The Respect at La Trobe student training program has won the Student Voice Australasia 2026 Student Staff Partnership Impact Award. Student trainers Hoang Long Ho, Vi Nguyen and Abbey Mason, along with Senior Coordinator Kelly Alexander, received the award in Canberra at the Student Voice Australasia Conference.
Designed and delivered by students and staff, the training program equips student leaders with the skills and confidence to respond safely and compassionately to disclosures of gender-based violence. In 2026, trained student facilitators delivered the program to more than 140 student leaders using real-life scenarios and trauma-informed approaches.
Peer-to-peer learning is at the heart of the program. Students learn from facilitators they can relate to, making difficult conversations easier and more approachable. Participants described the facilitators as “friendly,” “respectful” and “really passionate,” with one student saying, “I feel more confident supporting someone who discloses”.
That confidence creates a ripple effect. Student leaders take what they learn into clubs, events, casual conversations and everyday interactions. This helps make support-seeking more normal and inclusive across campus.
The program is also shaped by student feedback. Each cohort helps strengthen the next, turning a one-off training session into an ongoing cycle of learning and improvement.
For the Respect at La Trobe student trainers, meaningful student voice means more than listening. It means educating, equipping and supporting students to lead sustained, positive change across the university community.
Find out more about the Student Voice Awards 2026.