Cross-Cultural Partnerships in Violence Prevention

This paper, by Michelle Bradford, Heather Nancarrow, Pam Viti and Ailsa Weazel, describes a school-based violence prevention program at an Aboriginal community in central Queensland which draws on community development principles and has been established through a partnership between the Woorabinda Women’s Shelter, “Gumbi Gunya”; Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research; and the Woorabinda State Primary School.

Established best practices for family violence prevention activities in Indigenous communities emphasise community development principles of self-determination, empowerment and community ownership. Further, such prevention activities arise from community driven programs that respond to local needs, generate solutions, build on existing skills within the community, add value to existing structures and draw on the “strength of local traditions, structures and patterns of authority to promote a greater sense of community ownership and responsibility for local justice issues and problems” (Chantrill, 1997:13).

The activities of this program revolve around a life-sized kangaroo mascot named “Koora” and a series of stories authored by the Gumbi Gunya Co-ordinator. These activities promote and explore respectful, cooperative ways of solving problems and highlight themes of respect for self, culture and elders; reconnection with Aboriginal culture; and cultural pride.

Community members further explore the stories’ messages with the children through time honoured communication mediums such as art, dance, music and ceremonies.

The presentation will give an overview of the processes used in developing, implementing and evaluating this program and reflect on the learnings and challenges encountered in light of key community development principles.

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