A regional response to family violence

Nicole, Coordinator of VincentCare Victoria’s Family Violence services in Shepparton said, “The recent regional consultations …gave both professionals and survivors of family violence a voice to discuss strengths and gaps in the system. Our support group ‘Touch base’ attended and felt very empowered albeit emotionally drained from the experience. The group was also involved in a consultation to contribute to the submission VincentCare submitted to the Royal Commission into family violence.”

In presenting its submission to the Royal Commission VincentCare Victoria hopes to make an important contribution to the Commission’s inquiry and anticipates positive outcomes for regional family violence services such as

Increased affordable housing options for both victims and perpetrators

Increased intensive therapeutic resources for recovery from complex trauma for women and children and to break continuous intergenerational family violence

Increased legal ramifications for perpetrators choosing to commit family violence

BSafe program to be fully funded for all family violence programs to access

John Blewonski , VincentCare Victoria CEO said, “From the perspective of an organisation whose core mission is reducing homelessness, we continue to be disturbed by the intransigent statistic that sees family violence as the leading primary reason for people seeking assistance from our homelessness services.”

“VincentCare believes that the system requires greater capacity to deliver therapeutic responses to family violence victims that help to reduce long-term trauma impacts.”

The point was also made in the submission that family violence creates homelessness and therefore, women and children, who are most often the victims, experience this double disadvantage as a result of the violence and their homelessness experience.

VincentCare Victoria is a leading homeless support provider that also operates two family violence services, providing support to women and children escaping family violence to enable them to live safely and independently in the community.
The Commission is due to provide its report and recommendations to the government by Monday 29th February 2016. For a copy of VincentCare Victoria’s submission to Royal Commission into Family Violence please contact us.