Victoria: Respect: A Guide for Muslim Faith Leaders & Communities

BOIV and Darebin City Council are launching a booklet aim to assist Muslim community leaders in their work preventing violence against women and to build respectful relations within the Muslim community.

This resource is a guide for Muslim faith leaders and communities to take action to prevent violence against women and promote equal and respectful relationships. Violence against women and girls is now recognised as one of the leading public health and human rights issues of our time. Everybody has a role to play in creating a safe and respectful community.

The content of this resource is structured in five sections to support your community to understand the extent and impact of violence against women, and to take practical actions to prevent this violence before it happens. What follows is a brief summary of the material in this manual/presentation:

Section 1: What is Violence Against Women?

This section provides information about the extent and impact of violence against women. It provides information about the gendered nature of violence against women and family violence, and information and statistics are offered to reveal the negative impact of this violence on the health and well-being of women and children.

Section 2: Why does violence against women occur and what can be done to prevent it?

In this section four factors are identified as drivers of violence against women: The condoning of violence against women; Men’s control of decision-making and limits to women’s independence; Rigid gender roles and identities; and Male peer relations that emphasise aggression and disrespect towards women. This section elaborates on these factors and offers some examples of how these drivers act as a barrier to achieving gender equality.

Section 3: Steps that you can take to address violence against women

Information is provided in this section on practical steps to prevent violence against women, the essential knowledge required to work together and how to promote gender equality. These steps are described in five areas:

Promoting Equal and Respectful Relationships
Creating Awareness and Challenging Attitudes
Improving Women’s Independence and Leadership
Engaging in Campaigns that Promote Gender Equity and Ending Violence Against Women
Creating Partnerships with Organisations and With Your Own Community.

This section also includes some ideas and reflections for promoting equal and respectful relationships with your faith community.

Section 4: Creating a Safe Space for Responding to Violence Against Women

The information in this section guides faith leaders and communities through the process of responding to reports of violence against women. Some essential factors to consider when a woman or child discloses family violence are listed in this section. A list of family support services is included to help faith leaders and communities refer victims of violence to relevant services and to receive appropriate support.

Section 5: Additional Resources
and Information

Additional resources and information that support faith leaders and communities are listed in this section. It includes organisations skilled in preventing violence against women as well as tips for locating faith-specific resources to promote equal and respectful relationships