16 Days, 16 Stories Stop Violence Against Women

The annual 16 Days in WA – Stop Violence Against Women campaign takes place from 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to 10 December, which is Human Rights Day. The campaign encourages bystanders to speak up when they see violence or disrespect towards women and aims to educate people on how they can safely challenge attitudes and behaviours that condone violence. 

Violence against women includes physical, psychological, economic, emotional abuse and sexual assault. It is a violation of human rights. This is often played out in intimate and family relationships where women experience continued and often severe forms of abuse. Alarmingly, one in five Australians believes domestic violence is a normal reaction to stress and that a woman can make a man so angry he hits her without meaning to. One in three Australians believes that if a woman does not leave her abusive partner, she is responsible for continuing violence. These attitudes must change.

Created in collaboration with the Centre for Stories, 16 Days, 16 Stories is a courageous collection of stories presented in solidarity with survivors of domestic violence. This collaboration hopes to inform and challenge views on what violence looks like and who it might affect. Hear from both survivors and perpetrators of violence, service providers and frontline workers. Hoping to extend what we know about violence, intimacy and power. Domestic violence is everyone’s responsibility. Action starts with understanding.

Find these powerful and personal stories on the Centre for Stories website or preserved as digitised oral histories within the State Library Catalogue.  Please be advised that these stories contain themes of family and domestic violence that some listeners and readers may find distressing.

Recorded in 2019.

All women and children should be able to live free of family and domestic violence.

If you, or someone you know, is experiencing family and domestic violence, there is help. For a comprehensive list of State and national helplines, please visit our Family and Domestic Violence support and advice page. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 000.

In addition, the Kids Helpline provides a telephone and counselling service for children and young people aged five to 25 years.

Information is also available about culturally appropriate programs that support people from Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who are experiencing family and domestic violence. Find out more from our Family and Domestic Violence services and resources page.