Make. Build. Drive.

Make. Build. Drive.

Watch on ABC iView from 17 August 2025

Trailer
Documentary
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About

It Starts With Us is a documentary and social impact project, harnessing powerful storytelling to drive new approaches to family violence prevention.

The film is a journey into the lives of a group of teenagers and their transformative experiences as part of Project O – an arts-based prevention program delivered in their school.

Accompanied by resources for education and community settings, It Starts With Us shares stories and strategies for working with young people to stop family violence before it starts.

Watch on ABC iView
From Sunday, Aug 17

Watch

Directed by Amelia Tovey
Created with Young People from Frankston VIC, and Rosie Batty

Producer Sophia Marinos • Director of Photography Petra Leslie • Editor Sally Biasiutti • Composer Jessica Dunn • Executive Producers Genevieve Dugard, Deanne Weir • Creative Producer Larissa Behrendt • Community Producer Fallon Te Paa

Directed by Amelia Tovey
Created with Young People from Frankston VIC, and Rosie Batty

Producer Sophia Marinos • Director of Photography Petra Leslie • Editor Sally Biasiutti • Composer Jessica Dunn • Executive Producers Genevieve Dugard, Deanne Weir • Creative Producer Larissa Behrendt • Community Producer Fallon Te Paa

What is
prevention?

2 in 5 Australian children are exposed to family violence.*

Primary prevention aims to address the underlying causes of violence – disrespect, gender inequality, power imbalances, and cultural norms that excuse or tolerate violence. The Australian Government has committed to ending family violence in a generation, yet prevention receives less than 5% of allocated funding.**

Without meaningful investment in prevention, how can we expect change?

To prevent and eliminate family violence, there is a critical need to engage young people, and centre their voices and experiences. Alongside the critical safety and justice reforms, we must not lose focus on the conditioning environments in which our young people grow up. How do these environments influence our behaviours and attitudes?

Primary prevention programs, as featured in It Starts With Us, consider these questions as part of program design when working with young people.

To read more about prevention in Australia, visit ANROWS, Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety.

*Australia Child Maltreatment Study, 2023
**Australia lacks consistent data on funding allocated to family violence prevention. This statistic has been derived from a range of sources in different states.

Education

This suite of resources — short films, lesson plans, and educator notes — centres young voices and lived experience.

Designed for classrooms and community settings, these resources support student voice, critical thinking, empathy, and family violence prevention. Creative, accessible activities help educators engage teens in meaningful conversations around identity, relationships, and the issues that shape their lives.

Resource for schools

ClickView

Resources for communities

Videos
Study guide

Take Action

Help us share the work of It Starts With Us by sending our education resources to your local high school or youth service. Assist teachers and educators deliver meaningful prevention initiatives in the classroom, and support the next generation of young people to drive safer futures.

You can also host a screening of the film with your local community group, workplace or school – this feature is coming soon

Share our education resources

Sign up to to receive a ready-to-use email you can send to your local school or service.

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“Whether you sit in a boardroom, a classroom or a seat on the bus, you have influence and you can contribute to the seismic shift towards a world free from violence.”

Rosie Batty AO
Family Violence Prevention Advocate

“Whether you sit in a boardroom, a classroom or a seat on the bus, you have influence and you can contribute to the seismic shift towards a world free from violence.”

Rosie Batty AO
Family Violence Prevention Advocate

“It Starts With Us is a beautiful example of how art can change lives – a must watch for anyone interested in what we can all do to make meaningful change and end gender-based violence”

Moo Baulch
Our Watch Chair

“Primary prevention means stopping violence before it occurs. It means changing the behaviours and norms, in all areas of society, that excuse, justify or even promote violence against women and their children.”

Fourth Action Plan, 2019,
Federal Government

“Let your daughter be assertive and let your son cry. Let young people express and affirm their gender. Teach them about affirmative and enthusiastic consent and role model respectful relationships.”

Kate Fitz-Gibbon
Respect Victoria Chair

“People make choices about their behaviour within a social context. If we don’t change this social context, we won’t stop the violence.”

Patty Kinnersly
Our Watch CEO

“Ending domestic, family and sexual violence hinges on getting it right for children and young people and we cannot do that unless they are involved at every step, on their own terms.”

Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine
ANROWS CEO