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Running The Movement Against Violence


17 October 2025 at 9:00 am
Ed Krutsch
Kirrily Dear is a seasoned strategist and innovator dedicated to the primary prevention of domestic and family violence. She is this weeks Pro Bono Australia Change Maker!


Ed Krutsch | 17 October 2025 at 9:00 am


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Running The Movement Against Violence
17 October 2025 at 9:00 am

 

With over 20 years in business strategy, Kirrily Dear shifted focus in 2014 and founded Run Against Violence, the largest community mobilisation movement of its kind in Australia. Kirrily also developed the groundbreaking Zero DFV strategy, the first comprehensive framework uniting whole-of-community efforts to eliminate domestic and family violence. Her innovative leadership and dedication are not only addressing a critical issue but also igniting a movement to transform lives and create safer communities for all.

Describe your career trajectory and how you got to your current position

I spent the bulk of my professional career focused on business strategy consulting, helping organisations, particularly in the private sector, to grow. I have a very strong commercial mindset. A conversation with a young boy who had grown up in a DV household really got me moving and focused on contributing to primary prevention, and I realised that my strategy and commercial skills have a lot of value to add to the sector. That led to the creation of Run Against Violence and the projects that have emerged from that.

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself?

The advice I would give my younger self is to trust and believe in yourself more. That gut instinct really has a lot of value to offer. At the time, I doubted the worth of my ideas, but now I can see the importance of confidence. I am a left-of-field thinker, but that has a huge amount of value to add in innovation. What seemed unusual or unconventional then is, in fact, one of the most important contributions I can make. Don’t try to fit in, choose to stand out. It took time to realise that fitting in is not the goal, and that the courage to be different is what fuels new solutions and change.

What does good NFP leadership look like?

It looks very similar to commercial leadership. From a commercial perspective, the drivers are the same, it is just how we choose to spend those profits that is different. To me, leadership involves change. There are a lot of people who label themselves as leaders who are really managers. In truth, they are managing the status quo rather than genuinely driving innovation. That distinction is critical. A manager oversees what exists, while a leader sets an innovation agenda. Unless there’s an innovation agenda, I don’t believe you are a leader.

Tell us about the organisation you head up

Run Against Violence Inc is a social enterprise that is driving innovation in the community-led primary prevention of domestic and family violence. Our purpose is clear and urgent. We are implementing a two-pronged strategy to achieve a goal of zero DFV. The first is the Broken Hill to Sydney Team Challenge, an annual national event that mobilises communities towards eliminating domestic and family violence. This initiative combines endurance, awareness, and community energy into one large-scale effort.

The second is Zero DFV, a community facilitation programme that unifies community efforts and builds community capabilities to eliminate domestic and family violence. Both elements of the strategy focus on prevention, empowerment, and innovation. Each prong of the strategy strengthens the other, with large-scale visibility matched by community-level skill building. The ambition is big: zero domestic and family violence, achieved by collective, community-driven change.

I go for a horse ride. I go for a run. I go into my garden. I go exploring. For me, unwinding is always about movement and connection with nature. Sometimes I intend to go for a little walk and then end up exploring and finding a way over the mountain back into town. That sense of curiosity and discovery is part of how I recharge. Even when a walk turns into hours of adventure, it is part of the joy of unwinding.


Ed Krutsch  |  @ProBonoNews

Ed Krutsch works part-time for Pro Bono Australia and is also an experienced youth organiser and advocate, he is currently the national director of the youth democracy organisation, Run For It.


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