Woman on a mission
FIONA Passarin has been recognised for her invaluable work in tackling domestic violence in the Bass Coast.
Ms Passarin of Wonthaggi was nominated for her work by Gippsland Women’s Health and received recognition for her achievements on International Women’s Day last Tuesday.
“I have worked in the prevention of male violence against women for three years now since Bass Coast YMCA became a pilot site for the gender respect campaign,” Ms Passarin said.
“Bass Coast has got a domestic violence problem. It is the fifth highest ranked shire in the state for domestic violence.”
Ms Passarin has used her role as Bass Coast YMCA community development officer to educate individuals on local organisations about domestic violence after the YMCA became a pilot site for the Gender Respect campaign.
“I have been facilitator for the Mentors in Violence Program where we work with people to help eliminate violence.”
“The program focuses on the bystander approach so it gives people the skills on how to deal with violent situations,” she said.
“We teach participants how to distract the perpetrator or intervene in a safe manner.”
In the two years since its inception, Ms Passarin has volunteered to take violence prevention training workshops for over 600 people in Gippsland.
“The workshops go for a few hours and we talk about the foundations of violence,” she said.
“This commonly comes from gender imbalances and stereotypes, and sexist language.”
Gippsland Women’s Health nominated Ms Passarin along with eight other inspirational Gippsland women who have contributed to benefit women in society.
“For me, International Women’s Day is about seeking equality,” Ms Passarin said.
“The first thing people can do to make a difference is to speak up when somebody says a sexist comment.”
Ms Passarin conducts workshops for individuals and community groups free of charge.
For more information contact fiona.passarin@ymca.org.au
Making change: from left, Sarah Smethhurst of Gippsland Women’s Health, secretary of the Department of Justice and Regulation Greg Wilson and Bass Coast YMCA community development officer Fiona Pessarin on International Women’s Day.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Mar 16 2016. Filed under Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
