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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-04-07 Daily Xml
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DON'T CROSS THE LINE

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:55): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women a question about the Don't Cross the Line community education grants.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: The minister has spoken in this place before about the ways that community awareness and education initiatives can help to change community attitudes. Will the minister inform members of the outcome of the third round of anti-violence community education grants?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises) (14:56): I thank the honourable member for her important question. I am pleased today to be able to announce the recipients of the third round of the government's Don't Cross the Line community education grants. This third round focuses on young people with disabilities, and a total of $50,000 is being provided.

To date, the grants have been specifically targeted to groups in the community who may not have been able to engage in the mainstream campaign. Previous grant rounds focused on young people in regional and remote communities as well as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The Don't Cross the Line campaign aims to demonstrate what is and is not acceptable behaviour in relationships, and reduce violence in South Australian families. Organisations eligible for grants include groups such as not-for-profit incorporated foundations, service clubs, schools, sporting bodies, Aboriginal groups, ethnic communities, church groups, youth organisations, local government associations, and other sections of the general community.

Advice from stakeholders, such as Women with Disabilities Australia, indicated that it was important to get an anti-violence message out to people with disabilities, particularly women, who, we are told, can be more vulnerable to abuse than non-disabled women. This particular round of grants targets communities and organisations that will educate young people with a disability about violence against women and respectful relationships.

Successful grant recipients include the Tutti Ensemble, which will raise awareness about sexual assault, rape and domestic violence in South Australia's communities with disabilities. The ensemble's long term success in using the creative arts to promote messages by young people with a disability, for young people with a disability, is a key to their Respect Me, Respect You program.

In Port Lincoln, Yarredi Services will be working with 18 to 25 year olds with a disability to produce a DVD about respectful relationships, and I am very pleased to award Christies Beach High School a grant to develop a project with their senior students with disabilities. The project will provide the students with skills for the future and prepare them for leaving school and a safe independent life.

In addition, young people will develop their knowledge of sexual assault and domestic violence legislation and learn about respectful relationships. The highly successful Expect Respect program, run by the Legal Services Commission, has also been successful in receiving a grant, and I noticed at the Premier's Awards night the other night that they were a nominee for one of the awards. Their work was considered in such high regard as to be worthy of a nomination for an award.

Teaching young people about what is not acceptable is, obviously, a very important part of growing up. This peer education drama-based program is a sexual assault intervention project that was developed in partnership with key organisations with expertise in the arts and cultural work for disabled young people. The programs funded through these grants support the state government's strategy to reduce violence against women through developing respectful attitudes and behaviour.

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