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GenWest

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GenWest is a family violence support service. We support communities to lead safe and healthy lives, by running social and health education programs.

We support people based in Melbourne’s west.

22/10/2026

Last week we opened the Sunrise Art Exhibition: Togetherness & Connection at Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton.

The exhibition showcases artwork by Sunrise Melton program participants and explores what connection and togetherness means to each participant, and celebrates the collective impact of the Sunrise Melton Group over the last year.

Togetherness & Connection is a collaborative exhibition celebrating creativity, belonging and the strength of community.

Created by participants of the GenWest Sunrise Melton Program, these artworks explore personal stories, relationships, identity and the importance of feeling connected, supported and included.

Through ceramics, screen printing, painting and mixed media, participants have explored different ways of expressing their experiences, emotions and connections with others. Each artwork reflects an individual creative journey while contributing to a shared story of friendship, resilience and community.

Togetherness & Connection was facilitated by Anna Kolusniewski - Aa is for Art.

🎨 Visit the exhibition: The exhibition is open Thursday, 15 October - Thursday, 29 October 2026 at Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton.
🎟️If you'd like to visit, register via Eventbrite: bit.ly/sunrise-exhibition

The Sunrise Melton Program is delivered in partnership between GenWest, Mind and Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton.

Visit our website to read about the opening night and speeches from Sunrise participants, and find out about the program at genwest.org.au/sunrise-exhibition

20/10/2026

We've helped many organisations meet their obligations under the Gender Equality Act, helping them save time, improve outcomes and deliver projects with meaningful impact.

GenWest consultants partner with organisations to embed best-practice approaches to preventing gender-based violence and family violence at a strategic and policy level. Whether you're developing or reviewing internal policies, designing prevention frameworks, or strengthening your organisational response, our consultants bring specialist expertise to support meaningful, lasting change.

We also provide tailored compliance support, including:

👉 Gender Equality Act 2020 — guidance on meeting your obligations under the Act, including gender impact assessments, action planning, and reporting.

👉 Gender and diversity compliance — practical support to help organisations meet their broader obligations and embed inclusive, equitable practice across policy and strategy.

Our consultants work alongside your team to ensure approaches are evidence-based, intersectional, and suited to your organisational context.

All of our training and consultancy services are tailored to the needs of the organisations we work with, and as a not-for-profit provider, all revenue raised allows us to continue our important work supporting victim survivors of family violence and marginalised communities in Melbourne's west.

Visit learnhub.genwest.org.au to find out about training and consultancy we offer

19/10/2026

GenWest support our community in so many ways, as do their members who volunteer with them.

We're happy to support GenWest with $520,000 as part of a re-elected Labor Government.

16/10/2026

Project Sitara is GenWest’s unique, community-led solution to preventing and responding to family violence in migrant and refugee communities. With support from Minderoo Foundation, the program is expanding to reach more communities.

On Thursday, we celebrated the expansion of Project Sitara. The next phase of Sitara will build on what we have learned - strengthening the model, expanding its reach with Hindi-speaking Indian communities, developing it in another language with another community, and building the evidence and implementation framework needed to support wider replication.

In the words of Shweta Kawatra Dakin, Manager - Resilient Communities at GenWest: “Project Sitara is a step towards mobilising an army of champions leading the way to create a society free from gender-based violence.”

The opportunity is clear: if we are serious about preventing family violence, we need to invest in programs that are proven to prevent violence before it occurs, alongside response and recovery.

Read more: https://bit.ly/sitara-celebrates

Thank you for joining the celebration: Project Sitara participants, community leaders from across Melbourne’s west, GenWest Survivor Advisory Group members, Minderoo Foundation, Respect Victoria, Ballarat Regional Multicultural Council (BRMC), Safe and Equal, Women's Health East, City of Melton, intouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, Ladies Club60 Tarneit, Victoria Police, Cindy McLeish MP, Mathew Hilakari MP, ThuyDang DángThơ Pradeep Tiwari - Maribyrnong City Councillor

15/10/2026

Join us at Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton for the Sunrise Togetherness & Connection art exhibition.

The exhibition showcases artwork by Sunrise Melton program participants. Their art explores what connection and togetherness means to each of them and celebrates the collective impact of the Sunrise Melton Group over the last year.

📍 Where: Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton, 5 Hollingsworth Drive, Cobblebank

⌚ When: Thursday, 15 October - Thursday, 29 October 2026

🎟️ Register: To visit the exhibition, book a free ticket for your preferred time slot at bit.ly/sunrise-exhibition

Sunrise is a group program for women, gender diverse people and nonbinary people who have a disability, chronic health issue and/or mental health challenges.

The Sunrise Melton Program is delivered by GenWest, in partnership with Mind and Mental Health and Wellbeing Local in Melton.

14/10/2026

GenWest and Body Safety Australia’s Child Safety Project showed how trusted, culturally responsive education can give parents and carers greater confidence and practical knowledge to talk about body safety, respond to concerns and seek help.

The project also delivered Community Education Sessions, reaching 153 parents and carers across Melbourne’s west. Participants received practical information and tools to support conversations with children about body safety, recognise grooming behaviours, respond to concerns and identify where to seek help.

After the training, 9 out of 10 of participants told us they were more confident to seek help if they were worried about a child and they were more confident talking with their child about body safety and respect.

Almost all participants told us the education was relevant to their family, culture or community.

When parents and carers receive practical information in ways that are trusted and culturally relevant, they are better equipped to have body-safety conversations, recognise concerns, respond supportively and seek help.

Organisations and systems must support them by creating safe environments, maintaining appropriate boundaries, noticing concerns and acting when concerns are raised.

📢 Read more: genwest.org.au/news-and-events/building-community-confidence-in-child-safety

👉 Access the free resources and watch a recording of a Community Education Session here: genwest.org.au/child-safety-resources

Body Safety Australia

13/10/2026

At GenWest, our Children’s Counselling service supports more than 300 children and young people who have experienced family violence, as well as their support networks, every year. We are funded to support 250 children - we often support many more than this.

Our counsellors work with children to help them to understand what's happened, build their confidence and emotional skills, and recover from their experiences.

Right now, more than 100 children are waiting to access Children's Counselling through GenWest. Some children are waiting up to eight months.

Eight months is a long time in any child’s life. It is even longer when a child is trying to recover from family violence.

Donations have a direct impact on the lives of children and young people in Melbourne’s west who are experiencing family violence.

Every child deserves the chance to heal after family violence. Your donation helps make that possible: www.givenow.com.au/genwest_counselling

12/10/2026

Parents and carers play an important role, but keeping children safe is a shared responsibility across adults, organisations, services and systems. Children are never responsible for preventing abuse or for being able to disclose it.

It can be difficult to know how to talk with a young child about body safety, what to look for when something does not feel right, or what questions to ask an early childhood service.

GenWest and Body Safety Australia's Child Safety Project created four free resources to help parents and carers. Here are a few tips from the resources that you can do:

👂 Let them know you will listen.
Remind your child they can always talk to you if they are worried or scared. Let them know they won’t get in trouble for telling you.

🗣️Talk about their body.
Help your child use the correct anatomical names for private body parts, and talk about safe and unsafe feelings.

🤝 Talk about safe adults.
Help your child think about the adults they can go to if they feel worried, scared or uncomfortable.

🔎Know what to look out for.
Learn about grooming and warning signs. Notice changes in your child’s behaviour and trust your instincts if something doesn’t feel right.

❓Ask questions at childcare.
Ask how they keep children safe and know how to speak up if you have concerns.

👉 Explore the resources, watch a recording of an education session and find practical guides on our website: genwest.org.au/child-safety-resources

Body Safety Australia

08/10/2026

We know that children who experience family violence are two to three times more likely to go on to experience intimate partner violence later in life. Research also indicates that boys who experience family violence may be at greater risk of using violence themselves as adults.

This is why children’s counselling is not simply a recovery service. It is a critical part of breaking the cycle of family violence.

This is something GenWest has heard firsthand. Children like Lauren are too often relegated to the role of 'witness' to the violence, rather than having their own unique needs and their own pathway to recovery.

Right now, more than 100 children are waiting to access Children's Counselling through GenWest. Some children are waiting up to eight months.

Eight months is a long time in any child’s life. It is even longer when a child is trying to recover from family violence.

GenWest is urgently trying to source an additional $500,000 in funding to clear this waiting list and give these children the support they need now.

Funding children’s counselling is an investment in safety, recovery and prevention. It means children do not have to wait months for the chance to talk to someone who understands what they have experienced. It means families can get the support they need to rebuild.

Read more: genwest.org.au/news-and-events

07/10/2026

It can be difficult to know how to talk with a young child about body safety, what to look for when something does not feel right, or what questions to ask an early childhood service.

The Child Safety Project created four free resources to help parents and carers:

📘 Protecting Our Children
Simple language and scripts for talking with young children about body safety.

📗 I’m Worried About My Child
Information about grooming, warning signs, disclosures and where to seek help.

📙 Safe at Early Childhood Education and Care
Guidance to help parents and carers recognise safe practices, ask questions and raise concerns.

🗂️ Body-safety conversation cards
Short prompts for talking about body parts, safe and unsafe feelings, secrets and safe adults.

The resources are available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Dari, Hindi, Karen, Punjabi and Vietnamese.

GenWest and Body Safety Australia’s Child Safety Project was developed in consultation with trusted community leaders. It drew on multilingual community educators and community knowledge to make difficult conversations safer, more accessible and more relevant to participating communities.

Parents and carers play an important role, but keeping children safe is a shared responsibility across adults, organisations, services and systems. Children are never responsible for preventing abuse or for being able to disclose it.

👉 Access the free resources and watch a recording of a Community Education Session here: genwest.org.au/child-safety-resources

Body Safety Australia

Address

Wurundjeri Country, 317-319 Barkly Street
Footscray, VIC
3011

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+611800436937

Website

http://www.genwest.org.au/

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