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Domestic violence is a big problem affecting many families across Australia, but local government has stepped in to help women and children more easily connect to authorities or help lines if such incidents happen to them.
Victoria’s City of Greater Geelong has partnered with Barwon Health and Minerva Community Services to create a campaign that encourages people to donate their old but working mobile phones and chargers to help women who are in immediate danger of family violence.
The campaign is called Mobiles For Minerva and runs from 28th October to 25th November 2016, and is part of the Barwon Month of Action to Stop Men’s Violence Against Women and Children.
According to the council, a number of collection points have been established around the Geelong and Bellarine regions, where people can drop off their old working mobile phones and chargers to City of Greater Geelong Customer Service Centres in Brougham Street, Drysdale, Belmont and Geelong West.
Other locations include Barwon Community Legal Service in Belmont and Women’s Health & Wellbeing Barwon South West in central Geelong.
City of Greater Geelong General Manager Community Life, Linda Quinn has urged residents to donate their unused but working mobile phones to ‘this extremely important community cause’.
“Violence against women and children has no boundaries, it affects all sectors of society,” Ms Quinn said.
She said a campaign of this nature provides an opportunity for members of our community to recycle mobile phones, that may otherwise end up in a drawer, to women at direct risk of violence.
“Recycling of unused but working mobile phones and chargers could provide an opportunity to decrease isolation as a result of experiencing violence. Through this campaign, they can be put to immediate use,” Ms Quinn said.
Barwon Health Chief Operating Officer Robyn Hayles said simple access to a mobile phone to make an emergency phone call may be the difference between life and death for many women experiencing violence.
Minerva Community Services Operations Manager Claire Yeatman said in the last year alone Minerva Community Services received 2847 referrals from the Victoria Police to assist women and children in the Geelong area.
“There are many reasons why women may need alternative mobile phones,” Ms Yeatman said.
She said in some instances women don’t have easy access to their own phone so providing them with a secure mobile phone can help improve their safety dramatically.
