No to Violence will bring together national and international leaders over four days in August to showcase research, innovative thinking and best practice to help reduce – and end – men’s family violence. 

The No to Violence Conference 2023: Leading the change to break the cycle of violence will focus on three key topics: masculinity, children and young people, and best practice.

Conference speakers will open up challenging conversations about masculinity and how conditioning can form our ideas, beliefs and values that lead to unhealthy, healthy, harmful or dangerous behaviours.

First Nations work will be highlighted across each stream. 

The conference will hear directly from young people about the complex world they are navigating. It will also showcase the innovative programs being launched by young people, and for young people, to help break the cycles of violence before they begin.

No to Violence Chief Executive Officer Jacqui Watt said: “We will explore ways that we can use what we know about men’s family violence to create a safer future for everyone.

“We know that knowledge and research must inform best practice approaches when engaging men in primary, early and behaviour change interventions.”

The conference – from August 28-31 – will be attended by representatives of governments, peak bodies, practitioners, policy and policing, researchers, the judiciary and victim-survivors. 

It will energise, motivate and upskill the family and domestic violence sector to engage more men – including people from First Nations, refugee and migrant, LGBTQI+ communities, those with mental health or disability and those in regional and rural communities.

“The Federal Government’s National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children has an ambitious goal to end gender-based violence in one generation,” Ms Watt said. “To achieve this goal, we need to stop the cycle of violence. And we need to start now.”