With a backdrop of blue skies and birdsong, we were welcomed to Country by Djirri Djirri, Wurundjeri women’s dance group. Wurundjeri woman and Traditional Owner Mandy Nicholson shared with us four layers of Wurundjeri Country, from Below Country to Sky Country before the group shared several traditional dances.

Our first session was hosted by Aunty Stephanie Armstrong, a Gamilaraay-Bigambul woman and educator. Aunty Steph spoke about how storytelling is the way First Nations people connect, build relationships and create healing.

Three key take aways were:

1. The importance of being true to your values in the life you live, the work you do and the stories you tell. When you tell stories that align to your values, no one can pull you up.
2. Deep reflection will put you on the right path: consider what you want your life to stand for, and how you want to live in this world, knowing your time is limited.
3. We need humility to truly listen. Humility is the constant willingness to learn, respecting the courage of the stories women are sharing with you and acknowledging that there is a lot of work to do. Cultural humility means working together with First Nations women in a way that is culturally safe to them.

After morning tea, we heard Safe and Equal Board Chair Maria Dimopoulos in conversation with Wollithiga woman and Djirra Deputy CEO Antionette Gentile alongside Safe and Equal CEO Tania Farha. The discussion centred around how the non-Aboriginal family violence sector can partner with Aboriginal women in a way that reflects mutual benefit and upholds Aboriginal self-determination. Antoinette and Tania reflected on their personal experiences and learnings that have arisen from the partnership between Djirra and Safe and Equal.

Three key take aways were:

1. Antoinette highlighted how non-Aboriginal organisations often want to take from ACCOs. They constantly ask “Can you help us with this? Can you input into that?” but they need to actually walk with ACCOs on the journey.
2. Genuine partnerships take a long time to establish. People shouldn’t just come to Aboriginal people and organisations when they need something. Instead, they should start building a meaningful relationship early. Tania highlighted how when partnering with Djirra, Safe and Equal invested in establishing a dedicated role for someone from Safe and Equal’s team to listen, learn and coordinate this work from within Djirra. This put the onus on Safe and Equal to observe and learn, rather than the women at Djirra to teach.
3. Tania highlighted the importance for non-Aboriginal allies in the sector to lean into discomfort, be brave and learn from their mistakes. Unless you try you won’t learn – getting it wrong is how you learn and move forward.

After lunch and a wander through the Milarri Garden Trail, we reconvened with Skye Gooch, proud Aboriginal woman and Manager of Djirra’s Individual Support Service, and Louise Simms, Executive Director of Policy, Communications and Engagement at Safe and Equal. Skye and Louise reflected on the process of developing a sector Commitment to Action for non-Aboriginal family violence services.

Three key take aways were:

1. Upholding self-determination means giving Aboriginal people the right to choice and safety. They get to choose whether they seek support from an ACCO or non-Aboriginal service, but they should always receive a culturally safe response no matter which service they choose.
2. Moving at a pace of trust means to work alongside someone, building rapport, and not trying to rush towards milestones or deliverables. It’s not about just trying to tick a box – services must respond to the individual needs of victim survivors. ACCOs recognise that each family has different needs and that responses need to be tailored accordingly. This is something non-Aboriginal services need to strive for.
3. Non-Aboriginal services must remain accountable to First Nations people, communities and organisations in their work to strengthen cultural responsiveness. Only First Nations people can tell us if this work is effective.

Wurundjeri and Ngu rai Illum Wurrung woman and Deputy Chair of Yoorrook Justice Commission, Sue-Anne Hunter spoke to us about how Whiteness is invisibly and strategically embedded within the family violence sector, and our entire society. A tool of colonisation, used to justify and erase violence against non-white communities, Whiteness requires explicit and visible attention within efforts to address harm against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. You can read more in the paper Sue-Anne co-authored on Whiteness in social work here: The Maintenance of the Dominance of Whiteness in Australian Social Work.

Three key take aways were:

1. Whiteness is not a reference to skin tone alone; it is the norm, a set of unnamed cultural practices. It’s how White people can do and say what they please and get away with it. It’s how our systems are set up through a White lens, in ways that serve White people but aren’t culturally safe for Aboriginal people. It means First Nations people become an “other”. If we don’t tackle Whiteness, we leave White privilege untackled.
2. Sue-Anne spoke about common experiences faced by First Nations women including being labelled as the “angry Black woman”, being told to give “nicer” feedback, having “white tears” take the focus away from Aboriginal experiences, the silencing of Aboriginal voices and the constant ask for “trauma porn”.
3. Sue-Anne invited us to reflect and discuss at our tables the ways that our work upholds and reinforces Whiteness, and the ways that we could disrupt this in our work and communities. This was an uncomfortable and courageous conversation and one we must continue having as a sector.

We wrapped up our day with powerful discussions around each table, facilitated by Skye Gooch and Louise Simms. Guests explored key practices and insights from the day to determine ways we can collectively work that uphold self-determination, bring cultural humility, disrupt
Whiteness and move at the pace of trust.

Three key take aways were:

1. Non-Aboriginal services need to acknowledge that the systems and structures are racist. All practitioners are part of that system and must resist it, constantly. non-Aboriginal services must be disobedient in a way that shakes the system up. Workers are responsible to victim survivors, not the department.
2. Self-determination means being led by Aboriginal people, because they know how to take care of themselves. As service providers, we need to walk beside them, and respect that they are expert in their own lives. We are not here to dictate – we are here to listen and advocate. In the workplace, self-determination might be asking Aboriginal colleagues what programs and processes should look like or having local Aboriginal women in key positions in management and governance.
3. In recognising that each person and family has individual needs, non-Aboriginal organisations need to be flexible, creative and dynamic with their responses. ACCOs tailor their services to meet individual women’s and families’ needs, and support them on their journeys.

Before we departed to enjoy the rest of the sunny afternoon, Tania Farha shared her top take aways from the forum.

She highlighted the increasing recognition within non-Aboriginal organisations that more needs to be done, and an increasing desire to do better. She drew from her yarn with Antoinette to reiterate the importance of strong partnerships in ensuring non-Aboriginal organisations are culturally responsive. She called on non-Aboriginal leaders to address systemic racism and call it out.

The overarching message was that the sector is committed to action and story of change to support and uphold self-determination – standing beside Aboriginal people, bringing humility, disrupting Whiteness and moving at the pace of trust.

by Tania Farha, CEO, Safe and Equal

Before we discuss the effectiveness of different approaches to preventing and stopping violence, it’s important to note that the official statistics quoted are just the tip of the iceberg. For many years, the family violence-related deaths of women, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, have either not been recognised or counted consistently. The true numbers are much higher. There is also little recognition of injury and disability that is so often the result of this violence. These include acquired brain injury, early onset dementia, and substance abuse, some of which result from coercion or medication. Children are being subjected to years of suffering and trauma, affecting them for the rest of their lives and in some cases, perpetuating the cycle of violence as they become adults. The number of children killed and injured by perpetrators of family violence are also undercounted. The harm is endless, and often intergenerational.

So, what is the best way to stop this? As a peak body, Safe and Equal works across the continuum of family violence from primary prevention to early intervention, to response and recovery. We know these pillars do not operate in siloes and we must work across all areas at the same time. We work from the evidence base built over years of research from local and international experience and best practice. Unfortunately, there is no single best way to stop or prevent family violence. A comprehensive approach is the only way, starting at primary prevention, all the way through to recovery from violence. This comprehensive approach forms the basis of every United Nations resolution and outcome on violence against women and gender-based violence.

Primary prevention aims to stop this violence from happening in the first place. This means using the evidence base to address the drivers, including gendered drivers, that lead to individuals believing that the use of violence is okay. These attitudes and beliefs are reinforced by societal institutions and systems that support the perpetuation of violent behaviour against women and gender-diverse people. When it comes to gender-based violence, in almost every culture across the world, it is mainly men hurting women and children or those that don’t conform to the rigid gender stereotypes that define our societies. Gender remains a defining factor in this form of violence. This does not mean that there aren’t other things that influence these attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Racism, homophobia, transphobia, agism and ablism amongst other forms of oppression, all impact and increase this experience of gender-based violence.

Violent behaviour is also exacerbated by other factors, including the excessive consumption of alcohol. We have also seen the rise of harmful online pornography and other factors. Whilst these other factors aren’t necessarily the key drivers behind violent behaviour, it is critical that we recognise and address them. In most cases, people don’t hurt or kill women, children or gender diverse people just because they’ve had too much to drink. The attitudes and beliefs that underlie gender-based violence are already entrenched in these people. The consequences of all these factors, however, can significantly impact the nature and severity of violence or perpetuate the attitudes and beliefs that underpin it, so it is important to look at ways to mitigate these impacts.

Just as there is more than one driver of violence against women and gender-based violence, there is more than one way to grapple with the drivers of that violence. The evidence base for primary prevention of violence against women, Change the Story, works across many of these issues and recognition of this is certainly embedded in community based and community led prevention programs. It recognises that we must work across government, organisations, and individuals. Working with workplaces, educational environments, and the places people socialise, is critical to changing social norms.

Primary prevention is vital if we are to build a society that is free of family and gender-based violence. But sadly, because we do not live in a violence free society, primary prevention alone is not enough. Social change of this magnitude takes a long time – and we know this because we have seen it happen with smoking and road safety. We know from these examples, however, that you must remain diligent and focused, or you can lose ground. These areas continue to receive heavy investment and yet we have seen the health impacts of vaping replace smoking, and road fatalities rise recently to the highest they have been for a while.

Primary prevention of gender-based violence does not receive the same amount of funding as these issues, particularly community led and grassroots based prevention programs. We need more investment to ensure we can continue our efforts to stop it from happening at all, but given we have to deal with the violence in the here and now, we also need more and better early intervention efforts. We need to identify the risks of violent behaviour as early as possible and prevent it from escalating. We need family and friends to recognise signs of family violence and know where their local services are. We need to give people the tools to have safe conversations with those they think are at risk and help them get the support they need. Many people are caught in a generational cycle of violence and do not know that they have the right to live free from this violence.

Universal services like health and education are accessed by almost everyone in Australia. Workers in these industries must be able to identify and refer people who appear to be at risk to appropriate support services. We need more extensive support for children experiencing family violence, not only to keep them safe, but to address the trauma of their experiences. This helps them to live healthy and fulfilling lives and plays a vital role in breaking the inter-generational cycle of violence, helping to ensure that they don’t become caught in this cycle. Supports for children and young people are not adequate and nor are they sustained. Often children receive short-term assistance with services which are not funded or resourced adequately to provide an ongoing response to any victim survivor.

We need more sustainable and holistic funding for the frontline specialist services that work with survivors of all ages. We need them to be funded for crisis, response and formal recovery support – this means support to rebuild survivors’ lives after violence with dignity, to reduce the risk of social isolation and poverty, and to ensure they are not at risk of future violence. Specialist family violence, sexual violence and legal frontline services, including those that are community led, are saving lives everyday – they can stop violence escalating and they can prevent death and further harm.

We need more effective perpetrator interventions. We need to better understand what is effective in engaging men and others using violence to change their behaviour. This work is both complex and nuanced – one approach does not suit all. We know that for many complex reasons, the justice system will not be the only solution for these individuals but where police and the justice system are appropriate, then they must be fair and trauma-informed for victim survivors. We need the family court to better understand the dynamics of family violence and place the safety of victim survivors and their children as the primary factor when making decisions in relation to separation – one of the most dangerous and high-risk times for victim survivors of family violence.

Which approach work best? All of them, everywhere and all the time. If we only focus on one thing, we will miss the opportunity to intervene at all points along the spectrum. This is not acceptable. We should stop trying to work out which is the more effective approach, because we know that they are all effective in different circumstances and contexts. We must work together to make sure all aspects are funded at a larger scale and supported by all levels of Government. This must be done in a consistent way across the country. Simultaneously, it should be done in a way that allows the opportunity for different community-led organisations to work within their communities to ensure the outcomes we are looking for are realised in a way that works for them. Everyone who works in this space – academics, practitioners, victim survivors, commentators and other experts, all have important things to say. Only through collective knowledge, collaboration and respectful discussions can we get where we need to, to stop this from happening. Nothing about this is simple or quick but it does require us to harness our collective knowledge, expertise and influence and to work together! At Safe and Equal, and we celebrate and invite collaboration.

– Witness statement of Melissa Brown, Royal Commission into Family Violence¹

Women with disabilities are particularly at risk of violence because of their experience of discrimination on the basis of both disability and gender. Research shows that women with disabilities experience violence at a higher rate and for longer periods of time than women without disabilities². In fact, over one-third of women with disabilities experience some form of intimate partner violence³. They also encounter significant barriers to receiving appropriate services and adequate justice responses to their experiences of violence⁴.

In cases where the woman’s intimate partner is her carer, reporting the violence means she faces losing disability supports in addition to experiencing violence. Moving to ensure safety has more implications for women with disabilities than for other women; it can mean changing support providers and requiring assistance to manage a new environment. Despite the greater risk of family violence and the level of supports required, women with disabilities are under-represented in the family violence system.

Since 2011, the Disability Family Violence Crisis Response Initiative (DFVCRI) has provided immediate crisis supports to women and children with a disability who are experiencing family violence. These practical supports include attendant care, equipment hire, Auslan interpreters and transport costs associated with a disability.

As Melissa Brown’s witness statement above to the Royal Commission into Family Violence (RCFV) demonstrates, access to the DFVCRI has been limited. In some cases, the woman’s disability didn’t fit the narrow definition in the Victorian Disability Act (2006) in others, increased awareness of the Initiative could have helped.

Fortunately, the RCFV recognised the need to make a specific recommendation to extend eligibility to a wider group of women and children whose disability fell outside the Act⁵. As a result, the DFVCRI can now assist women and children who are experiencing family violence and have disability related needs including mental health, chronic health or ageing issues or have a temporary injury resulting from family violence.

The fund was created due to a recognition that disability services are not designed to respond to crisis needs. While Victoria’s new Flexible Support Packages support disability services to respond to family violence needs, they can’t offer the dedicated disability advice and liaison available through the DFVCRI.

The Disability and Family Violence Liaison Officer is located at Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre, and can help workers across the state assess whether a woman or child’s experience falls within the extended criteria for immediate supports. They can also provide secondary consultation and advise about longer term disability supports after the 12 week period, including flexible support packages. 

More information

Disability and Family Violence Liaison Officer, Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre

• 1800 015 188 (24 hours a day, seven days a week)
• Learn more about Safe Steps’ Disability Support.

Short-term funds can be provided for up to 12 weeks to a maximum of $9,000 per person. During this period, a family violence worker will work with the woman to develop a longer term plan to address the family violence risk.

1: http://www.rcfv.com.au/MediaLibraries/RCFamilyViolence/Statements/WIT-00… 2: Woodlock D, Healey L, Howe K, McGuire M, Geddes V and Granek S: Voices Against Violence Paper One: Summary Report and Recommendations (Women with Disabilities Victoria, Office of the Public Advocate and Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, 2014): 3-4: Ibid; 5: Recommendation 178 states that “the Victorian Government extend eligibility for the Victorian Disability Family Violence Crisis Response to assist people with disabilities who are victims of family violence and are not eligible for services under the Disability Act 2006 (Vic) but who nevertheless require assistance. Such eligibility should apply when these individuals do not have access to alternative supports.” 

This op-ed was published in Council to Homeless Persons’ Parity: “Safe at Home” March 2023 Edition.

Author: Louise Simms, Executive Director – Policy, Communications and Engagement

Family violence is unique in the community services context. It is the only social issue whereby the agent of risk is another person; someone who is actively making choices to cause others to experience fear and danger. Perpetrators use violence to gain and maintain power and control, and they adapt their tactics based on the strategies victim survivors put in place to protect themselves. 

This is the operating context for family violence services – we call it ‘dynamic risk’. The role of the family violence system is to identify, assess and manage family violence risk. To do this effectively, our systemic responses should be just as dynamic.

With no two individual experiences of family violence the same, service responses – including Safe at Home responses – must be flexible to meet people wherever they are on their journey to safety. This flexibility, and the restoration of agency and choice, is critical for victim survivors’ long-term recovery. 

But what does it mean to truly meet a victim survivor where they are? 

While all experiences of family violence are different, something all victim survivors can relate to is the erosion of their sense of self. This kind of abuse chips away at a person’s autonomy and their ability to make decisions – something that can take years to rebuild, long after the immediate threat has been resolved. Many victim survivors talk about the experience of having a perpetrator tightly control or remove every possible freedom in their lives, and the impact this has on their confidence and their capacity to leave an abusive relationship and regain independence. When a service system is inflexible and unable to provide choice or autonomy for its users, it mimics the power and control of family violence and can make it very difficult for victim survivors to feel safe and secure. 

In many ways, this replication of a ‘power over’ dynamic and removal of individual agency is embedded in the way our family violence system is structured and funded. The system is focused on minimising risk and is not set up to restore choice and autonomy as a priority. Most policymakers have never accessed the systems they design, and the result is a system that does not respond to victim survivors as experts in their own needs and safety – something we must consistently challenge if we want to see change. 

One of the ways we can do this is by expanding the approaches available to enable victim survivors to remain safe in their own homes, if this is what they want to do. How we do this can look incredibly different – it can mean safety and security adaptations and so much more. For example, it could be creating opportunities for financial literacy and supporting access to employment, because, as we know, financial and economic stability is crucial for a victim survivor’s recovery from abuse. It could be ongoing, long-term counselling, or increased access to legal support. 

Systemic and structural barriers exist across the family violence service landscape, including within Safe at Home responses. Programs can only do so much to keep victim survivors safe and hold perpetrators accountable without a whole-of-system effort to bring together a wide range of community services, as well as police and justice responses all working towards a common goal. Part of this is the recognition that what enables a Safe at Home response looks different for everybody. 

Anything the service system can do to restore a victim survivor’s sense of agency in their safety and recovery is valuable and should be prioritised. Much of this can be supported by meaningful engagement with people’s lived experiences of family violence and of accessing support services. By embedding lived expertise in system and service design, we can shift to a ‘power with’ approach, remain accountable and identify areas for improvement, while also creating opportunities for victim survivors to engage with the system as consultants, advocates and leaders. 

Agency, autonomy and choice are key elements in someone’s recovery from family violence. When, at its core, a family violence system does not view those who use it as the experts in their own safety needs, it renders victim survivors unable to make decisions about their lives and hinders an integral component of their recovery. 

Family violence is complex, and the way we respond to it requires nuance and a long-term, concerted effort from our service system via a wide range of responses. Safe at Home responses are an integral part of this, though they are by no means the only response. We need to view being ‘safe at home’ as a guiding principle that informs the structure of our family violence system, one that is equipped to provide flexible and tailored responses that centre the expertise and agency of all victim survivors. 

From Kalina Morgan-Whyman, CEO, Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women’s Service Inc. 

It has never been more important for Aboriginal women and children to have allies in our ongoing efforts to advocate for their human rights. The statistics are shocking: 

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 5 times more likely to be victims of homicide than other Australian women. More than half (55 per cent) of these homicides are related to family violence.    
• Aboriginal women constitute 34% of the female prison population and are only 2% of the general population.    
• 87% of Victorian Aboriginal women in prison are themselves a victim of sexual, physical or emotional abuse.  
• Aboriginal children are taken from their families by child services at 8 times the rate of non-indigenous children.   

Getting help is difficult because of a lack of cultural appropriateness in many services, and fears from Aboriginal women that access to support leads to interacting with a system that would remove their child or lead to further violence. Everyday, our case workers are supporting women and children through a system that discriminates and further traumatises them. Aboriginal women and children need culturally appropriate services so they are safe and can heal.  

We are seeing how Aboriginal women are treated in the news at the moment, with the latest coronial enquiry into an Aboriginal woman’s death in custody. We hear stories of a lack of medical care and inhumane treatment all the time. Aboriginal women incarcerated in Victoria receive grossly inadequate healthcare. This failure is causing preventable and treatable illnesses to become chronic, and in too many cases, is directly resulting in the deaths of Aboriginal women.  

There must be change. 

Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women’s Service (EMH) is Aboriginal-led, for Aboriginal women and children. We remain the only high-security refuge for Aboriginal women in the state, with accommodation for just four families at one time – not nearly enough to accommodate the referrals received.  

EMH is committed to advancing the International Human Rights principles for our women and their children. The safety of women is paramount, and we seek to address power, systems, structure, gendered inequality and discrimination that exists and impacts our Aboriginal women. 

EMH is taking up the challenge with an ambitious agenda to provide leadership in this space. There are ways you can help: 

Donate to us here: https://www.givenow.com.au/elizabethmorganhouse.  

Add Aboriginal women’s voices to your work – contact us to find out how.  

Follow us across social media and help spread the message that Aboriginal are strong, resilient, wise and brave. Reach out to find more ways to partner with us. 

www.emhaws.org.au/get-involved  

Fast Track is an intensive leadership program that helps professionals in the prevention and response sectors advance their careers by building skills in leadership, advocacy, partnerships and program design. 

A cohort of 21 professionals completed the course in round 3, with representatives from Berry Street, Centre Against Violence, Drummond Street Services, Elizabeth Morgan House Aboriginal Women’s Services (EMH), Family Life, Good Shepherd Australia New Zealand, Safe Steps, WAYSS Ltd, and WRISC Family Violence Support.  

The end-of-program forum was a great success, attended by Fast Track participants, mentors, and staff from Family Safety Victoria and Safe and Equal. The forum opened with a discussion between Tania Farha and participants around leadership, what participants valued from the program, and future hopes for leadership within the sector. Each participant then presented the workplace project logic they had designed during the program. The learning outcomes covered in each weekly module alongside the mentorship program supported participants to identify and design their projects, the presentation of which showcased the hard work invested and the strengthened capacity of participants. 

Workplace projects presented included: 

• A project to connect each Aboriginal Team within the Orange Doors, to improve referral pathways and strengthen connections between teams across Victoria 
• An audit to understand the type of barriers services face to effective and timely collaboration, followed by the implementation of targeted interventions to address these barriers (such as networking events and cross-sector meetings), and the development of processes for a formal feedback loop to monitor and review these barriers and interventions  
• A project to encourage greater contribution from all team members in meetings, not just from management. This project aimed to address the need for a healthy, positive team culture where staff feel safe and supported to speak up and share ideas.  

Forum attendees were very impressed with all workplace project presentations, with Family Safety Victoria and the Safe and Equal Practice Development Advisor expressing interest in staying updated on the programs’ status and outcomes. 

– Fast Track response program participant

This was the final funded response round for 2022, and upcoming courses are yet to be confirmed. You can add yourself to the waitlist for future Fast Track programs or for other potential leadership development opportunities here.  

Victoria’s revised State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP) 

The SEMP details the state emergency management arrangements for the mitigation of, response to, and recovery from emergencies. It informs all levels of planning across Victoria – state, regional and municipal.  

The 2021 Review was undertaken across a six-month period and included comprehensive engagement with the emergency management sector, government departments and supporting agencies. 

The SEMP Roles and Responsibilities document (linked below) lists an extensive range of emergency and disaster support including fire, flood, and animal welfare. 

The State Emergency Management Plan Roles and Responsibilities is a web-based section of the State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP) which includes a detailed Roles and Responsibilities section.  

The Victorian Government has launched a new Emergency Recovery Resource Portal (ERRP) 

The new portal provides emergency recovery guidance and information for practitioners from communities and agencies supporting recovery in Victoria. 

Over 50 resources from a wide range of sources are now available in the ERRP, to inform and guide recovery activities and decision making. Greater access to these resources will better enable community-led recovery and resilience practices. 

The portal is part of the Victorian Government’s response to the Inspector General for Emergency Management (IGEM). It was co-created by people and practitioners from across government and the community. 

We encourage our members to share the table below with their local community or clients, particularly in the lead-up to bushfire season in Victoria. An additional resource produced by Better Health Channel in consultation with The Department of Health outlines services that you can call for immediate help1. 

In an emergency, always call triple zero (000) on any phone that has reception, even if the phone is locked you can drag the ‘Emergency SOS’ slider to call emergency services. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, dial 106 to use the text-based emergency services network on a teletypewriter.  

This year, Safe and Equal partnered with Respect Victoria to award 113 grants of $1200 to a wide range of community organisations, who delivered activities and events designed to engage their communities in preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Some of the amazing examples of how these community organisations applied their grant funding include: 

We would like to extend our enormous gratitude to all who have been instrumental in making this campaign happen. Thank you to Respect Victoria for their funding and guidance, as well as to our Project Advisory Group members (Municipal Association of Victoria, No to Violence, Women’s Health Services Council and Victorian Council of Social Services) for their advice, expertise and support, which helped make this year’s campaign a success. 

It has been a big year, and an immensely challenging one at that. We recognise that many of you have been working within a sector that has been disproportionately impacted by the unforeseen challenges of a global pandemic, whilst balancing lockdowns, caring responsibilities and redirected work priorities, amongst many other uncertainties.  

We’d like to thank each and every one of you for the enthusiasm, creativity and commitment demonstrated during this year’s 16 Days of Activism campaign. Your collective efforts are the driving force for change, and we are so thrilled to be working alongside you towards these common goals. 

Image provided by Didi Bahini Samaj

Why did you join the Fast Track Program?

I wanted to deepen my knowledge and expand my family violence prevention practice with a group of supportive likeminded professionals.

What have been the key takeaways from Fast Track for you?

Fast Track allowed me the space and time to reflect on core components of family violence prevention and focus on how to put this evidence base into practice. My favourite session was focussing on Intersectionality, where I was provided additional tools and resources to ensure it is prioritised in my work. I also loved the extensive list of resources available and the opportunity to work alongside a great group of people across the sector. The mentorship program was an added bonus!

Since starting Fast Track, how do you think you’ve developed as a practitioner?

This program enabled me to consolidate my learnings and strengthen the theory that supports my work. It has provided an opportunity for me to learn from experts and think about how to apply learnings into my own practice. I have also loved the mentor process in which I have space and time to really dissect and discuss some of the more nuanced complexities in this work.

What’s next for you?

I am very excited to be working with a team to develop the City of Casey’s new Gender Equality and Family Violence Prevention Strategy. I am looking forward to embedding the learnings and resources from the Fast Track course into its development.

What advice do you have for someone new to primary prevention?

Prevention work is inspiring, diverse, challenging, and empowering. However, we are playing the long game. Change takes time so celebrate small successes and look after yourself along the way. Build and utilise networks, have patience, and also have a sense of humour.

Learn more about the Fast Track program here.

Why did you join the Fast Track Program?

I felt I had reached a level in my current practice where I had adequate skills and experience to move into a leadership role within the sector. The Fast Track intensive leadership program, is one of its kind as it is tailored to the Family Violence Sector and suited my professional development needs. The program provided the unique opportunity to be linked with an experienced specialist mentor for the duration of the program and offered regular expert presenters who shared knowledge and insights relevant to program sessions. I found the duration and times set for the program attractive as it was manageable whilst I continued to work full time.

What have you been able to achieve since completing the Fast Track program?

I was successful in my application for a leadership role as the Family Violence & Disability Practice Leader at Berry Street. As part of my final assessment, I developed a Program Logic which I presented to our Practice Development Team who were supportive of implementation.

I have developed my thinking in relation to engagement with external organisations and utilise this knowledge to promote and advocate inclusive practice for people experiencing family violence and sexual assault with lived experience of disability.

I have also put into practice my learnings regarding the importance of data collection and developed processes to collect and collate data.

Since starting Fast Track, how do you think you’ve grown as a leader?

My confidence has grown, and I understand how to advocate on behalf of myself, my team, programs, and people in the community using evidence and data. I have been able to consider how to implement frameworks and models in my current role as Family Violence and Disability Practice Leader and promote capacity building within Specialist Family Violence and Sexual Assault Services.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

I am excited about my future and what I will achieve. The Fast Track intensive leadership program has provided me with a strong foundation around feminist leadership, policy and partnerships to compliment my practice experience. I am very grateful I had the opportunity to complete the program.

I highly recommend anyone considering an application to the Fast Track intensive leadership program to apply. The facilitators are experienced, and the delivery of the program is thoughtful. There are numerous learning opportunities covering various topics. Fast Track delivered a safe space to share expertise, resources, insight, thoughts and challenges between participants, facilitators and guest speakers. Each person contributed invaluable insight to support our learning and the connections made between participants was an added bonus!

Learn more about the Fast Track program here.

For more than three decades, Domestic Violence Victoria (DV Vic) and the Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria (DVRCV) have been two key organisations in the establishment and coordination of the specialist family violence sector in Victoria.   

In 2019, the Boards of both DV Vic and DVRCV identified the possibility of a merger to further strengthen our capacity to support systems reform and connect strengths and resources for greater impact.  

After comprehensive consultation with staff, members and other stakeholders, the Boards and members of DV Vic and DVRCV voted to merge in March 2020, representing an exciting new chapter in the extensive histories of both organisations. 

On 17 November 2021, we launched our new visionary name and brand with our Board, members, key stakeholders and partners. Combining over thirty years of experience in advocacy and innovation for change in the family violence sector, DV Vic and DVRCV are proud to unite as Safe and Equal, the peak body for specialist family violence services supporting victim survivors in Victoria.   

“Following the Royal Commission into Family Violence, the Victorian specialist family violence sector has been subject to major and ongoing reforms,” said Safe and Equal Chair Stacey Ong.  

Safe and Equal will continue to work with practitioners and leaders to bring grassroots issues into the public arena, coordinate and participate in advocacy and action to reform policy and improve the service system, and scale up and embed practice development and innovation across the sector.   

“The roles of DV Vic and DVRCV have always been highly complementary, with closely aligned visions, purpose and values, and frequent collaboration in advocacy and campaigning,” said Safe and Equal CEO Tania Farha.

The new name, Safe and Equal, was selected after extensive consultation and feedback from victim survivors. It is a bold statement in support of the organisation’s vision: a world beyond family and gender-based violence, where women, children and all people from marginalised communities are safe, thriving and respected.  

Visit our new website at www.safeandequal.org.au.   

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that the following video may contain images of people who have died.

To commemorate Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day we spoke to Rebeca ‘Bec’ Carro, a member of DV Vic/DVRCV’s Expert Advisory Panel who has experienced pregnancy and infant loss. Bec is an experienced survivor advocate, published writer and campaigner. Since the Royal Commission into Family Violence, Bec’s advocacy experience includes TV appearances, radio hosting, roundtables, public speaking engagements, as well as federal and state campaigns. Recently, Bec was part of a successful campaign that saw a national legislative change to maternity/paternity leave in recognition of stillborns.

When Bec first started dating her perpetrator in 2005, their relationship moved quickly. After moving in together, the physical and emotional abuse started almost straight away. Six months in, Bec was surprised to find herself pregnant. She later found out her perpetrator was routinely sabotaging her birth control methods – a form of reproductive abuse.

As Bec’s pregnancy progressed, so did the violence – until seven months into her pregnancy she was rushed to hospital. Devastatingly, her baby had passed away.

Bec is not alone in her experience. According to the Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (MARAM), family violence often commences or intensifies during pregnancy and is associated with increased rates of miscarriage, low birth weight, premature birth, foetal injury and death. Data collected from the 2012 Australian Bureau of Statistics Personal Safety Survey indicated that over 400,000 women in Australia had experienced violence by a partner during pregnancy.

Family violence during pregnancy is widely regarded as a significant indicator of future harm and for this reason, it is listed in the MARAM as one of the evidence-based risk factors that may indicate an increased risk of a victim being killed or almost killed. For Bec, this risk was very real. The violence and coercive control continued after the loss of her baby, and she found herself terrified to fall pregnant again due to the risk of significant harm from her perpetrator.

Bec endured 10 years of ongoing and escalating abuse, making multiple attempts to leave the relationship until she was able to escape for good in 2015.

In 2019 Bec met her current partner, Steve. He provided a sense of safety and stability she had not experienced in a relationship before. When Bec fell pregnant in her 40s with twins, she felt ready again. Things seemed perfect.

Tragically in June of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bec’s babies were stillborn.

Desperate for answers, Bec was devastated to learn the autopsy was inconclusive. Feeling lost and unsure how to work through her grief and trauma, Bec started researching stillborns in Australia. She found that every day in Australia, 6 babies are stillborn each day – a statistic that has remained relatively unchanged since 1999. In 2018, there were 9.2 perinatal deaths for every 1,000 births.

Despite the statistics, Bec found losing her twins – a boy and a girl who she named Isaac and Grace – was an incredibly lonely experience.

Bec felt a distinct lack of support and awareness both times, but particularly during her first experience in 2005 when the links between pregnancy and infant loss and family violence were not as commonly known by practitioners.

Bec feels strongly that the ongoing trauma she experienced as a result of family violence may have contributed to her later pregnancy loss – a risk factor she believes needs more research and focus. Another gap is the lack of a specialist, targeted network or service within the family violence sector to support women who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss. Despite pregnancy being one of the most high-risk times for women to experience death or serious harm from family violence, no such service exists.

More than anything, Bec hopes her story can help others who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss to realise they are not alone. She hopes by sharing her story and advocating for change, it will help reduce the shame associated with both family violence and losing a child.

Bec’s advice for family and friends who are unsure how to approach the subject? Be kind, and approach with empathy and understanding. Don’t ask whether they want to ‘try again’ – acknowledge the loss and offer support. Above all – normalise the conversation. For Bec, the silence surrounding pregnancy and infant loss makes it impossible to move past the grief.

The United Nation’s international campaign – 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence – takes place each year from 25 November (International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women) until 10 December (International Human Rights Day). Learn more about the origins of 16 Days here.  

Since 2019, Respect Victoria has delivered their 16 Days of Activism campaign supported by local councils and community organisations across the state. This year’s theme is Respect Women: Call It Out (Respect Is), encouraging Victorians to call out sexism and harmful gender stereotypes, in order to prevent violence and create a more safe and equal society. Check out last year’s campaign on the Respect Victoria website. 

Expanding community conversations 

To support the delivery of the 16 Days of Activism initiative, Respect Victoria is funding DV Vic/DVRCV to connect and build the capacity of community organisations and local councils to engage with the campaign.  

– Respect Victoria Acting CEO Amy Prendergast 

This year’s campaign is supported by a cross-sector Project Advisory Group with members the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), No to Violence (NTV), Victorian Council of Social Services (VCOSS), and the Women’s Health Services Council. 

– DV Vic/DVRCV CEO Tania Farha 

Start planning your 16 Days campaign 

DV Vic/DVRCV is hosting a range of capacity-building activities available to all councils and community organisations interested in engaging with the campaign, including weekly newsletter updates, a Prevention & Communications Helpdesk, online events to support 16 Days campaign engagement, and a resource kit 

Grassroots initiative support fund 

A series of small grants will be distributed by DV Vic/DVRCV to Victorian community organisations and councils, to develop and promote local initiatives and engage audiences across the state. The support fund aims to reinforce the existing collaborations with local councils and organisations, while also strengthening the campaign’s reach and inclusivity with tailored communications and supports.  

With 95 applications already approved, you still have time to submit an application to our call for funding! Get in quick, as grants are awarded until all funding is allocated. Start your application here. 

Upcoming webinars 

DV Vic/DVRCV will facilitate two webinars to provide both support fund recipients and community organisations with practical advice, ideas, tips and a forum to discuss how to run successful 16 Days of Activism campaigns.

Planning your 16 Days of Activism Campaign 

Our first webinar, held on Wednesday 27 October 2:00 – 3:30 pm, will provide practical advice on how to run a successful campaign, including tips on managing inclusion and accessibility, and how to engage local leaders in discussions about primary prevention of gender-based violence.

16 Days of Activism – Online Campaigns and Managing Resistance 

The second online event, held on Wednesday 3 November 2:00 – 3:30 pm, will dive into how to run an engaging and successful 16 Days of Activism campaign in the online environment and feature a deep dive into encountering resistance in online spaces.

Register here for our upcoming events, or to learn more about the 16 Days of Activism, visit our website.

The Prevention and Communications Helpdesk 

Subscribe here to receive regular email updates with case studies of participating council and community organisation activities ahead of and during the 16 Days of Activism. For any queries on the 16 Days of Activism Initiative, reach out to our Prevention and Communications Help Desk by emailing prevention@dvvic.org.au.

However, much of the meaningful discussion occurred outside of the formal program, instead taking place in the lead up, surrounding and post the Summit itself. The message, however, is clear, a little less conversation, a little more action is what is required to make tangible steps towards ending family, sexual and gender-based violence.  

Tania Farha, CEO of DV Vic/DVRCV attended the Summit as the Victorian delegate and shares the sentiment that the time for action is now. You can read more about Tania’s experience and thoughts surrounding the event in her recap here.

Fair Agenda – Joint Statement 

Leaders in family violence and survivor advocates have responded to the Women’s Safety Summit in a joint statement that has been endorsed by survivor advocates and some of Australia’s leading organisations. Along with the statement are twelve calls for action that hundreds of organisations and thousands of individuals across the country have come together to support. The twelve calls for action are only a starting point for government commitments but are deemed critical for the next National Plan. 

We are in a moment of national reckoning, in which survivors have spoken out and shone a spotlight on gender-based violence. This moment demands national leadership.

DV Vic/DVRCV is proud to join hundreds of organisations and thousands of individuals in the call for transformative action in the next National Plan. Support our joint statement with Fair Agenda here. 

Housing; a clear gap

The Everybody’s Home campaign has written to Prime Minister, Scott Morrison to address the clear gaps when it comes to housing for women and children escaping family violence. The lack of accommodation and access to long-term affordable housing, means many women and children are forced to return to violent homes. They are demanding that more focus, budget and resources be placed on providing women with safe and affordable long-term housing. Backing their demands is a comprehensive report by Equity Economics, No Where to Go shows that the social and societal benefits of providing housing for women far outweigh the cost of the housing itself.  

You can read the full Statement on Housing for Women’s Safety. 

Show your support and act now by signing the petition.

The Summit in the spotlight 

Coverage during and post the Summit has been widespread and further highlighted the thoughts of many survivor advocates and sector organisations, that it’s going to take more than just a two-day summit and well-intentioned words to end family violence in Australia. 

• Domestic violence and homelessness groups in new push for safe and affordable social housing (News.com)
  
• Housing key to women’s safety (ABC News Bulletin)
  
• Platitudes and sentiment at women’s safety summit won’t cut it: when will PM learn? (Katharine Murphy, The Guardian)
• Advocates say government’s women’s summit must address housing ‘crisis’ (The New Daily) 
• Key points from women’s safety summit (The Daily Mail)
  

Survivor advocate’s response to lack of inclusion in an open letter 

The Summit failed to meaningfully include or engage with the expert voices of people with lived experience. There is still a long way to go in creating real, long-term change, particularly amongst our country’s most powerful structures and systems.

The next National Plan must be relevant to everyone in our community. That means listening to and engaging with lived experience in all of its diversity, and recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must lead responses for their communities. Victim survivors of gender-based violence must be involved in decisions that impact upon their lives.

Family Violence Advocate Cathy Oddie‘s blog post includes a powerful open letter from a national collective of victim survivors and survivor advocates.

Statement from Delegates

The panel discussions, along with those conversations had at roundtables, fed into the Statement from Delegates released shortly after the Summit. As the lead delegate for Victoria, I was truly impressed with the strength of responses and feedback I received from the Victorian delegation, the majority of which was incorporated into the final Statement of delegate priorities for the next National Plan. The Statement is more broadly representative of, and articulates, what we know, and what needs to change.

Strength in unity expressed in a joint letter

In a joint letter to the National Federation Reform Council Taskforce on Women’s Safety, some of Australia’s leading peak bodies, advocates and organisations representing and working in specialist family, domestic and sexual violence services have come together to highlight core priorities in the lead up to the next National Plan.  

You can read the joint letter here.

Catch up on the Summit

The virtual event was live-streamed and was accessible to the public over the two days. If you weren’t able to tune in, the highlights can be accessed via the Social Services website.

Can you tell us a bit about your career in the family violence sector? What inspired you to make the move to The Rainbow Door?

My commitment to working in the family violence sector consolidated when I went to work at WIRE, in the role of Training Coordinator. Building upon existing models, I continued to develop and deliver the support worker training course that many people in the family violence sector have completed as a pivotal part of their practical training. Part of that training included the delivery of RTO accredited units Recognise and Respond to Family Violence. I worked as a Team Leader in the phone room and supported the trainees and workers to apply theory to practice. My time working at WIRE developed my understanding of the response system for survivors and highlighted the service and knowledge gaps for marginalised groups, particularly LGBTIQA + communities.

Wanting to bring this knowledge of family violence prevention and response in a very practical way to serve my community, I started working at Switchboard managing the Vic partnership of the Teleweb service Qlife, the national LGBTIQ peer support service in 2018. I played a key role establishing the After-Hours Service of With Respect as part of the LGBTIQA+ specialist family violence service consortia with Thorne Harbour Health, Transgender Victoria and Drummond Street Services.

In June 2020 Switchboard was funded by Family Safety Victoria, Department of Premier and Cabinet and Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to provide a service response to COVID-19. We weren’t sure what was going to happen in terms of COVID-19, but we were acutely aware that family violence and mental health would be key areas that would spike across all communities.

Rainbow Door is a peer-led family violence response that works towards developing pathways with mainstream and LGBTIQA+ services to address gaps and barriers to service access. Combining the extensive family violence and cross sectoral knowledge of our staff, we were able to develop and roll open the Rainbow Door in less than 3 months. It was a phenomenal team effort to provide a service long overdue for our community. It has been busy since day one.

What does a typical day on Rainbow Door look like?

Rainbow Door is a unique helpline service as we have the flexibility and capacity to offer single session work, provide holding support and short-term case management. We work with all ages, genders and sexualities using feminist, non- oppressive, non- racist and intersectional frameworks.

Of note is that our work in family violence and sexual assault can be with either victim survivors or perpetrators of violence. Rainbow Door provides comprehensive Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Management (MARAM) for both victim survivors and those using violence and causing harm. We provide warm referral pathways for continued supports whenever possible.

We assist people with identifying and finding the right mental health counselling for them, LGBTQIA+ where possible, provide resources and referrals, and develop holding support plans until those links to longer-term services are established.

We offer information about housing and homelessness services, connect people with NDIS supports, work with older people experiencing isolation and young people exploring gender and sexuality, and provide secondary consultations for services and individual professionals keen to better support their LGBTQIA+ clients.

“We are aware of the lack of service options for our communities and operate a no wrong door policy. We may not always be able to provide exactly the resources needed because they may not exist, but we always attempt to create alternative options and smooth the way for easier pathways and access to mainstream services.”

What do you find challenging about your role?

Finding enough hours in the day to meet the needs of people in our community to access a service that is culturally safe, timely in its response, and not based in an urban centre. Our communities in regional and rural areas can be extremely isolated and lack of access to appropriate services means they are doubly disadvantaged.

“One of the toughest and most frustrating parts of our work is when supporting cisgender gay, bi, queer men, trans men and non-binary people experiencing family violence and intimate partner violence and trying to access crisis support, and accommodation for them, is a significant challenge.”

Obtaining an appropriate crisis service response when they have accompanying children in their care is almost impossible. There unfortunately still exists a patriarchal hetero-normative lens, which creates barriers to service access for these people.

What do you love most about your role?

The conversations. The ones with people who have never spoken about the family violence they experience because they thought no one would believe them, or it would be too difficult to explain their circumstances, their relationship/s their gender identity or sexuality.

The gentle chats with parents of trans and gender diverse kids who call to talk about their fears and concerns and to get support and validation from the team about how to better support their loved ones.

The conversations with workers in the sector who reach out to us to check that they are doing and saying the “right thing” and are so keen to learn how to work better and understand more about how to be a supportive worker to their LGBTIQA+ clients and be strong allies.

The complex calls with folk who are in crisis and are immediately relieved to speak with peers who understand the barriers to service access and have found creative ways through those barriers. We learn so much from them.

“Those who have never contacted a helpline but reach out to us because they want to talk to a peer, someone who gets them. To be listened to, to be heard, and to be understood is often the first step toward safety and healing and it is such a fundamental human need.”

What has been a highlight in your role?

Working with the team to develop the service model and have it up and running in such a short period of time during lockdown was both rewarding and stressful in equal measure. It gave me some extra grey hair that’s for sure! The highlight is that Rainbow Door has been able to offer supports to people who have never contacted a helpline. People have been able to access free or affordable mental health supports and many of those who contact us have never accessed mental health supports before.

Another major highlight has been recruiting incredibly skilled and passionate workers to staff the service. The service that they provide is excellent and inspiring, witnessing the work they do is humbling. We talk to people on some of the worst days of their lives and respond with compassion, care, and skilful practice.

What is the biggest piece of advice would you give practitioners in ‘mainstream’ specialist family violence services supporting a victim survivor from the LGTBTIQA+ community?

We encourage asking questions – about gender identities and sexualities, our lives and who we are – to develop a deeper and broader understanding of appropriate ways to support us. Build on your already highly developed skills, reflect on unconscious biases, and develop more nuanced thinking around particular risk factors for LGBTIQA+ people.

It really helps to recognise that as a marginalised community that intersects with other marginalised communities, people do not always feel safe engaging with mainstream services and supports. Continuing to listen to us and reflexively adapting service responses to support us, all go a long way to minimise barriers, enhance service practice generally, be more inclusive, and improve access for our diverse LGBTIQA+ communities.

As someone who has worked towards ending violence against women for the last 15 years – and who has been fortunate enough to learn from women who were doing this work decades before me – I have been somewhat perplexed by the recent commentary about why men perpetrate violence against women, and what can be done to stop this incredibly prevalent form of violence.

In recent weeks, I have seen incredibly simplistic articulations of complex public policy and reform in this area – “until we change attitudes, close the gender wage gap, and achieve greater gender equality, domestic abuse will continue to thrive” – that don’t represent the evidence nor the work of those in my field.

And, most recently, I have seen suggestions that there is a belief in this country that “reducing violence against women is something that can or should wait decades”.

Nobody I have ever spoken to through my work – politicians, advocates, practitioners, and those working with men who use violence – has ever suggested that reducing violence against women is something that should wait decades. I don’t believe that anybody currently working in my field thinks we can wait even one more second to do better at preventing violence against women and supporting the thousands of women who experience it on a daily basis. Advocating for this after all, is a core part of our work.

What we are all struggling with is the very real complexity of this issue and how to communicate about it, and how to articulate it in public policy and legislative reform. We are also struggling to address the resistance and backlash to this issue that comes from many quarters and, as always, we are struggling with a lack of ongoing, adequate funding to support prevention, early intervention and response.

The work of Our Watch is focused on preventing violence against women before it even occurs by addressing the structures, norms and practices in our society, our institutions, our organisations and even in our relationships and families. Our Watch’s Counting on Change document helps people understand how long primary prevention work takes and what it costs, as well as how to build awareness and understanding of the complexity of the issue and the sustained effort that will be required if we are to see a tangible and sustainable shift to the prevalence of violence against women in Australia.

Counting on Change articulates only the time it will take to reduce violence against women if primary prevention efforts are supported, funded and sustained. But primary prevention is only a third of the puzzle. It was never designed to articulate how long reducing (and ultimately ending) violence against women would take if we had the three magic elements:

1. primary prevention activities that reached every member of the Australian public
2. early intervention efforts for women and men who were at high risk of experiencing/perpetrating violence
3. a connected, well-resourced response system that wraps around both victims and perpetrators.

It’s also important to remember that the whole puzzle would comprise of many different pieces including:

• specialist support services for women, children and young people who are victims of violence
• activities that are designed to hold men to account for their violent behaviour and support them to change
• an effective justice system that supports perpetrator accountability and prioritises the safety of women and children
• a well-resourced housing system that means both victims and perpetrators have somewhere suitable to live
• human services supports to address the mental health and physical health impacts of violence for both perpetrators and victims, and
• longer term supports (such as education, social connection, universal health care) that enable Australians to be healthy, safe, secure and thrive.

The problem is, doing all these things together – prevention, early intervention and response – is incredibly complex, incredibly expensive and something that is as a result, hard to sell to the voting public. This doesn’t excuse politicians – many of whom have shown significant leadership in this space – from action but it does show why many have been reluctant to play the leadership role we need them to.

The most unhelpful thing we can do at this critical point in time when it finally feels like we have social and political momentum – not only around ending violence against women but in addressing gender inequality, sexual harassment and gendered discrimination – is to pit the work of those preventing violence against women with the work of those who are supporting victim survivors, holding the perpetrators of violence to account and supporting them to change their behaviour. It doesn’t support our cause, inadvertently or otherwise, to undermine the efforts of those who have been working for so long (and with significant success, I might add) to support women, to increase funding, to achieve social and cultural and structural change.

I am not suggesting we all sit down, shut up and be grateful for what we are given as feminists, advocates and social campaigners. But I think it’s important to remember that where the pace of social change is slow – just like it was with smoking rates, and reducing the road toll – that it’s only by being in this together, no matter where you live, what you look like, how much you earn or who you vote for – will we actually achieve any real change.

We owe that change to the women who have been murdered; to those who have narrowly escaped murder; to the children and teenagers where family violence is the undercurrent of their lives; and to all the women who are, as we speak, living with or experiencing the impacts of men’s violence.

The report finds that while progress has been made in the wake of the National Plan to reduce violence against women and their children 2010–2022, we are yet to see a significant and sustained reduction in family violence. The committee has found there is much work still to be done across all levels of government, service systems and community to achieve the objectives of the current National Plan, and the 88 recommendations contained in the report are slated to inform the development of the next National Plan.

DV Vic and DVRCV commend the report’s support for an integrated whole-of-service-system response to family, domestic and sexual violence across jurisdictions, and commitment to preventing this violence before it occurs. In particular, we welcome the recommendation that all Australian schools and early education settings implement age-appropriate respectful relationships education.

The report speaks to the importance of the next phase of planning to adopt a consistent shared definition of family violence, which reflects the diverse experiences and voices of all victim survivors including children, LGBTIQA+ people, people with a disability, and older people. We welcome this expanded and more inclusive understanding of family and gendered violence. We are pleased to note the inclusion of a recommendation that mandatory family violence training for NDIA staff and disability service workers, as well as a suite of recommendations related to legislative and service changes to better support victim survivors on temporary and migration visas.

We welcome the recommendations relating to national data collection across the breadth of the service system, a critical element for setting and tracking tangible outcome measures. The success of these initiatives will require significant consultation with specialist family violence services and victim survivors to ensure that appropriate and accurate measures are embedded and implemented, and we look forward to supporting this work.

Specialist family violence services continue to face rising demand for support, and we welcome the recommendation to increase baseline funding for these services, in addition to funding increases received during the COVID-19 pandemic. We continue to urge federal and state governments to consider any increases to funding in the context of multi-year funding agreements, in order to support sustained impact, and stability for both victim survivors and the specialist family violence workforce.

DV Vic and DVRCV reiterate our position that care must be taken not to fall into the trap of producing stand-alone or siloed responses. Reducing violence against women and children is a long-term, intergenerational goal requiring sustained, scaffolded, and coordinated actions and investment. We look forward to working with federal and state governments towards a national, integrated whole-of-service-system response to preventing and responding to family violence and the forthcoming development of the next National Plan.

The recently-merged Domestic Violence Victoria and Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria have united with No To Violence to support calls for reform.

“We must listen to and believe victim survivors,” said DV Vic/DVRCV CEO Tania Farha (pictured).

“And we need to do much more than listening and believing. We must shift the structures and systems that allow sexual violence to occur. They are the same structures and systems that so often fail victim survivors when they come forward,” Ms Farha added.

Ms Farha highlighted the multiple barriers survivors face when reporting abuse, which often result in a decision not to pursue a formal complaint.

“Condoning disrespect and discrediting survivors’ experiences are at once the symptoms and the causes of the epidemic of gendered, sexual and family violence in this country. All of us have a role in changing that.”

Jacqui Watt, CEO of No To Violence, pointed out the alarmingly high rates of men’s violence in Australia.

“While media and the public may be tempted to question any one victim survivor or set of allegations, there is no question whatsoever about how prevalent this abuse is. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2016 figures show one in three girls and women over 15 have experienced physical or sexual violence – or both. What public attention seldom highlights is how many men have used these forms of violence – this needs to change.”

Ms Watt also highlighted the need to acknowledge the culture that enables these forms of abuse, and the importance of embedding accountability across all workplaces and communities.

DV Vic/DVRCV and No To Violence acknowledge that recent media coverage and public conversation may be harmful and distressing for people who have or are currently experiencing abuse of any kind.

“Support is available. Specialist services are here for you, and will believe you,” Ms Farha said.

The report finds that the current mental health system is failing many people and sets out an ambitious reform agenda for a redesigned mental health and wellbeing system in Victoria.

While the recommendations do not speak directly to family violence, the report focuses on several elements which have the potential to improve outcomes for victim-survivors of family violence:

• Moving away from a crisis-driven model to community-based models of care and addressing the ‘missing middle’ of the current mental health system. This is of particular significance for victim survivors of family violence and trauma, who are more likely to need more extensive support than is available to them through the current system.
• Centering the voices of people with lived experience in the redesign and development of the new system and embedding structures to support this into the future.
• Embedding trauma-informed mental health treatment responses.
• Integrated approaches to system design and delivery.
• Reducing barriers to accessing mental health services and increasing the range of service options available to make the system more accessible and inclusive.
• Increased investment in the mental health workforce and service system to meet existing and forecast increasing demand.

DV Vic and DVRCV CEO Tania Farha said she hopes to see this work approached in a systematic and comprehensive way that considers the reforms required across both mental health and family violence service systems, in order to ensure better safety and wellbeing outcomes for all Victorians.

‘DV Vic and DVRCV will continue to read and reflect on the Commission’s report and recommendations, with a focus on the implications for Victoria’s coordinated response to family violence. We look forward to working with the Victorian Government to ensure the redesign of the mental health system is undertaken in a family violence and trauma-informed way, that complements and leverages the significant family violence reforms currently underway.’

In a recent survey of frontline family violence workers, more than 99% said they had clients who had experienced technology facilitated stalking and abuse.

These tactics often leave victim survivors feeling like they can’t leave an abusive relationship and overwhelmed by the sense of control. In particular, stalking behaviour – relentlessly monitoring or contacting someone in an effort to control them – greatly impacts a victim survivor’s mental health and poses a significant risk of serious harm.

The survey by WESNET found that easy access to video surveillance technology, increased use of location settings on devices, and advances in GPS technology provide perpetrators with more ways to track and monitor where victims are.

According to the survey, almost one in three victim survivors of family violence have been tracked using GPS – an alarming 245% increase from the previous survey conducted in 2015.

Pre-loaded smartphone features that allow people to locate their phone, can also be used to track a victim survivor’s location wherever they are. Perpetrators can easily access this information using a shared login. Victim survivors are often coerced into sharing account details with the perpetrator – otherwise they’re accused of having ‘something to hide’.

One practitioner reported that “Once they have the password to your email, perpetrators can access almost everything.”

Perpetrators also use shared bank accounts to get location information from transaction details, often in real time.

Security settings on technology platforms alert users of changes to accounts. But these alerts also mean the perpetrator is aware if the victim survivor tries to change the settings, making them feel trapped.

And it doesn’t end when the relationship ends. 

Following separation, when a perpetrator has rights to contact or spend time with children, they can use apps such as FaceTime to abuse victims.

According to one survey respondent, “Perpetrators are frequently insisting on having contact with children by FaceTime (in court orders) then use that time to question the child about their whereabouts, what their mother is doing and where their mother is, or coerce the child into showing the mother on video.”

There has also been a 347% increase in children being given a device that the perpetrator then uses to contact and control their mother, and a 254% increase in the use of children’s social media for the same purpose.

The impact on victim survivors is devastating, with many experiencing high levels of fear as a result of the technology-facilitated abuse. One survey respondent reported:

For many, the fear of using technology makes it much harder to keep in contact with friends, family and services, which can cause significant impact on their lives and increase their sense of isolation.

In some cases, victim survivors have returned to their abuser because they felt they could not escape control.

It’s a challenge for those responding to family violence.

The study found that specialist family violence workers are more aware of technology-facilitated abuse than they were five years ago, but still find it hard to keep up with new tactics used by perpetrators.

And while frontline workers feel there has been an increase in police taking reports of technology abuse seriously, the response often depends on the officer.

One practitioner said:

Find out what to look out for and steps to increase safety online on the Technology and family violence page.

This information is sourced from the Second National Survey of Technology Abuse and Domestic Violence in Australia – a national survey of 442 specialist family violence practitioners published in 2020. It is a follow-up survey to the 2015 ReCharge study, conducted by DVRCV, Women’s Legal Services NSW and WESNET to investigate technology-facilitated abuse in Australia.

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance (AGSA) is a coalition of voices representing the interests of the community in ensuring that we maintain vigilance on issues of gun safety.

Stephen Bendle is the convenor of the Alliance and works with the Alannah & Madeline Foundation. The Foundation was established after the tragic mass shooting in Port Arthur in 1996 where young sisters Alannah and Madeline Mikac, along with their mother Nanette were killed by a single gunman.

Stephen says that “AGSA is not politically aligned and receives no corporate or individual donations. It is funded by philanthropic donations and in-kind services by members.”

He adds that “all States and Territories, along with the Commonwealth, signed the National Firearms agreement in 1996 and renewed their commitment in 2017. Unfortunately, nearly 25 years later, not a single jurisdiction is fully compliant with the Agreement.”

The AGSA understands that most gun owners in Australia are law-abiding, responsible people who are not criminals. However, Australian Governments must do everything in their power to avoid a slide towards an American culture of gun entitlement.

The AGSA believes that the onus of firearm laws and regulations should be on public safety and not for the convenience or commercial interests of a few. This is the overriding principle of the National Firearms Agreement which has served Australians well.

The role of firearms in family violence is well known.

According to the Women’s Legal Service Qld:

• gunshot wounds are the third most common cause of death in domestic homicide
• abusers who use or threaten to use a weapon are 20 times more likely to kill their victim
• violent intimate partners who have access to firearms engage in more severe domestic violence than those who do not.

Following the Port Arthur shooting in 1996, Australia’s gun reforms have been recognised by the Public Health Association of Australia as one of our top 10 public health successes of the last 20 years. At the time, 90% of Australians supported the bipartisan approach to the introduction of a National Firearms Agreement that established a national framework for the regulation of firearms.

The Australian Gun Safety Alliance continues to speak to governments in all jurisdictions, monitor amendments to firearm legislation and regulations, and speak on behalf of those committed to the health and safety of the community in policy discussions.

More information is available on the AGSA website or you can contact Stephen Bendle on info@gunsafetyalliance.org.au.