Cardinia Life’s He Can So We Can Too initiative was recognised as a Finalist in the 2020 ARV Awards on Tuesday 27 October 2020.
He Can So We Can Too, originated from a Together We Can community leadership summit as a community solution to help tackle family violence in Cardinia. The initiative was delivered in partnership with Together We Can and Cardinia Shire Council.
Knowing that equity is deeper than just gender, the aim of He Can So We Can Too is to shine a light on equity in the community. The initiative uses Cardinia Leisure’s large audience reach in sport, leisure and recreation to increase awareness of the disparities between men and others in this area and to promote sport, recreation and leisure as something for everyone. The overarching ambition of the initiative is to decrease the prevalence of family violence.
Paige Kristalyn, Cardinia Leisure Manager, reflected on the importance of the initiative.
“This powerful initiative is so important to the Cardinia community. On average four incidents of family violence are reported across Cardinia every day, with 77% of the victims female and 43% being witnessed by children.”
“Research shows that gender equity is a major contributing factor in the cause of family violence, this is generally brought about from traditional beliefs in gendered roles within society. This is further motivated by inequalities across all aspects of a person’s life from pay gaps, right through to gender-specific sports, leisure activities and types of employment.
“We are committed to assisting efforts towards ending family violence within the Cardinia Shire Community.”
He Can So We Can Too, will run annually over a 12-week period leading into the summer sports season.