The Accountability Mate Program - Shifting the burden off victims to stop domestic abuse and family violence.
Why do we need the Accountability Mate Program?
Australia is in the midst of a domestic violence epidemic. One in 6 Australian women and 1 in 16 men have been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by a current or previous cohabiting partner.
Just recently in the space of seven days, five Australian men killed women known to them, their partners and girlfriends. At the time of launching the campaign, so far this year 39 women, 10 children and 9 men had been killed in acts of domestic or family violence.
The Australian Institute of Crime’s most recent research found that men accounted for around five in six domestic violence offenders recorded by police. The reality is, it's men we already know, men we like, and even men we love who are most likely to harm and abuse women in their lives.
We need to be working with the people who use violence in their relationships if we are to see a real reduction in the harm done.
So what are we doing?
We are developing the Accountability Mate Program to help men avoid using abuse or escalating to violence against their loved ones. We are specifically targeting the growing number of men in our community who want to do something about domestic violence but perhaps aren’t sure how.
The Accountability Mate Program provides the skills, knowledge, and training for men to know the warning signs and leverage male peer relationships to help safely prevent men’s use of domestic violence and connect them to the right support. Working with experts in the field and connecting with frontline services such as No to Violence, the Accountability Mate Program will provide the link between individual action and community interventions to stop preventable harm and even murder.
We’re crowdfunding to raise the funds for the development of the Accountability Mate Program and its pilot because we see it as an immediate need to reduce men’s use of domestic and family violence that the federal government isn’t prioritizing.
Menslink, a Canberra based charity working with young guys going through tough times and more often than not experiencing violence within the home, will be our partner for the 2020 pilot - training their volunteer mentors. Following the pilot we intend to role out this program nationally, working with our partners across the country to deliver it.
What can you do?
If you would like to help take action to stop one woman per week and one man per month being killed by a current or ex partner in Australia, then donate now to developing the Accountability Mate Program.
If you aren’t in a position to donate now, you can still help us - please share on socials and encourage your network to support us.
The reality is, it’s people we already know, like, and love at risk of using domestic violence. We don’t have to wait for generations to come, you can help save lives now.
