Mackay Campus will be a focal point for discussion of the new National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children...

A special panel event on Wednesday, October 26 (8.30am-10.30am), will be hosted by the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research (QCDFVR), which is based at CQUniversity.

This event will be filmed for a promotional DVD and will involve members of the National Council which produced Time for Action, the blueprint for  the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) National Plan.

Details are available via http://www.noviolence.com.au/

Amanda Lee-Ross will facilitate this panel event in her capacity as Manager of the Queensland Domestic Violence Services Network and Cairns Regional Domestic Violence Service.

This panel discussion will highlight how communities can work in partnership with government organisations toward reducing and preventing violence. The DVD will be made available for community sector agencies and individuals working on the prevention of violence against women.

Panel members will include National Council Chair Libby Lloyd, a former president of UNIFEM Australia (the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women) who was instrumental in re-establishing the White Ribbon Campaign in Australia in 2003.

QCDFVR Director Heather Nancarrow, Deputy Chair of the National Council will host the event and participate in the panel discussion.

Other National Council members contributing to the discussion include: Melanie Heenan (responsible for implementation of the AFL Respect and Responsibility program); Vanessa Swan (former Director Yarrow Place and a member of the Australian Centre for the Study of Sexual Assault Reference Group); Dorinda Cox (a young Aboriginal woman who manages a sexual assault/family violence healing project); Pauline Woodbridge (Chair of the Women's Services Network); and Maria Dimopoulos (a researcher examining concepts of family violence, culture, the legal system and judicial evaluation programs).