Breaking The Silence is a pioneering initiative designed to confront the challenges of gender-based violence and sexual harassment within the disability and mental health sectors. Recognising the unique vulnerabilities faced by these workers, our project launches a pilot program with two leading employers in the disability and mental health fields.
This innovative program will provide specialised training to approximately 1,000 disability workers and 600 mental health workers. Our aim is to equip these professionals with best-practice responses to gendered violence and sexual harassment, enhancing their ability to create safer workplace environments.
To ensure that our training programs are deeply informed by those on the front lines, we have established an expert workforce steering committee. This committee, consisting of 6 mental health workers and 6 disability workers, plays a crucial role in shaping our initiatives, ensuring that feedback from actual workplace experiences drives the development of our training materials.
Moreover, all our training content and workplace policies undergo academic evaluation by the Australian National University's Global Institute of Women's Leadership and the University of Sydney. This academic scrutiny helps refine our approaches, ensuring they are grounded in the latest research and best practices.
Our findings and progress will be regularly shared with WorkSafe Victoria and the Sexual Harassment Learning Network. This collaboration aims to inform broader policy implementations and foster state and federal commitments to preventing workplace gendered violence and sexual harassment. Through the Breaking The Silence Project, we are dedicated to creating a safer, more respectful work environment for all.
