Services tackling family violence in the western suburbs face an uphill battle in the face of crippling funding cuts, a forum has heard.
The Family Violence Forum in Footscray last Wednesday, organised by St Albans MP Natalie Suleyman and Footscray MP Marsha Thomson, aired a number of frustrations hampering service providers and police.
It coincided with a record number of police referrals of family violence cases to Footscray-based Women’s Health West, 7629 in the past 11 months or almost one every hour.
The forum heard of women’s reluctance to report intervention order breaches and their inability to leave abusive relationships because they were trapped by financial hardship.
Prevention of Family Violence Minister Fiona Richardson told the forum the royal commission into Family Violence was a vital step towards achieving a long-term impact.
She said it was crucial to improve the way family violence was measured and to track whether progress was being made.
“We need some sort of measure that will tell us how we’re performing, so we’ve come up with the Family Violence Index,” she said. The index will draw together data from the fields of crime, justice, health and education.
Ms Richardson singled out the “complex and inaccessible” court system for failing to keep victims safe.
“The court system is a traumatising process,” she said.
“Intervention orders are often not worth the paper they’re written on.”
If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au.
