Project O: Young People Leading the Conversation on Family Violence Prevention

Big hART’s working relationship with Leo Lion Foundation goes back 15 years collaborating on projects concerned with justice and social cohesion. Many projects later Big hART is delivering a long-term project called Artisan with the site sponsored by Leo Lion, offering pathways out of poverty and into employment, and access to meaningful work experiences for people living with a disability.

When it comes to family violence prevention, the conversation has long been dominated by adult voices. But what happens when we hand the microphone to young people? Over the past decade, arts and social change organisation Big hART has been exploring exactly that question through Project O — and the results are both compelling and urgent. This is the story of what that journey looked like, the documentary that brought it to the screen, and the legacy it has left behind.

The Documentary

This past August 2025, ABC’s Compass premiered a documentary ten years in the making. Produced by Sophia Marinos and directed by Amelia Tovey, It Starts With Us is a beautiful and grounded documentary developed in partnership with family violence prevention advocate Rosie Batty and students from Frankston North in Victoria. It follows the lives of five teenagers as they engage with Project O an art-based initiative which champions gender equality and empowers young people in their own lives.

Using songwriting as a conduit, the documentary brings the voices of children and young people into focus as part of the national conversation on family violence. 2 in 5 children under age 18 are exposed to family violence, and yet young people are rarely included in conversations around creating solutions to the crisis. It Starts With Us challenges us to involve young people in preventative initiatives and offers arts-based examples as to what it looks like to meet young people where they are and to allow them to contribute to strength-based solutions that impact their future.

The documentary asserts the urgent need for innovative prevention programs for young people, citing the investment in prevention is currently less than 5% of sector funding.

Impact Events

Over the 2025 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence, Big hART together with sector partners ANROWS (Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety), Respect Victoria, and Women and Girls Emergency Centre (WAGEC) held impact events in Canberra, Melbourne, and Sydney where they brought together a diverse range of speakers to advocate for the need for greater investment in family violence prevention and to emphasise the role of young people in decision making in matters that impact them directly.

Event guest speaker ANROWS CEO, Tessa Boyd-Caine, told ABC Radio Canberra, “There is a really strong evidence base for centring children and young people, but too often we see services thinking about children as witnesses to adult violence and so, already we’ve got services who aren’t thinking about what children and young people need in their own right and then we’re talking about a very diverse group of people – what is right for a 6 year old is going to be very different to what is right for a 16 year old.”

“Thinking about where those children and young people are already engaged—that’s the magic of thinking about schools...” She went on to talk about the importance of embedding evidence-based programs in schools and the need for engagement, staff training, and deep listening to children and young people at every site of involvement.

Over the three events the diversity of guest speakers such as brought forth a range of different issues, insights, and experiences and placed them in proximity to the lived experience of the young people involved in the film.

In Legacy

The completion of Project O marks not an ending, but a significant moment of knowledge-sharing and thought leadership for the family violence prevention sector. Over ten years and six locations, Big hART guided the creation and evolution of Project O, bringing their unique perspective as an arts and social change organisation to bear on one of the most pressing social issues facing young people today. With the project objectives fulfilled, this documentary and its connected impact campaign represent the next chapter — one focused squarely on policy impact and lasting change.

The legacy of Project O extends beyond the film itself. It centres on three things: drawing attention to the lack of resourcing behind family violence prevention, ensuring that the voices of children and young people are meaningfully included in conversations about how to address it, and demonstrating the power of the arts as a tool for knowledge transfer and meaningful engagement in programs tackling family violence.

Part of this legacy has already taken shape in the form of a resource tool for schools and communities, with a range of classroom resources available to everyone via www.itstartswithus.com.au

The documentary can still be viewed on ABC iView here: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/compass?utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared

Organisations and individuals can also host their own screening or impact event.

Simply visit https://www.itstartswithus.com.au/take-action/ for more information on how to take action.