Primary prevention communities of practice
Communities of practice are emerging as a successful and sought-after mechanism to improve the wellbeing of workers, organisations and the primary prevention sector.
Safe and Equal’s primary prevention communities of practice (CoP) bring together those working in primary prevention to explore challenges and opportunities, strengthen policy and practice and build the capabilities and skills of those working in prevention.
Communities of practice are established with the aim of creating a safe space for prevention practitioners to exchange knowledge, resources and ideas, and build rich relationships. Through peer learning and expert facilitation, we enable opportunities for personal growth and practical skill development. You can learn more about our approach to CoPs through our resource, ‘Learning Together’.
In 2023-2024, we are offering four communities of practice to Victorian-based practitioners:
- Respectful Relationships and school-based prevention programs
- Emerging practitioners
- Regional and rural
- Resistance in primary prevention
Each CoP consists of a maximum of 25 practitioners. All of our CoPs are free and will mostly be held online. Applications open Wednesday 9 August and close 9am, Friday 8 September 2023.
Once all applications are received, members of our team will review all applications and get back to you if a place is available. Factors like group size, group composition (i.e., ability to commit to sessions) and relevance to primary prevention inform our review process.
The availability of our CoPs is made possible with funding from the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing and Department of Education.
Upcoming prevention
communities of practice
Respectful Relationships and school-based prevention programs CoP
School-based programs offer young people the opportunity to explore and learn about consent, relationships, and gender equality.
Embedding cultures of respect and equality across the entire school, from classrooms to staffrooms, is therefore essential to ensure positive outcomes for young people and their communities. Programs such Respect Relationships Education (RRE) and other school-based prevention efforts are key primary prevention initiatives in Victoria. It is crucial this workforce is given opportunities to connect and space to share wisdom, celebrate and discover new and exciting ways to transform their work.
Join Safe and Equal’s RRE and school-based prevention program CoP to exchange knowledge, resources and ideas, and build rich relationships. This Community of Practice will bring together school-based prevention practitioners across Victoria, with a key focus (but not limited to) Respectful Relationships Education.
The group of 15-25 practitioners will meet six times between October 2023 and May 2024.
Emerging Prevention Practitioners CoP
Joining the primary prevention workforce is an exciting opportunity, and means developing new practice, learning about different theories and frameworks and building new relationships with colleagues working in multiple settings in primary prevention. It’s essential that emerging practitioners feel supported and connected in their work and be given a space to test new ideas and ways of thinking.
This CoP provides a unique opportunity for emerging primary prevention practitioners who are learning and growing in their roles, to routinely come together. In a professionally facilitated environment, the CoP provides opportunities to share knowledge and work through shared challenges and opportunities that arise in early career development. Participation in this community will build confidence and support key knowledge and skills for doing this work effectively.
The group of 15-25 practitioners will meet six times between September 2023 and April 2024.
Regional and Rural Prevention Practitioners CoP
Regional and rural communities are meaningful places to shift hearts and minds about gender equality and preventing violence. Practitioners who do this work are therefore experts in building strong relationships, responding to unique resistance challenges, and translating evidence into relatable examples for their local community. These prevention practitioners can also experience unique challenges, like managing the impacts of disaster recovery and overcoming feeling isolated, at times.
This Community of Practice provides an opportunity for prevention practitioners who work in regional and rural prevention settings to routinely come together to share experiences and work through challenges that are common to working in rural settings. In a professionally facilitated environment, the Regional and Rural CoP will work to provide opportunity for knowledge sharing, identifying and working through shared challenges and opportunities that arise specifically for those seeking to prevent family and gender-based violence in regional areas.
The group of 15-25 practitioners will meet six times between October 2023 and April 2024.
Resistance in Primary Prevention CoP
If you work in gender equality or primary prevention, then you’ve most likely experienced backlash and resistance. Our aim is to provide a space for practitioners working in primary prevention of family and gender-based violence to feel safe, supported, connected and skilled to identify and manage resistance.
This Community of Practice provides a unique opportunity for practitioners working across all settings to come together and explore these issues. In a professionally facilitated environment, the Resistance in Primary Prevention CoP will work to provide opportunities for knowledge-sharing and identifying and working through shared challenges and opportunities when managing resistance. Participation in this CoP will build on knowledge and skills developed in the Unpacking Resistance training, though attending this training is not a prerequisite for the CoP.
The group of 15-25 practitioners will meet six times between October 2023 and April 2024.
Other Communities of Practice
Don’t see yourself in these communities? Let us know or join our waitlist! We are always revisiting our wait list and assessing our ability to respond to sector demand and interest. We will let you know the possibility of another CoP becoming available.
If you have any further questions, email us at prevention@safeandequal.org.au.
Our ethos to online CoP delivery
Since 2021, Safe and Equal have convened CoPs purely online, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and work from home mandates. We received positive feedback from participants about these online forums and the safe spaces we were able to create, and continue to hear, particularly for those with caring arrangements and working in rural or remote areas, that online continues to be beneficial.
However, we are increasingly receiving feedback that face-to-face would also be valuable. A key part of Safe and Equal’s ethos to CoPs is the formation and holding of space in line with a Group Agreement. This agreement is determined with each group and underscores how each CoP is convened so that each group is as safe and enabling as it can be. Considerations around format, including face-to-face options will be discussed as a part of group agreements with each CoP and considered on a case-by-case basis.
What practitioners have to say, and what we are learning through communities of practice
Over the years our primary prevention communities of practice have become a valuable offering through Safe and Equal. Safe and Equal continues to hear from prevention practitioners about the importance of enabling connections with other prevention practitioners and expanding networks to enable greater visibility of the range of work occurring in prevention.
We know connection is key for exposure, but also well-being. Working in social change is not easy, and isolation is common in a sector working in organisations where prevention may not be the sole focus. CoPs help connect those people.
We hear from practitioners that CoPs create an environment of support, lead to reduced isolation and create opportunities for connection in a sector where people are often working in isolated roles. Some reflections from past participants about their experience include:
“Safe space to reflect about our practice, including the challenges of the work. Overtly given permission to be inarticulate and vulnerable as we grappled with difficulties in the work. Sufficient structure but also flexibility to follow themes of interest as they arose.”
– CoP participant (June 2023)
“We did problem-solving work. I didn’t always put into practice but was interesting to learn that model.... Sometimes we just got time to get things off the chest. We also got the opportunity to work in small groups to work through problems.”
– CoP participant (June 2022)
“I was looking for any tips and tricks to do it better, and to take into my workplace to say, ‘we should we doing this’, and show best practice, have something better to speak to at the end in a more strategic way.”
– CoP participant (June 2022)
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