Unifying Community Efforts To Reach Zero DFV: Lessons From Australia's First Pilot
Tracks
Room 3: In-Person Only
| Tuesday, November 25, 2025 |
| 2:10 PM - 2:40 PM |
Overview
Kirrily Dear, Click Collab
Details
1. The Zero DFV strategy is leveraging four areas of community development, giving a broad scope for inclusion and ensuring everyone has a practical role.
2. A grassroots lens and relatable terminology are required to mobilise communities; what you say must resonate, survive the 'pub test' and create a safe space, especially for men.
3. Unifying and agreed-upon goals are key to removing territorialism and fragmentation, but there is an art to setting them.
Speaker
Ms Kirrily Dear
Founder
Click Collab
Unifying community efforts to reach Zero DFV: Lessons from Australia's first pilot
Presentation Overview
Over the past decade, awareness of domestic and family violence (DFV) has surged across Australian communities, sparking the rise of community-led prevention efforts such as educational programs, response and support services, advocacy, fundraising events, and rallies.
Community stakeholders in The Hills Shire in Sydney welcomed the increased momentum; however, they also identified several emerging challenges hampering the community's progress toward a Zero DFV future.
These challenges included:
- Poor visibility of all the activity underway
- Scarce resources spread too thin, including people and funds
- Uncertainty about where to focus resources to maximise benefits
- Limited communication between initiatives
- Too much "reinventing the wheel"
- Lots of effort heading in different directions
- Difficulty tracking and measuring progress
In early 2025, survivors, local police, educators, faith leaders, business groups, and members of the public in The Hills Shire came together for the first time to create a shared, community-led plan to eliminate domestic and family violence (DFV).
The Hills Zero DFV Navbook emerged from the process and outlines the community's vision, goals, and activities designed to transform The Hills Shire over the next five years. This resource serves as a guide for prevention efforts throughout the community and a rallying point for anyone who wishes to contribute to making The Hills one of the first communities in Australia to achieve Zero DFV.
In this presentation, Kirrily will take you behind the scenes of the Zero DFV planning and implementation process, stepping you through the design, lessons learned and future of Australia's first whole-of-community, unified approach to primary prevention planning and implementation.
Community stakeholders in The Hills Shire in Sydney welcomed the increased momentum; however, they also identified several emerging challenges hampering the community's progress toward a Zero DFV future.
These challenges included:
- Poor visibility of all the activity underway
- Scarce resources spread too thin, including people and funds
- Uncertainty about where to focus resources to maximise benefits
- Limited communication between initiatives
- Too much "reinventing the wheel"
- Lots of effort heading in different directions
- Difficulty tracking and measuring progress
In early 2025, survivors, local police, educators, faith leaders, business groups, and members of the public in The Hills Shire came together for the first time to create a shared, community-led plan to eliminate domestic and family violence (DFV).
The Hills Zero DFV Navbook emerged from the process and outlines the community's vision, goals, and activities designed to transform The Hills Shire over the next five years. This resource serves as a guide for prevention efforts throughout the community and a rallying point for anyone who wishes to contribute to making The Hills one of the first communities in Australia to achieve Zero DFV.
In this presentation, Kirrily will take you behind the scenes of the Zero DFV planning and implementation process, stepping you through the design, lessons learned and future of Australia's first whole-of-community, unified approach to primary prevention planning and implementation.
Biography
Kirrily Dear is a seasoned strategist and innovator dedicated to the primary prevention of domestic and family violence. With over 20 years in business strategy, she shifted focus in 2014 and founded Run Against Violence, the largest community mobilisation movement of its kind in Australia. Kirrily also developed the groundbreaking Zero DFV strategy, the first comprehensive framework uniting whole-of-community efforts to eliminate domestic and family violence. Her innovative leadership and dedication are not only addressing a critical issue but also igniting a movement to transform lives and create safer communities for all.
