The GLOVE Project: Gender, Local Governance, and Violence Prevention: Making Links between Violence in Private and Public Space
What is the Project?
This research project will develop Australian local government policy that can take an integrated approach to violence prevention in both public and private space, using a gender mainstreaming process and a community-government partnership model. We will analyse current local government community safety policies in the light of international good practice on violence prevention, and work with four local government/agency partnerships in Victoria to develop and evaluate integrated violence prevention programs. Lessons from these case studies will inform training materials and workshops for local government officials, community agencies, urban planners and health professionals in the final phase of the project.
The project is funded by the Australian Research Council as a three year Linkage Project (2006-2009) between the University of Melbourne and the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth).
Who is Leading the Project?
The principal researcher is Dr. Carolyn Whitzman, Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning, University of Melbourne. Dr. Whitzman has an international reputation for her work on the prevention of violence in urban areas, and she has been a keynote speaker at several conferences on this subject. Her previous work with the City of Toronto has been cited as 'best practice' by the United Nations Commission on Housing and Community Services (UN-Habitat) and the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime. She is the co-author of Safe Cities: Planning, Design and Management (1995), and The Handbook of Community Safety, Gender, and Violence Prevention (Earthscan, 2008) as well as numerous book chapters, and articles in both academic and professional journals.
There is also an advisory committee, made up of representatives from VicHealth, Office for Women’s Policy (Department of Planning and Community Development), and the Victorian Local Governance Association.
What's the 'Big Idea'?
This project is part of a set of international projects linked by an organization called Women in Cities International. The projects arise from the concern that research and public policy aiming to reduce violence in the public and private realms is presently disconnected (research and policy are disconnected, and so-called 'public' and 'domestic' violence are also seen as unconnected). The international projects, in Canada, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Europe, and Asia, also share a common analysis, whereby violence and fear of violence is seen as a major factor preventing the full participation of citizens, particularly women, in public life. The challenge is to create safer physical, social, and institutional environments, promote full participation in community life, pursue partnerships between community organizations and local governments, involve the full diversity of residents in local decision-making processes, and evaluate the impact of policies and programs. At the international level, we are also working with the Huairou Commission on Women, Homes and Communities, the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime and the UN-Habitat Safer Cities Program.
What Has Happened and What are the Next Steps?
In Victoria, we have been supported by the University of Melbourne in 2005 to complete phase one. We have developed a background paper on Gender, Local Governance and Violence Prevention, and held an introductory workshop in July 2005 for municipalities and local agencies interested in being involved in the project.
In phase two (2006-2007), we worked with four local government/community partnerships to develop policies, programs, and practices for violence prevention.
In phase three (2008-2009), we are developing fact sheets and holding workshops to further develop ways that violence prevention can be addressed at the local level. There will also be an external evaluation of the project as a whole.