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Why We Run - Documentary Premiere

Why We Run is the story of 16 teenagers learning about domestic and family violence, but its impact is so much bigger than that. Over 12 weeks, students from St Teresa’s Catholic College Noosaville ran for someone who has survived domestic and family violence. All the while they were learning about healthy relationships and the impacts of violence. Domestic and family violence can be a tough topic to approach, but Why We Run – directed by Dr Cameron Cliff – shows that there is hope and a...

Hoodie Giveaway Winners Announcement

Huge thanks to everyone who was able to donate money over the past few weeks and share their contribution on social media. We understand budgets are stretched at the moment so we really appreciate those who found some extra cash to support our work. We’re delighted to announce five winners have been chosen at random. Congratulations Coralee, Lily, Luathati, Kerrie and Amy! Your gorgeous, limited-edition Challenge DV hoodies are currently being printed and will soon be in your hands.&...

Extraordinary evening at the inaugural Finding Freedom: Art Auction and Exhibition for World Refugee Week 2023

Works by talented artists from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Venezuela, and more were energetically sold in live auctions facilitated by Christian Hamilton of Harcourts Real Estate, as well as some tough battles in the silent auctions! 100% of sales went directly to the talented artists. All other proceeds from the event, including raffles and donation contributions, went to Helping Hands, a grassroots charity supporting refugee and migrant communities in Logan. Guests ...

Darkness to Daylight 2023 wrap

Over $226,000 Donated for Darkness to Daylight 2023The sun has set on the 10th Darkness to Daylight, after 2431 people took part and more than $226,000 was raised.Challenge DV brought 2023’s Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month to a close with its annual community event for all fitness levels and abilities.The Brisbane City Botanic Gardens was abuzz with contenders joining the 110km overnight run on May 30th, and then the 10km run and 3km walk in the early hours of May 31st.Accompanyi...

Remembering Doreen: daughter’s mission to combat domestic and family violence

Shayne Probert has a very personal reason to join the fight against domestic and family violence.In 2021, Shayne’s mother Doreen Langham was murdered by a former partner who set her house on fire. Since then, Shayne has shared Doreen’s story to encourage more conversations about domestic and family violence.And on May 31, Shayne will join Darkness to Daylight to honour her mum.“I am here to be the voice that she would have been for me or anyone that she knew if they were in a DV situation....

EVENT: Darkness to Daylight | 1 to 31 May 2023

When Darkness to Daylight started, on average 110 people were dying from domestic and family violence every year in Australia. Darkness to Daylight is a 110km run where each kilometre represents one of those lives lost. It is a long distance, challenging both mentally and physically. Participants come together to run and walk in teams to support each other. You can run, walk, 3km or all of it, all that matters is that you do it with a purpose, and join us in standing up to domestic and family vi...

Get Moving in May to Challenge Domestic Violence

Hit the pavement, hiking trails, dirt tracks or surface of your choice to take a stand against domestic and family violence next month.Recognised as Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) Prevention Month, May is the perfect time to commit to challenging a community-wide issue that touches every group in society.Today, Challenge DV launched its national Darkness to Daylight 2023 campaign in Mackay.Acting CEO Keith Tracey-Patte said the Darkness to Daylight event is an opportunity for teams and indiv...

New Coercive Control Laws for Queensland

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk described coercive control as an intentional pattern of abusive behaviours that lie at the core of domestic and family violence.Challenge DV is encouraged by the development and is optimistic it’ll lead to increased understanding of coercive control before it becomes an offense later in the year.Acting Chief Executive Officer Keith Tracey-Patte said it’s vital that first responders, employers and the broader community is informed about coercive control and what ...

Challenge DV’s Amy Cook spoke to 4BC’s Spencer Howson to shine a light on coercive control and the actions individuals can take to make a difference

Domestic and family violence is often not visible. Coercive control can lead to isolation, fear and long-term health and economic impacts for those being abused, including children. The 2022 report by the Domestic and Family Violence Death Review and Advisory Board has found that in a significant proportion of domestic violence deaths, the fatality was the first instance of physical violence. But coercive control is almost always present in an abusive relationship....

Meet the team: Saesha Stowers

Saesha has been working with Challenge DV since May 2022, having completed her secondary studies.She’s our amazing moderator, so if you take one of our workplace programs, she is typically behind the scenes making sure our customers have a seamless learning experience.Saesha’s also a whizz at administration and analysis, turning data from our customer surveys into meaningful intelligence to support us to create even better experiences for our customers.Outside of work, Saesha loves Korean fo...

Thank you for all your support this year

As 2022 draws to a close, the Challenge DV team want to thank all our incredible partners and supporters for being with us for the year and supporting us to make an impact as we work towards ending domestic and family violence together. Whether it be taking part in our workplace programs, Darkness to Daylight or one of our social impact initiatives, we are endlessly grateful for the community we have built around our shared mission to end domestic and family violence. Thank you for being pa...

Meet the team: Enisy Pratha

Enisy joined the Challenge DV team in October 2022, having graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Marketing, from Swinburne University of Technology.  This is Enisy's first job following graduation, but she has gained valuable skills and experience throughout her studies, including a Digital Marketing internship with a not-for-profit, working as a Market Researcher in the Global Victoria Intellect Program 2020, and as a Marketing Assistant. Enisy also worked as...

Looking UNDER COVER to understand the women’s homelessness epidemic

We were delighted to welcome around 50 guests to a special screening of UNDER COVER, a documentary exploring why women over 50 are the fastest growing group of people experiencing homelessness, at Elizabeth Picture Theatre last night.  The event, part of Challenge DV’s 16 Days of Activism activities, included a panel discussion on the key themes of the film and exploring what we can do to address it.   There are so many contributing factors, but domestic and family violence is a...

Engaging the CCF to recognise, respond and refer to domestic and family violence

Our wonderful Workplace Programs Manager, Sian Fullerton, was invited to talk about how to recognise, respond and refer when a colleague may be impacted by domestic and family violence at the Civil Contractors Federation Queensland's breakfast yesterday morning.Over 50 Seymour Whyte crew members attended the site breakfast held in Pimpama, which was set up to engage CCF members about domestic and family violence during 16 Days of Activism.With thanks to Civil Contractors Federation Queensland CE...

Connecting communities to create change: Afghan community insights event

We were delighted to welcome 40 Afghan community leaders and experts to a special event during 16 Days of Activism 2022 to share insights on the causes of domestic and family violence and initiatives that would make the most impact for its prevention in the Afghan community in Australia....

Harnessing technology to create change: the Queensland government's eLearning story

“The Public Service Commission has taken a leadership role across the Queensland public sector to ensure all agencies remain committed to building workplace cultures where everyone feels safe and respected,” Sandra Lerch, Executive Director, Strategic Workforce Futures, Public Service Commission. More than 85,000 Queensland government employees have now taken part in Challenge DV’s market-leading workplace eLearning. It's testament to the government’s commitment to ensuring its workforce...

Partnering for impact: MinterEllison renews partnership with Challenge CV

MinterEllison, one of Australia’s leading law firms, continues to demonstrate its commitment to ending domestic and family violence by renewing its long-term partnership with Challenge DV. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the partnership, which began in 2002 when Challenge DV, or Australia’s CEO Challenge as it was then known, was incorporated....

Inspiring the next generation to #ChallengeDV: St Teresa’s Darkness to Daylight story

"This experience has shaped what I'd like to take forward in life, in being a good person" Jack, Darkness to Daylight participant. St Teresa’s Catholic College Noosaville has been participating in our Darkness to Daylight challenge for many years and have taken its mission of ending domestic and family violence and run with it. Literally. Since 2017, St Teresa's has run a groundbreaking program for a select group of Year 10 students who learn how to identify and respond to domestic...

Darkness to Daylight: towards 10 years of impact event

Last week, we held a special event with some of our amazing community to share plans for Darkness to Daylight’s 10th anniversary next year and how we will make even more of an impact to end domestic and family violence. Huge thanks to our incredible Foundation Partner, MinterEllison, for hosting the event at their beautiful Brisbane office. ...

Meet the team: Michael Jeh

Former first-class cricketer and Oxford Blue, Michael now works as a wildlife ranger in Africa, and he is also a public speaker and a facilitator/educator with over 15 years’ experience in the domestic and family violence prevention space. ...

Meet the team: Chrissie Keynes

Chrissie has worked in education for 17 years and in many different settings from early childhood through to adult education. Her main love is connecting with people and inspiring others to discover the power they have to make positive change in their lives and the lives of others. Chrissie has always been passionate about mental health and wellbeing which led her to retrain as a counsellor where she am able to tap into her passion for wellbeing in all areas of mental health. ...

Meet the team: Trent Larkman

Trent, who is based in Sydney, is a specialist violence prevention and response training practitioner. He is a registered Social Worker and has a background in men’s family violence counselling and community engagement. Trent combines his passion for engaged pedagogy with his experience of working with men who use family violence to deliver collaborative, engaging and insightful training sessions to build on people’s confidence and skills to reflect on themselves and create change in their e...

Meet the team: Tamara Pallos

Tamara originally trained as a lawyer but retrained as a counsellor after realising that her keenest interests lay in promoting wellbeing.  She has a track record of working in the domestic and family violence field.  As a counsellor, she spent many years doing frontline work with both domestic and family violence victim-survivors and perpetrators.  She has also held policy and advocacy roles related to domestic and family violence, most recently as the Sector Development Manager ...

Challenge DV becomes White Ribbon Australia approved training partner

Challenge DV is pleased to announce that it is an Approved Training Partner for White Ribbon Australia. Through this partnership, workplaces across Australia who are undertaking the White Ribbon Australia Workplaces Accreditation Program can take part in a Challenge DV workplace program to support their accreditation. Challenge DV is currently one of three providers nationally who are approved to deliver this training. Sian Fullerton, Challenge DV’s Workplace Programs Manager, said: “Domest...

Making every step count to end domestic and family violence through Darkness to Daylight

Darkness to Daylight is Challenge DV’s community education, awareness and fundraising event for domestic and family violence prevention. It is a 110km challenge, with each kilometre symbolising a life lost through domestic and family violence in Australia in the year the event launched. The event was developed by Robert Reed OAM, Special Counsel at MinterEllison. Following a life-changing trip to participate in the American Indian Movement's Sacred Run held in Japan in 1995, Rob developed the...