Stop cuts to this vital service for women affected by family violence

VICTORY! After months of campaigning by Fair Agenda members, in partnership with Community legal workers, domestic violence groups, survivor advocates and others - the Turnbull Government announced on the 24th April a full reversal to the three years of scheduled cuts to Community Legal Centres! 

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Community Legal Centres are a critical, potentially life-saving, service for many women trying to escape an abusive partner. 

In order to escape, many women will first need to know how they can access shared funds or property, if they'll be able to keep their children safe, and if they'll be able to untangle themselves from any financial abuse and debt that might have been used to try and trap them.

Right now, family violence and family law are the two biggest areas of work for Community Legal Centres in Australia. And inadequate funding is already limiting their work so much that Centres are forced to turn away 160,000 people a year - many of them women trying to escape violence. 

Now the Government is about to make things even worse. The Turnbull Government has just confirmed that from 1 July 2017 it plans to cut a whopping 30% of Community Legal Centres' funding. These cuts will cripple Community Legal Centres, and leave thousands more women each year without this essential lifeline they need to escape family violence.

Will you sign and share the petition against the cuts, and help stop this cruel cut to this vital community service? 

*If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, you can call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for 24/7 support. If you are in immediate danger, call 000.

Find out more (click to view)

Australia is in the midst of a family violence crisis. The statistics are stark. 81,900 women say they have wanted to escape their current violent partner, but never have. Further 1 in 12 women have indicated they have been forced to return to their abusive partner because they had nowhere else to go. At the same time, the funding for services women need to live free from danger are being cut by governments; leaving thousands of women in danger. 

Community Legal Centres:

  • name the top two areas of work as family law and family-violence related matters
  • are currently forced to turn away 160,000 people annually because of under-funding (including but not limited to those affected by family violence)
  • are facing cuts of $12.1 million (30% of funding) due to take effect from 1 July 2017
  • Actually need an *extra* $14.4 million to meet existing demand 

Can you join the campaign to reverse these cuts, and fully fund, Community Legal Centres?

-References-

"This budget is devastating and dangerous for women experiencing family violence", Mamamia, 4 May 2016. 
"Thousands of women in danger" without billions more in funding to tackle domestic violence, advocates say, BuzzFeed News, 19 May 2016.

Help us get to 7,500 signatures

5,496 SIGNATURES

Dear Malcolm Turnbull and the Federal Government,

We are calling on you to reverse your devastating funding cuts to Community Legal Centres, and commit to fully funding them instead, so that no more women in Australia are left unable to escape from family violence.

Signed,

Fair Agenda will email petition signers from time to time with important updates

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Latest activity

Philippa , 3072  /  signed 2017-03-31 17:26:35 +1100
Emma , 2112  /  signed 2017-03-31 16:17:06 +1100
Gary , 6151  /  signed 2017-03-31 14:04:28 +1100
"I’ve managed family violence services in country Victorian – legal support from the community legal service was essential for women struggling with the impact of violence – partners who contact legal services to deny their partners legal acesss. We need community legal services n"
Janet , 4304  /  signed 2017-03-31 13:37:44 +1100
Barb , 3550  /  signed 2017-03-31 13:34:07 +1100
"I am a strong supporter advocate for gender equality and for the protection of women who experience violence, in all its configurations, from intimate partners or family members."
Sheryl , 3162  /  signed 2017-03-31 12:53:17 +1100
"As a telephone responder I hear womens’ stories on every shift. Each person sharing their personal circumstances come up against the need for legal support. It is a critical part of the process and the majority of women do not have the funds to pay legal fees and rely heavily on the support from community legal services. If this funding is cut the impact for women and their children will negate the strides we are making in the applying the recommendations from the Royal Commission. Spend a day in the phone room and hear this for yourself."
Katie , 3066  /  signed 2017-03-31 11:58:25 +1100
"I have required these services before when I was in an abusive relationship"
Anne , 3155  /  signed 2017-03-31 10:55:09 +1100
"Worked in welfare for 27 years and saw the need to assist women and women with children every working day for the same reasons being outlined in the petition. Population growth is constant. That means ever more need for assistance, not less forms of assistance. Women also need and deserve equality."
Alexandra , 3000  /  signed 2017-03-31 10:40:12 +1100
Gail , 3550  /  signed 2017-03-31 10:26:53 +1100
"These unfortunate women need all the help they can get, to return to a happy life."
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