Share The Dignity Campaign Analysis

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Intro
In a world ruled by capitalism and neo-liberalism, it is easy for individuals to believe they are overlooked, that they don’t matter in the grand scheme of things, that their voice doesn’t count and that there is nothing that they can do to bring about change. As suggested by Charon (2103), it is very difficult for individuals to impact significant change on societies, it is not, however, impossible. When an individual has a significant enough power base, sufficient resources, and social conditions in society favour change, then change is possible, even if it is originally only a change to social trends, these trends have the capacity to lead to lasting changes (Charon, 2013). The ‘Share the Dignity’ campaign is an example of change being brought about by individuals via a new social movement. An explanation of the issues addressed by the campaign, the evolution of the campaign, and my contribution to the campaign will be discussed below to further demonstrate how individuals can bring about change.

Sociological Explanation of the issue
Domestic violence is an issue that affects many women throughout Australia The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW)
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(2015). The movement emerged when two individuals were touched by stories of the struggles faced by homeless women. They then coalesced and ran the first dignity drive in their hometown, collecting more than 500 items (Jennings-Edquist & Neilson, 2015). The movement continued to grow and eventually bureaucratised to become a registered charity with a board of directors. The success of the movement continues to this day with dignity drives twice a year, along with other successful campaigns to help homeless women escaping from domestic violence. The only stage in Fruze et al.’s (2015) model which has not been reached is the final stage of decline, as the movement is still in its successful