A life or death issue: Specialist services
For those affected by family violence, access to specialised women’s and children’s organisations can make a huge difference -- sometimes it can mean the difference between life and death.
Specialist organisations – including 24/7 crisis services, women’s refuges, legal services and family violence outreach programs – hold decades of experience and specialised knowledge. They provide critical support to at risk women and children trying to navigate the complex and confusing justice, housing and welfare systems, and to begin the long haul of rebuilding their lives.
These specialist organisations provide vital assistance that general community services simply cannot provide. Recently, in some other states and countries there have been moves to shift funding and support for family violence services away from these specialist groups, towards general community organisations. The No More Deaths Alliance is extremely concerned about the consequences of this trend, and urges all parties to commit to maintain and adequately resource specialist family violence organisations to meet rising demand.[1]
Parties can clarify their stance on this matter and the No More Deaths alliance's other key asks via the party policy survey that was sent on the 6th November.
[1] Between 2004 and 2012 there was an increase of 72.8% in reports of family violence incidents to Victoria Police (Sentencing Advisory Council, 2013).
About the No More Deaths Alliance
The members of the No More Deaths Alliance are: Domestic Violence Victoria, the Federation of Community Legal Centres, No To Violence, Women’s Legal Services Victoria, Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, Women’s Domestic Violence Crisis Service and Women with Disabilities Victoria. Together they represent most statewide and local organisations working with women and children, community legal services and men’s behaviour change programs across Victoria.
You can access the No More Deaths' key asks here, and access fact sheets on individual asks below:
- Keep women and children safe and housed
- Make the justice system safe and supportive
- Hold violent perpetrators to account
- Break down the service silos that endanger women and children
- Prevent violence against women and children
Authorised by Renee Carr, Level 1, 160 Clarence St, Sydney NSW 2000
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