Integrated Violence Prevention, Planning, and Governance: International and Victorian Perspectives

Abstract

This paper will present the findings from the first stage of a n ARC Linkage Grant between the University of Melbourne and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (Vic Health) entitled “Gender, Local Governance, and Violence Prevention: making the links”. the project works with four local government-community organization partnerships in Victoria: the inner suburb of Maribyrnong, the outer suburb-rural interface locality of Casey, the regional centre of Bendigo, and the rural shire of Loddon. In their first year of work, the municipalities and key health and women’s agencies have strengthened partnerships on violence prevention, developed audits of current resources working to prevent violence in their localities, and have begun to work on both policy formation and the development of monitoring and evaluation systems. While work in planning around violence prevention has traditionally focused on Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, these audits and evaluation plans suggest a broadened role for spatial planning, related to social service provision, evidence-based ‘whole of government’ coordinated action, and engendering changes in attitudes towards public and private space.