MEN taking a stand against violence against women and children.
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That is the simple message behind White Ribbon Day and one Bendigo Sergeant Margaret Singe, a family violence adviser, works towards every day.
Sergeant Singe will be part of Tuesday's White Ribbon Day march in Bendigo, which will kick off at 11.45am at Bendigo Town Hall.
She said about 150 to 200 people from 19 or 20 organisations in Bendigo would take to the streets with banners from noon to show their support.
Among them were a number of organisations taking part for the first time, Sergeant Singe said.
"The message is getting out to the community, there’s been so much interest," she said.
"People are wanting to be involved with it and trying to assist get that message out there - any form of violence won’t be tolerated in this community."
Two guest speakers - police inspector Ron Gardner and women's advocate Anj Barker - would speak about their personal experiences of violence, Sergeant Singe said.
"At age 16, Anj was brutally bashed by an ex-boyfriend and suffers from an acquired brain injury, she’s worked very hard and presents across the state of Victoria to kids at school, telling her story," she said.
"Her message is confronting but enlightening in some ways, to see she has done so well after the attack."
She said the call-out statistics for family violence indicated stories like Anj's were far from unique.
"For the 2013-14 year, we had in the Bendigo area 1575 incidents reported to the police," she said.
The statistics show an increase every year since about 2009-10, when there were 649 incidents reported.
"We’ve over doubled that in four years," she said.
Part of the increase was people were more confident to report such incidents to police, Sergeant Singe said.
"Ten years ago, if police were attending a family violence incident, we would go and sort it out, but never any real follow up," she said.
"Now, we’ve got so much follow up, we refer on to other organisations... and instigate call backs to make sure victims are safe.
"It means the community is more confident to report."
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.
In an emergency, call 000.