CAV Wodonga, Wangaratta reflect on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based violence

They see everyday how dangerous it can be for a woman to leave an abusive partner, yet are told 32 per cent of Australians believe women who stay are partly responsible for the abuse continuing.

Dismantling those beliefs is key to CAV's work, particularly during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.

Children's refuge support worker Shelley Elliott said it was not only a case of equality, but of human rights.

"Gender-based violence, whether physical, sexual, emotional or economic, is recognised globally as one of the most persistent violations of the rights of women and girls," she said.

"One in three women experience violence globally; this is unacceptable and reminds us of the need to keep doing the work that we do."

CAV marked the beginning and end of the 16 Days, with walks in Wodonga and Wangaratta on November 25 and yesterday's gathering on Human Rights Day.

Family violence team leader Kasi Burge, reflecting on the year that was, said the roll-out of the orange door and shifting to remote delivery were key events.

"We were providing face-to-face services in times of crisis when needed, but predominantly, we were doing a lot of work on phones," she said.

"Definitely, there's benefit to face-to-face work, but it really worked for a lot of victim-survivors to engage more over the phone.

"There's still lots of family violence in our community that we're trying to work towards reducing."

During the lockdown of March, 2020, there was a 50 per cent increase nationally in the severity of violence against women.

Ms Burge said even if it wasn't formally reported, her team would see demand around such events.

Read past 16 Days coverage:

"Christmas and big events are times where we do see increases in significant incidents," she said.

"We have a 24-hour crisis response, so we'll be answering calls on Christmas day through the Safe Steps line and responding.

"If people are unsure about what family violence is, we encourage people to just call and have a chat.

"Sometimes that first call is the hardest thing to make, and there's no shame in that."

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CAV's impact in this space was demonstrated by the feedback of one victim-survivor, shared by Ms Elliott.

"One client said, 'I'm now able to report the violence after CAV helped me see my worth and recognise what violence actually is'," she said.