TRANSCRIPT
In Australia, nearly one in four women and one in eight men have experienced intimate partner or family violence since the age of fifteen.
The issue of domestic and family violence has now been labelled a national crisis by the Prime Minister.
State and federal leaders across the country are facing increased pressure to take urgent action.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns has announced a new support package committing to improve domestic violence prevention and support.
It's support that Mr Minns says he is sorry didn't arrive earlier.
"Today the government's announcing a $230 million package for domestic, family, and sexual violence in our community, but I need to say that this is not a day of joy or boasting from the New South Wales Government. This package is being demanded by the victims and survivors of domestic, family and sexual violence in New South Wales. It's a recognition that the state needs to do more, and that something needs to change. I'm truly sorry. That these reforms are being announced today, and not earlier than today. And the bottom line here is that all governments need to do better. And that includes my government in New South Wales."
The funding package will be divided into six priority areas; crisis response, improving the justice system for victims, early intervention, primary prevention, strengthening the sector, and research.
New South Wales Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Rose Jackson, says the government must accept responsibility to make the changes happen.
"This is not a tick a box from the New South Wales Government. This is not flash in the pan. This is not thought bubble stuff. This is deeply considered work that we have been doing with the sector and are choosing this moment to step out as change makers, step forward, accept our responsibility to do more and start work of laying out the full suite of responses. Look, as the premier said it was enough when Danielle Finlay Jones died it was enough when Lily James died. It was enough when any one of the scores of women who have died at the hands of male violence over the past few years for governments to step up and do more. And we acknowledge and apologise that governments have been too slow off the mark."
In a boost to crisis response, the state government will spend $48 million on rolling out the Staying Home Leaving Violence program state-wide as well as expanding the Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Service.
These programs help those leaving domestic violence situations to remain safe in their homes as well as offering case management support.
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows that just under 38,000 women and children facing domestic or family violence sought long term housing assistance in the last financial year - but just 3.7 percent of those found a long term place to live.
Ms Jackson says it's crucial for the Staying Home Leaving Violence package to form the first steps of the state's response.
"That package at its core says to women, you shouldn't have to be the ones to leave the family home. You shouldn't have to be the ones to take your kids, relocate them, get them settled in new schools, find new employment opportunities and make new connections. The core of that strategy is to try and ensure that where possible, and where safe, the woman is, the victim is the one who can stay in the home and it's the perpetrator who has to leave and find somewhere else to stay."
The Staying Home Leaving Violence program is currently only available in parts of New South Wales and is run by the Benevolent Society.
While the general objective of the program is to remove the perpetrator from the home, in some situations, victims of violence may not be able to or may not wish to live separately from the perpetrator.
Chief Executive of the Benevolent Society, Lin Hatfield Dodds, says the program works with women to ensure they're fully equipped to deal with violence if it occurs again.
"We provide them with technology and social and clinical supports to stay at home, to make sure that they're safe, to make sure that if aggression starts or violence is starting, they're able to let people know quickly. So it's having it's having those fast loops but more than that, it's actually about working with women and their children to make sure that they're stabilised and that the women can get that the the support they need and the counselling they need to feel strong in themselves and to be able to stay home and to feel safe in their home."
In an effort to improve the justice system for victims, $45 million has been set aside to improve bail laws and justice system responses, with the measures surrounding these improvements set to be announced in the coming weeks.
Nearly $24 million will be spent on specialist domestic violence support workers within the justice system, $2 million will go towards the Domestic Violence Death Review Team to deliver research on risk factors and trends and another $2.1 million on corrective services programs delivered to offenders in custody.
Chris Minns says the details of these justice reforms are still being ironed out by the government.
"It needs to be done in coalition, if you like, with an increase in the funding package, but I didn't want to wait, have this money quarantined or set aside while we're developing the complex criminal justice response, other than to say today that there will be and there needs to be a criminal justice response to the scourge of domestic and family violence in New South Wales. And in particular, that focus will be on bail."
Early intervention measures will see increased funding for specialist support workers, who work with children accompanying their mothers to refuges and include education and mental health measures.
It will also provide extra funding for domestic violence helplines.
But, while these measures will work to improve support outcomes for victims, Mr Minns says domestic violence is preventable and wants to place greater focus on disrupting the cycle of abuse early.
New South Wales Minister for Women, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Jodie Harrison says the strategy will work to support communities in developing targeted responses preventing violence before it starts.
"It provides the state's first dedicated primary prevention strategy for domestic family and sexual violence. That's a strategy that's been worked up with more than 100 councils across the state. It's a strategy that's been worked up with key stakeholders in the state. And it's a strategy that's been developed with people with lived experience of domestic and family violence."
Rose Jackson says part of that prevention strategy must take place in education.
"I had a meeting with the Youth Affairs Committee yesterday, which is the group of young people who across New South Wales government expressed the voices of youth into our policy decision making. This of course was top of the agenda for them. they talked about the gaps in school, they talked about the fact that in recent times, there had been a little bit more in terms of consent dialogue in the classroom, but really, when it came to harassment when it came to violence when it came to intimate family relations, that was a real gap for them and they weren't seeing those conversations in the classroom. They were really clear to me, government don't come up with a program that's cringy and written by adults, and bring it into schools and expect that to make a difference."
If you or someone you know wants to talk about sexual assault or harassment, family or domestic violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732. In an emergency, call 000.]]
