Bench puts respect in plain sight at Maleny State High School

The bench is the 14th Red Bench Speak Up Now has helped install across the hinterland.

A bright red bench at Maleny State High School is carrying a serious message for students: respectful relationships start with the small choices they make every day.

The bench was launched on Monday, May 11, as part of Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Month, in a collaboration between the school’s Rotary Interact Club, Speak Up Now – Stop Domestic & Family Violence, and the Red Rose Foundation.

Speak Up Now representative Val France addressed the whole school as part of the launch, telling students they had the power to help change attitudes before harmful behaviours became entrenched.

The bench is the 14th Red Bench Speak Up Now has helped install across the Sunshine Coast hinterland, joining others in Maleny, Kenilworth, Montville and Palmwoods.

The Red Bench Project uses permanent public benches as a visible reminder of the need to end domestic and family violence and keep conversations about safety, respect and prevention in everyday view.

Ms France said the habits formed in high school could shape the adults students would become. “Respect is a skill that anyone can learn,” Ms France said. She encouraged students to think about how they treated others during stressful moments, to respect personal space and boundaries, and to speak to a trusted adult when something did not feel right.

The message was that prevention was not only the work of adults, agencies or campaigners, but something young people could help lead through everyday behaviour at school, at home and in the wider community.

For more information contact Val France, Speak Up Now – Stop Domestic & Family Violence (Maleny & Blackall Range), on 0419 599 042.