About the Department

Students to champion non-violence on Victorian streets

News bulletin: 12 October 2009

No Regrets is a new violence prevention program funded by the Victorian government and in partnership with the Step Back Think organisation and Foundation for Young Australians.

In the program, Year 9 and 10 students will become ‘respect champions’ and will spread the message of respect, for ourselves and our community, to their classmates and the public.

The program will provide an important platform for students to discuss issues of violence and to come up with ideas on how to engage young people in non-violent activities based on respect, mutual understanding and acceptance.

The program will be piloted in 10 schools, with Balwyn High School the first to participate in Term 4, 2009.

Thirty students from each pilot chosen to participate in the program will participate in a 90-minute violence prevention workshop with a Step Back Think volunteer. Six students will then be chosen from each school and will work together to develop a non-violence social action plan to implement in their respective schools.

Minister for Education, Bronwyn Pike, who helped launch the program, said it ‘builds on the great work our schools are already doing to promote values of tolerance, empathy, fairness and respect for others.

‘Through the pilot, students are encouraged to look out for their friends and steer clear of trouble. They will have a chance to address the issue of violence in the community and encourage greater peer support.’

More information

For more information on the No Regrets program, see: