Students from primary and high schools across Queanbeyan have been invited to participate in a forum to help address domestic violence in the community, to be held at Bicentennial Hall on White Ribbon Day, November 25.
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Designed to promote respectful relationships, the forum will fit in with the White Ribbon Day theme, Give Respect: A future without domestic violence.
Organised by NSW Police local area commander Superintendent Rodney Smith and emceed by crime manager for Monaro Neil Grey, the luncheon will deliver a strong message about respect.
It will feature an array of guest speakers including White Ribbon Day ambassador Dr Alan Ryan and NRL ambassador Alan Tongue.
For Queanbeyan Primary School principal Kym Hawes, the event was a chance to introduce the subject to the school community.
"It's something new this year," she said.
"We haven't looked at the matter, the issue of domestic violence before with the students. Over a long time we've done child protection lessons within the school, making sure children are safe and we're providing a safe environment, and we think this will be an extension of that."
Ms Hawes said since the naming of Rosie Batty as Australian of the Year, after her son was murdered by his father in a domestic violence incident, the community had called for change.
"For me as the principal of the school, it was a little bit confronting to start with," Ms Hawes said.
"I understand high schools could probably look at it in a different way. For me it was hard because we're looking at kindergarten students to year 6."
Ms Hawes said in the past, if children came to school from an unhappy family it was dealt with individually.
"We look at schools and consider schools safe environments, but we've got to look at homes too," she said.
"We can only have a better future if we educate and we continue to educate."
Ms Hawes said the forum would be a special way for the student representatives to learn about the issue, and dissect that to the wider school community.
"The captains and prefects are the students elected to represent the school at the luncheon," Ms Hawes said.
"Next year, if it happens, we'd look at a broader group from year 2 to year 6."
Crime manager for Monaro Neil Grey said the approach to domestic violence has become much more a joint-agency approach.
"The approach we've taken in targeting young people is a little bit unorthodox," detective inspector Grey said.
"But I also see it as a smart approach, given that they are the future."
"If we can develop in them now behaviours of respecting each other and respecting the family unit, that can only be of benefit."
Detective inspector Grey said on average, about 15 domestic violence incidents were reported to Queanbeyan police every month.