Mildura Rural City Council is proud to announce it has successfully completed the White Ribbon Australia Workplace Accreditation Program for a third consecutive time.
Council first gained White Ribbon accreditation in March 2016 and has since made great strides, both internally and in the community, to raise awareness about violence against women, family and gendered violence and how to prevent it.
The program, facilitated by community service organisation Communicare, involves a whole of organisation commitment to address gendered violence.
"Our latest accreditation means our organisation has been a White Ribbon Accredited Workplace for six years' straight, which is something I'm incredibly proud of," Councillor for Community Development and Gender Equity Helen Healy said.
"This is the result of a massive amount of work by our organisation, reinforcing our commitment to stop gendered violence.
"And while it means a lot to be able to continue proudly calling ourselves a White Ribbon Accredited Workplace, it's really about the actions, the ongoing learnings, education, and greater understanding among our staff about gendered violence that is the real achievement."
Council's Chief Executive Officer Martin Hawson said maintaining White Ribbon Workplace Accreditation equipped Council staff with the knowledge and resources to better understand what family and gendered violence is, how to identify it, and what they can do to prevent it.
"As one of our region's largest employers, it puts us in a powerful position to help raise awareness and prevent all forms of gendered violence," Mr Hawson said.
"It allows us to continue ensuring we provide a safe and respectful workplace for everyone, however it also has a snowball effect into our broader community.
"Each of our staff have their own family, social and sporting networks that they can impart this valuable knowledge and information to, which is a great way to help spread this important message into the broader community."
To achieve accreditation, organisations must meet 15 criteria under three standards to create a safer and more respectful workplace which is taking active steps to stop gendered violence. The program is internationally recognised and to date has reached more than 600,000 employees nationally.
Cr Healy said ongoing high rates of family violence in our region made it more important than ever to continue raising awareness and improving understanding about gendered violence.
"With the COVID restrictions of the past couple of years behind us, we can once again look forward to the return of community events which are a powerful way to raise awareness in our community," she said.
White Ribbon Australia Executive Director Brad Chilcott congratulated Council for maintaining its accreditation, now among more than 240 Australian workplaces.
"Violence against women impacts on the health and safety of employees, their wellbeing and their productivity," Mr Chilcott said.
"It also has a negative impact on workplace culture, organisational reputation and bottom-line profit and loss.
"We urge all Australian workplaces to take the lead of Mildura Rural City Council and demonstrate a culture of zero tolerance of violence against women," he said.
