Prevention of Gender-Based Violence Youth Advisory Group

Ahmad works as a Fellowship Facilitator for Orygen Global and has founded an initiative called Changemaker that focuses on finding the intersections of mental health with other sustainable development goals.

Ahmad’s passion with human rights comes from his lived experiences of living in a war-torn country and being deprived of basic human rights.

Ahmad is an award-winning advocate, having participated in various roles as author, advisor, speaker, leader and reviewer.

He has also consulted for government entities in Australia and various organisations such as Women Deliver, Empower Peace, Global Citizen, Orygen, World Economic Forum, and Grand Challenges Canada.

Declan is an aspiring nurse from Toowoomba. He is a keen cricket player and a young person invested in the youth of Australia.

Through the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence Youth Advisory Group, Declan hopes to represent the average young man, bringing his own experiences and views to help empower young people.

Declan has a particular interest in improving experiences within the education system and reducing barriers to transition to meaningful employment.

He also has an interest in how policy and processes impact on health and well-being, and how young people might be best supported to have positive experiences in our communities.

Declan is looking forward to participating in the Advisory Group.

Elloise is a proud Kija Woman.

Gender-based violence is an issue Elloise is passionate about. It is an issue that is prevalent in all aspects of our society.

Elloise believes that educating and empowering young people will be the first step to changing attitudes, and to eventually eradicating violence.

Gavyn is an enthusiastic individual who wants to make the world safer and more equitable for women and children who are subject to both direct and subconscious discrimination within society.

With a keen interest in East Asian culture, Model UNs, and world affairs, Gavyn hopes to bring a global outlook to help shape strategies to end violence against women and children.

He is looking forward to learning from and working with a diverse range of Australians.

His goal is to foster awareness and create invaluable solutions to the prevention of gender-based violence, which can take many forms such as teenagers in relationships, parents of all ages, and the elderly.

In his free time, Gavyn enjoys clay sculpting, singing and reading.

Jemma is passionate about empowering diverse young people to engage in decision-making for a more equitable future.

She is a member of the ACT Youth Advisory Council, the youngest ever director on the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition Board, and a former Youth Activist for Plan International Australia.

Jemma’s background as a queer Māori-Australian woman with lived experience of family violence, homelessness and financial disadvantage offers her a keen understanding of the barriers young people face when speaking out against gender-based violence.

In joining the Prevention of Gender-Based Violence Youth Advisory Group, Jemma seeks to bring diverse voices, lived experience, and intersectional approaches to the forefront of the national conversation.

Through becoming a part of the Gender-Based Violence Youth Advisory Group, Jessica hopes to become an active advocate for young people.

Jessica is looking forward to collaborating with other young voices who can effectively communicate to a diverse range of backgrounds.

While growing up as a young woman, being filtered through 5 different secondary Educations, both co-ed and all-girls, Jessica was exposed to extremely diverse socio-economic conditions across the different schools.

As a result, she became conscious of the different beliefs and behaviours reflected in a large proportion of young people.

She was also able to gather a perspective on the different motives for schools across Queensland on how they approach the subject of violence against women and children.

Jessica hopes to become a voice in helping all individuals understand that violence comes in many different forms and is something that someone is taught, not born with.

She believes the National Plan would be most effective if looked at through the lens of a person’s economic and social background in order to underpin gender and youth discrimination and calculate what can be done to prevent it in the future.

Kane (he/him) recently relocated to Echuca from Tumbarumba, NSW, and has a strong background in regional youth advocacy and community engagement.

Graduating high school in 2019, Kane has always volunteered in his local community to ensure young people had a voice and made change happen. He was successfully appointed to the NSW Government Regional Youth Taskforce in 2022, where he advocated directly to the Minister of Regional Youth. He later served as a mentor for the 2023 Taskforce and worked as a Wellbeing Officer at his former high school. In 2023, Kane completed a diploma of youth work.

In 2024, Kane stepped into his current role as Youth Community Development Officer at Campaspe Shire Council where he continues to work with regional youth magnifying their voice in political spaces at all leaves of government.

Kane continues to advocate across all levels of government, emphasising the unique experiences and environments faced by regional youth. Outside of his professional and advocacy life, you’ll find him traveling, listening to Chappel Roan, and currently binging Bridgerton.

Taryn’s primary passion revolves around advocacy and justice.

Taryn aims to collaborate with their fellow Advisory Group members and the Department of Social Services to enhance intersectional resources for individuals affected by gender-based violence.

Taryn also hopes we can work together to raise awareness in Australia of lesser-discussed forms of gender-based violence, such as coercive control and technology-facilitated abuse.

Taryn enjoys various artistic pursuits such as crochet, painting, and sewing.