WHITE Ribbon ambassador Chris Casey says it's important for men to speak out against violence.
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"It's an opportunity for men to have a voice," he said.
"It's important for women to know that they're being fully supported.
"Also, the other side of that is for men to turn around to other men and say, 'Hey, what's going on? Do you need help?,' or even encourage others to take a look at what they're doing."
Mr Casey is a lawyer at the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre and will play a key role when Bendigo marks White Ribbon Day on Monday.
"It's really important for men to be heard, to actually take a stand on that and say, 'It's actually not all of us who are doing that'," Mr Casey said.
"It's a small proportion of men who are giving us a bad name and we, as a community, owe it to each other to be able to support each other and make sure that we take a really strong stand."
Mr Casey has been a White Ribbon ambassador for about five years.
"I'm with the Loddon Campaspe Community Legal Centre and we have always had a really strong no to violence mentality, largely because of the work we do in the family violence outreach," he said.
"So I guess it was a natural fit.
"Over the years we've done many talks about the generdered nature of violence and as a lawyer working in the area the frustration is that if you're just concentrating on crisis after crisis it can be very disheartening.
"Whereas something like this, White Ribbon Day, is actually a way to try and actually get some change happening.
"So it's about resetting or changing the dialogue on what can we as a community do?
"How can we band together to put this up there as a priority?
It's an opportunity for men to have a voice ... It's important for women to know that they're being fully supported.
- Chris Casey
"How can we support each other in challenging men who use violence against women?"
"It's about creating a challenging forum for those sort of conversations."
Mr Casey said White Ribbon Day was about concentrating on the positives and paving the way for change.
"It's meant to be supporting the men who actually speak up," he said.
"It encourages men to hold their friends accountable and to have that confidence to say, 'Hang on mate, look what are you doing. That's not right'."
Bendigo residents will have the opportunity to say no to violence on Monday during a community walk from Fun Loong in Hargreaves Mall to the Old Fire Station in View Street.
The walk will start at 5pm before Tammy Anderson's I Don't Wanna Play House performance.
