About the Cause

Origins

NO MORE is an Aboriginal initiative which addresses prevention of Domestic and Family Violence (DFV) through a whole of community approach. NO MORE works with men, service providers and the wider community to develop local responses to reduce the incidence of DFV by changing men’s behaviour and attitudes towards women, with the safety of women and children as the primary objective.

NO MORE Founder, Charlie King, AM has been working in partnership with CatholicCare NT (CCNT) since 2006 developing strong men's programs and then NO MORE. Beginning as a campaign, the “NO MORE to Family Violence Campaign” is based on the principle of subsidiarity (decision making by the people closest and most affected by the issues and concerns of the community), and works with men and the community to develop local responses to reduce the incidence of DFV across the Northern Territory.

Momentum for the campaign began in 2006, and was consolidated in 2008 when Charlie King visited remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory (NT) to discuss community issues including child abuse, pornography and violence. Charlie met with Indigenous men from communities all over the NT, some of which are hundreds of kilometres from townships. He began engaging men in conversations about how they could take a more proactive role in starting to change men’s attitudes about women and violence.

In talking with men throughout these NT communities, Charlie noticed two independently recurring phrases said by all the local Elders. These phrases were ‘no more’ and ‘all men should link up’. For Indigenous people, ‘no more’ has a number of meanings and has been used for over 200 years. When someone passes away, their name cannot be mentioned and they are referred to as ‘no more’. ‘No more’ is also used as a strong call to bring an end to something, ‘stop it now, no more’.

The term is a very powerful one and is mostly used by the most senior men or lore men. The term is so powerful that it doesn’t require any words to be attached to it and is often accompanied by the wagging of the forefinger back and forth. 'No more' has a finality to it that doesn't invite a response. The term 'NO MORE', when used as part of the campaign, honours these tribal Elders and takes their voices to places they could never reach.

The key theme of NO MORE is the placement of responsibility for reducing DFV (including lateral violence) on men, the most frequent offenders. While men may have the power to be destructive, they have equal power to care for and look after their families. The reduction of DFV needs men to stand up, as individuals and a group, and take ownership for finding a solution.

While NO MORE is an Aboriginal initiative, it is not just for Aboriginal people nor should there be any inference that DFV is an Aboriginal only issue. DFV affects people in all cultures, regions of Australia and the world and any socio-economic demographic and NO MORE works with all those who are like-minded about wanting to make our communities, both urban and remote, safer for all. Keeping this in mind evidence does show that DFV disproportionately affects Aboriginal women and children, and due to this and the high proportion of Aboriginal people in the Territory, much of NO MORE’s work focuses on this cohort.

The campaign aspect of NO MORE is endorsed by high level Indigenous influencers and supported by marketing materials, social media/digital strategies and public events designed to create community awareness around the issue of violence prevention.

Underpinning the campaign is CCNT’s NO MORE Program. CCNT has been supporting the NO MORE Campaign since 2008 and it has now transitioned into a program with the support of Federal and Territory funding.

NO MORE works with individual sporting clubs, organisations, businesses and councils to develop domestic violence action plans. Building community capacity, establishing and supporting men’s groups by engaging those that want to see social change, providing domestic and family violence education, and offering referrals to men’s behaviour change programs and counselling. The NO MORE program encompasses a dynamic process of change through developing community leadership, responsibility and action, and adapting to the needs of the community.