The Men and Family Centre has been running Men’s Behaviour Change Programs since 1993 and was one of six programs that gained Registration in 2014 when NSW Dept of Justice introduced Minimum Standards for men’s behaviour change program (MBCP) work. The Centre is now one of 17 Registered organisations who meet the NSW Dept of Communities and Justice (DCJ) NSW Practice Standards and Compliance Framework.
The Men and Family Centre has a team of highly trained specialist staff who work across prevention, early intervention and response programs to reduce the use of family violence against current and former partners and children. Our Men’s Behaviour Change Programs operate out of Lismore and Tweed Heads. Our work is trauma informed and questions traditional masculinities that are often based on concepts of status, power, strength, avoidance of emotional expression, ownership and control.
Our work is guided by our Collective Ethics, the NSW Practice Standards for Men’s Domestic Violence Behaviour Change Programs, a gender transformative framework and the Our Watch Change the Story Framework.
Each of these approaches makes clear that a core driver of violence within families is gender inequality and intersecting systems of power that create a social context where:
- Violence and disrespect towards women is condoned
- Men predominantly control decision-making and women’s independence is limited
- Masculinity and femininity is understood through limiting stereotypes, and
- Relations among male peers support aggression.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people these drivers are compounded by their experience of intergenerational trauma and the ongoing impacts caused by colonialism.
Violence is preventable by challenging these norms, promoting gender equality and addressing the intersecting systems of power that sustain prejudice, discrimination and inequality. When violence has occurred, we give highest priority to the safety of those who have been victimised, and work to create accountability, healing and safety with the user of violence.
The Men and Family Centre is funded by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
