Respectful relationships education

We educate young people about family violence and the law 

Our Youth Advocates Against Family Violence program is a community legal education program for young people that supports and complements respectful relationships education in schools and other learning environments.

Through this program, we aim to inspire young people to become change-makers within their communities by challenging attitudes that support or excuse family violence violence. We aim to build young people's capacity to seek help through the legal system and other supports if they or their families are at risk of family violence.

We send our lawyers to meet with young people in schools and community-based settings to talk about the impact of family violence within our community. Using multi-media resources and discussion-based activities, we explain how the legal system can protect people from violence at home or in their relationships, through police intervention, legal services and the courts. Where possible, we partner and co-present with police and other agencies to give young people a range of perspectives on family violence and the different support services that are available.

We provide training for school staff on family violence and the law 

In support of the ‘whole of school’ approach recommended by the Royal Commission into Family Violence, our lawyers are now available to provide professional development and training for staff based at schools in our catchment on how to respond to disclosures of family violence. We also welcome invitations to provide community legal education on family violence for parents and families as part of the broader school community.

For more information or to request a community legal education session, please contact us on (03) 9328 1885.