivating a kind and respectful community.

Eltham Woods Child Care Co-operative

Gender Equity Library | $500
Eltham Woods Child Care Co-operative will set up a library of books for children to select with their families to take home and read. The display will also promote 16 days of Activism more broadly and provide families with information about gender-based violence. This display will include images of people and children engaging in non-stereotypical activities, roles and clothing aimed at challenging social norms and behaviours that perpetuate gender-based violence.

Kangaroo Ground Preschool

16 Consent Conversation Starters | $480
Kangaroo Ground Preschool will curate a selection of books, posters and other resources to facilitate curious, safe conversations among families around consent and what this looks like. Kangaroo Ground Preschool will also be engaging a professional consultant to host a conversation with staff and encourage them to think about how to positively enhance children’s feelings of autonomy, sense of self and consent.

Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School

Strength Cards | $500
Building on the success of last years’ 16 Days activity, students at Our Lady Help of Christians Primary School in Eltham will be creating a set of strength cards aligning to the Respectful Relationships Education curriculum. Families will receive a set of strength cards to take home to help inspire and build conversations about respect, kindness, and gender equity within the wider community.

St Andrews Primary School

Morning Circle Read Aloud | $500
St Andrews Primary School will be curating and purchasing a collection of books for students that focus on challenging gender stereotypes and exploring what gender equity looks like in practice, and how students can help progress this. During each of the 16 Days of Activism, the daily Morning Circle will be used to showcase and discuss one of the books. These activities are focused on challenging traditional stereotypes, promoting greater inclusion and equity, and providing examples and perspectives on how to create a more respectful community.

Strathewen Primary School

A Strathewen Celebration of Wonderful Women | $500
Strathewen Primary School will host a community celebration, showcasing the incredible lives and achievements of local women through a day of intergenerational storytelling and activities on the final day of the 16 Days campaign. The event will include storytelling, panel discussions, musical performances and a special afternoon tea, which will also be open to the wider community.

Aligned Leisure

16 Days of Nillumbik | $430
Nillumbik Leisure Facilities will start conversations with their thousands of members and users by 'painting their centres orange' to raise awareness throughout the 16 Days of Activism campaign.

Christmas Hills Primary School

Christmas Hills Primary School Library Resources | $500
Christmas Hills Primary School will purchase a range of books that explore gender equity and challenge rigid gender stereotypes to support the Respectful Relationships education program.

Different Journeys

Calling Out Conversations for the Autistic Community | $500
Different Journeys will produce a range of 16 Days materials to be made available at our social events for the Autistic community throughout the 16 Days of Activism campaign to raise awareness and prompt discussion to further our community's efforts to eliminate gender-based violence.

Eltham South Preschool

Safeguarding Children: Promoting Self-Empowerment for Abuse Prevention | $500
Eltham South Preschool will purchase resources, including books, role-playing aids and learning activities, which explore themes of gender equality, respect and consent.

Firestorm Martial Arts

Senior Empowerment and Self-Protection | $500
This information session and self-protection workshop is specially designed to empower older adults, in particular women, fostering resilience, confidence, and improved physical and mental well-being. The workshop will be tailored to suit all fitness levels and abilities, and focus on situational awareness, de-escalation strategies, and communication skills.

Hoynes Road Playhouse

Dreaming Beyond Boundaries: Nurturing Gender Equality from a Young Age | $500
The Hohnes Road Playhouse will host a fortnight of inspiring playgroup sessions to instil a sense of aspiration and gender equality from an early age, recognizing the profound influence that early childhood experiences can have on shaping children's attitudes and beliefs.

Kangaroo Ground Preschool

Closing the Gender Gap: Encouraging More Girls into STEAM | $500
Kangaroo Ground Preschool will purchase resources to support the children in our 4 year old group, girls in particular, with an interest in STEAM and skills in robotics/coding. Girls' participation in STEAM education also expands their access to jobs in high-growth industries, advancing economic opportunities for women.

Our Lady Help of Christians Eltham

Respect is 365... Our Lady Help of Christians Calendar | $500
Our Lady Help of Christians will create a calendar using student artworks responding to the theme 'Respect is...' demonstrating that respectful relationships are year-round and not just for 16 days.

Sacred Heart School, Diamond Creek

Respect is 365... Sacred Heart School Family Calendar | $500
Sacred Heart School will create a calendar using student artworks responding to the theme 'Respect is...' demonstrating that respectful relationships are year-round and not just for 16 days.

Strathewen Primary School

A Celebration of Special Women | $500
Strathewen Primary School will recognise and celebrate notable female figures in their community through a school-wide 'garden party' style event.

Ferguson Park Preschool

Equality of access to jobs of the future | $449
Materials purchased to equip students, especially girls, with skills in robotics. Coding teaches children to experiment, think logically and creatively, and to try again if their first attempts fail.

Hohnes Road Playhouse

Addressing gender inequalities through preschooler play  |  $496
Dedicated a week of playgroup sessions to promoting gender equity and respectful relationships through story time, craft and intentional play, supporting the and promoting the message of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

Meruka Child Care Cooperative

It starts with WE | $500
Event promoting the campaign which included staff wearing orange and offering ribbons, sashes, and orange hairspray to the children, making Respect Victoria bookmarks and giving them to families, baking orange cupcakes and cookies with the children over the course of the 16 days, and using it as an opportunity to talk about gender equity.

Ness Reserve Preschool

Challenging stereotypes from the start | $292
Purchase of books focusing on individuality and breaking down stereotypes to help them to provide access, opportunities and resources for all the children at the kindergarten to promote awareness around gender equality and challenging stereotypes, leading to opportunities for ongoing conversations and questions.

Nillumbik Leisure Facilities

16 Days of Activism T-Shirt Awareness | $500
Purchase of orange t-shirts with the hashtag #16DaysOfActivism for customer facing staff members, demonstrating that their spaces and people are against gendered based violence, and to help start conversations with patrons that could help support and inform the community of ways to help end gendered based violence.

Sacred Heart Primary Diamond Creek

Respect Is... Art Gallery | $500
Provision of student art lessons based on the theme 'Respect Is...' during the 16 Days of Activism. From this, 10 artworks will be chosen to be photographed and reprinted on canvas for a gallery in the entrance to their new building.

St Andrews Primary School

Gender Respect Celebration | $500
Morning tea for their students and a special female in their lives to spend the morning celebrating women and their stories, as well as thanking them for the impact they have had on their lives. To tune students into the theme supporting literature promoting female role models will be purchased, and each child had the opportunity to invite a special person to attend and then thank them by presenting them with morning tea, and a gift of Live Love Magic beans.

Wattle Glen Primary School

16 Days of Lunch with Strong Women | $550
Purchase of 16 books with strong female characters in order to launch a lunchtime club to read and discuss these books, to highlight and raise awareness of strong female characters in books and inspire the students to seek out strong female characters, and role models.