GenWest

16/10/2026

Project Sitara is GenWest’s unique, community-led solution to preventing and responding to family violence in migrant and refugee communities. With support from Minderoo Foundation, the program is expanding to reach more communities.

On Thursday, we celebrated the expansion of Project Sitara. The next phase of Sitara will build on what we have learned - strengthening the model, expanding its reach with Hindi-speaking Indian communities, developing it in another language with another community, and building the evidence and implementation framework needed to support wider replication.

In the words of Shweta Kawatra Dakin, Manager - Resilient Communities at GenWest: “Project Sitara is a step towards mobilising an army of champions leading the way to create a society free from gender-based violence.”

The opportunity is clear: if we are serious about preventing family violence, we need to invest in programs that are proven to prevent violence before it occurs, alongside response and recovery.

Read more: https://bit.ly/sitara-celebrates

Thank you for joining the celebration: Project Sitara participants, community leaders from across Melbourne’s west, GenWest Survivor Advisory Group members, Minderoo Foundation, Respect Victoria, Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council (BRMC), Safe and Equal, Women's Health East, City of Melton, intouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, Ladies Club60 Tarneit, Victoria Police, Cindy McLeish MP, Mathew Hilakari MP, ThuyDang DángThơ Pradeep Tiwari - Maribyrnong City Councillor

15/10/2026

Join us at Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton for the Sunrise Togetherness & Connection art exhibition.

The exhibition showcases artwork by Sunrise Melton program participants. Their art explores what connection and togetherness means to each of them and celebrates the collective impact of the Sunrise Melton Group over the last year.

📍 Where: Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton, 5 Hollingsworth Drive, Cobblebank

⌚ When: Thursday, 15 October - Thursday, 29 October 2026

🎟️ Register: To visit the exhibition, book a free ticket for your preferred time slot at bit.ly/sunrise-exhibition

Sunrise is a group program for women, gender diverse people and nonbinary people who have a disability, chronic health issue and/or mental health challenges.

The Sunrise Melton Program is delivered by GenWest, in partnership with Mind and Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton.

14/10/2026

GenWest and Body Safety Australia’s Child Safety Project showed how trusted, culturally responsive education can give parents and carers greater confidence and practical knowledge to talk about body safety, respond to concerns and seek help.

The project also delivered Community Education Sessions, reaching 153 parents and carers across Melbourne’s west. Participants received practical information and tools to support conversations with children about body safety, recognise grooming behaviours, respond to concerns and identify where to seek help.

After the training, 9 out of 10 of participants told us they were more confident to seek help if they were worried about a child and they were more confident talking with their child about body safety and respect.

Almost all participants told us the education was relevant to their family, culture or community.

When parents and carers receive practical information in ways that are trusted and culturally relevant, they are better equipped to have body-safety conversations, recognise concerns, respond supportively and seek help.

Organisations and systems must support them by creating safe environments, maintaining appropriate boundaries, noticing concerns and acting when concerns are raised.

📢 Read more: genwest.org.au/news-and-events/building-community-confidence-in-child-safety

👉 Access the free resources and watch a recording of a Community Education Session here: genwest.org.au/child-safety-resources

Body Safety Australia

13/10/2026

At GenWest, our Children’s Counselling service supports more than 300 children and young people who have experienced family violence, as well as their support networks, every year. We are funded to support 250 children - we often support many more than this.

Our counsellors work with children to help them to understand what's happened, build their confidence and emotional skills, and recover from their experiences.

Right now, more than 100 children are waiting to access Children's Counselling through GenWest. Some children are waiting up to eight months.

Eight months is a long time in any child’s life. It is even longer when a child is trying to recover from family violence.

Donations have a direct impact on the lives of children and young people in Melbourne’s west who are experiencing family violence.

Every child deserves the chance to heal after family violence. Your donation helps make that possible: www.givenow.com.au/genwest_counselling

12/10/2026

Parents and carers play an important role, but keeping children safe is a shared responsibility across adults, organisations, services and systems. Children are never responsible for preventing abuse or for being able to disclose it.

It can be difficult to know how to talk with a young child about body safety, what to look for when something does not feel right, or what questions to ask an early childhood service.

GenWest and Body Safety Australia's Child Safety Project created four free resources to help parents and carers. Here are a few tips from the resources that you can do:

👂 Let them know you will listen.
Remind your child they can always talk to you if they are worried or scared. Let them know they won’t get in trouble for telling you.

🗣️Talk about their body.
Help your child use the correct anatomical names for private body parts, and talk about safe and unsafe feelings.

🤝 Talk about safe adults.
Help your child think about the adults they can go to if they feel worried, scared or uncomfortable.

🔎Know what to look out for.
Learn about grooming and warning signs. Notice changes in your child’s behaviour and trust your instincts if something doesn’t feel right.

❓Ask questions at childcare.
Ask how they keep children safe and know how to speak up if you have concerns.

👉 Explore the resources, watch a recording of an education session and find practical guides on our website: genwest.org.au/child-safety-resources

Body Safety Australia

08/10/2026

We know that children who experience family violence are two to three times more likely to go on to experience intimate partner violence later in life. Research also indicates that boys who experience family violence may be at greater risk of using violence themselves as adults.

This is why children’s counselling is not simply a recovery service. It is a critical part of breaking the cycle of family violence.

This is something GenWest has heard firsthand. Children like Lauren are too often relegated to the role of 'witness' to the violence, rather than having their own unique needs and their own pathway to recovery.

Right now, more than 100 children are waiting to access Children's Counselling through GenWest. Some children are waiting up to eight months.

Eight months is a long time in any child’s life. It is even longer when a child is trying to recover from family violence.

GenWest is urgently trying to source an additional $500,000 in funding to clear this waiting list and give these children the support they need now.

Funding children’s counselling is an investment in safety, recovery and prevention. It means children do not have to wait months for the chance to talk to someone who understands what they have experienced. It means families can get the support they need to rebuild.

Read more: genwest.org.au/news-and-events

07/10/2026

It can be difficult to know how to talk with a young child about body safety, what to look for when something does not feel right, or what questions to ask an early childhood service.

The Child Safety Project created four free resources to help parents and carers:

📘 Protecting Our Children
Simple language and scripts for talking with young children about body safety.

📗 I’m Worried About My Child
Information about grooming, warning signs, disclosures and where to seek help.

📙 Safe at Early Childhood Education and Care
Guidance to help parents and carers recognise safe practices, ask questions and raise concerns.

🗂️ Body-safety conversation cards
Short prompts for talking about body parts, safe and unsafe feelings, secrets and safe adults.

The resources are available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Dari, Hindi, Karen, Punjabi and Vietnamese.

GenWest and Body Safety Australia’s Child Safety Project was developed in consultation with trusted community leaders. It drew on multilingual community educators and community knowledge to make difficult conversations safer, more accessible and more relevant to participating communities.

Parents and carers play an important role, but keeping children safe is a shared responsibility across adults, organisations, services and systems. Children are never responsible for preventing abuse or for being able to disclose it.

👉 Access the free resources and watch a recording of a Community Education Session here: genwest.org.au/child-safety-resources

Body Safety Australia

06/10/2026

In 2025, children were present at more than a third of reported family violence incidents in Victoria, according to Victoria Police. Behind that statistic are children trying to make sense of fear, instability and violence.

When the violence stops, their experiences don’t simply disappear. Children’s recovery from family violence cannot be assumed to just happen without dedicated support.

Children have their own experiences to process, their own impacts to heal from and their own pathway to recovery. They need specialist support to help them heal, rebuild their sense of safety and move forward.

GenWest's children's counselling program helps children heal and feel safe again. It is not simply a recovery service. It is a critical part of breaking the cycle of family violence.

Funding children’s counselling is an investment in safety, recovery and prevention. It means children do not have to wait months for the chance to talk to someone who understands what they have experienced. It means families can get the support they need to rebuild.

Read more: genwest.org.au/news-and-events

04/10/2026

When reports emerged of an ongoing police investigation into alleged child sexual abuse across childcare centres, including centres in Melbourne’s west, families and communities needed trusted, practical information and support.

GenWest and Body Safety Australia developed the Child Safety Project in consultation with trusted community leaders to respond to this need.

The project reached 153 parents and carers across Melbourne’s west. It delivered culturally responsive Community Education Sessions and created four practical resources in English, Amharic, Arabic, Dari, Hindi, Karen, Punjabi and Vietnamese.

After the training, around 9 in 10 survey respondents reported greater confidence seeking help if worried about a child, and talking with their child about body safety and respect.

Almost all participants told us the education was relevant to their family, culture or community which demonstrates the value of delivering sensitive child safety education in ways that reflect the languages, cultures and experiences of the communities being reached.

The key message that emerged from the training was simple: when families have the right information, delivered in a way that is trusted and culturally relevant, they are better equipped to keep children safe.

It also highlighted strong unmet demand, with interest in further sessions exceeding what the project could deliver.

This should not be a one-off response. Governments must invest in sustained, accessible child safety education so every family has the knowledge, confidence and support they need to help keep children safe.

👉 Access the free resources and watch a recording of a Community Education Session here: genwest.org.au/child-safety-resources

02/10/2026

Nadine is running 42km for GenWest to help end family violence!

A huge thank you to Nadine, a midwife from Melbourne, who is running the Melbourne Marathon to raise vital funds for GenWest.

Every dollar she raises will help GenWest to support victim survivors to be safe and free from harm, as well as funding violence prevention programs and Children’s Counselling.

Nadine has already raised an incredible $1,600. Can you help her reach her $2,500?

👉 Check out Nadine’s story and make a donation to her CrowdRaiser at www.givenow.com.au/cr/nadine-murphy

Want to take on your own challenge to raise funds for GenWest?

Whether it’s a community fundraising event, a marathon, fun run, or another fitness challenge, you can turn your efforts into action and start a CrowdRaiser for GenWest.

Head to our GiveNow page and select ‘Start a Crowdraiser’ to get started: www.givenow.com.au/genwest

CrowdRaiser for GenWest