Aboriginal Acknowledgement

The Victorian Government acknowledges Victorian Aboriginal people as the First Peoples and Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land and water on which we rely. We acknowledge and respect that Aboriginal communities are steeped in traditions and customs built on a disciplined social and cultural order that has sustained 60,000 years of existence. We acknowledge the significant disruptions to social and cultural order and the ongoing hurt caused by colonisation. We acknowledge the ongoing leadership role of Aboriginal communities in addressing and preventing family violence. We recognise Dhelk Dja–Safe Our Way: Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families as the key Aboriginal-led Victorian agreement that commits the signatories – Aboriginal communities, Aboriginal services and government – to work together and be accountable for ensuring that Aboriginal people, families and communities are stronger, safer, thriving and living free from family violence.

Throughout this document the term ‘Aboriginal’ is used to refer to both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Acknowledgement to Victim Survivors

Due to its far-reaching impacts in the community, when we speak about family violence it is likely that a significant percentage of the audience have been directly impacted or have some personal experience of family violence. The Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council (VSAC) has emphasised the importance of acknowledging all victim survivors who have experienced or are currently experiencing family violence, including those who have been killed as a result of family violence. We acknowledge that it is for victim survivors that we undertake this work.

Family Violence Support

If you have experienced violence or sexual assault and require immediate or ongoing assistance, contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) to talk to a counsellor from the National Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence hotline.

In Victoria, for confidential support and information, contact Safe Steps’ 24/7 family violence response line on 1800 015 188.

If you are concerned for your safety or that of someone else, please contact the police in your state or territory, or call 000 for emergency assistance.

If you are concerned about your own behaviour, contact the Men's Referral Service on 1300 766 491 - a free, confidential telephone helpline that offers counselling, advice and support to men who have anger, relationship or parenting issues.

Launched in April 2019 by the Minister for Prevention of Family Violence, the Everybody Matters: Inclusion and Equity Statement (the Statement) is a 10-year commitment that supports Ending Family Violence: Victoria’s Plan for Change. The vision of the Statement is to build an inclusive, safe, responsive and accountable family violence system for all.

Applying an intersectionality framework, the Statement outlines a pathway towards a more inclusive family violence system by investing in systemic change and building our knowledge, capabilities and specialisation to achieve a system that is responsive to all Victorians.

The Statement is a key response to the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence (Royal Commission) which called for more accessible, inclusive and non-discriminatory service provision, including for people from diverse communities.

The Statement was developed following a comprehensive consultation process undertaken by Family Safety Victoria (FSV). Consultation began in late 2017 and involved people with lived experience of family violence, practitioners, community leaders, government representatives and the Diverse Communities and Intersectionality (DCI) Working Group. The DCI Working Group brings together representatives from the community sector, Victim Survivors’ Advisory Council, and government. Through the development of the Statement, we heard directly from people with lived experience and sector stakeholders about what is needed to achieve an inclusive, responsive, safe and accountable system for all, and what success will look like in ten years.

Three successive Inclusion and Equity Blueprints (Blueprints) covering 2019-2022, 2022–2025 and 2025-2029 will provide the framework to implement the Statement.

Inclusion and Equity Blueprints

The actions in the Blueprint have been designed to complement those in the second Family Violence Reform Rolling Action Plan (RAP) 2020-2023. The RAP is the next step towards finalising the implementation of all 227 recommendations of the Royal Commission into Family Violence. The RAP focuses on the second phase of key initiatives and actions of the Victorian Government’s 10-year agenda to end family violence.

While the Blueprint focuses predominantly on early intervention and response aspects of the family violence system, it also acknowledges the importance of a commitment to equitable and inclusive engagement of Victoria’s diverse population in primary prevention programs. The Blueprint provides some high-level information about planned primary prevention action with a specific inclusion and equity focus; further detail can be found in the Free from Violence strategy action plans and forthcoming resources from Respect Victoria.

The development of this first Blueprint has been overseen by the DCI Working Group and the Inclusion and Equity Family Violence Cross-Government Working Group – comprising representatives from across government who are responsible for implementing recommendations from the Royal Commission into Family Violence.

The Blueprints are not static – they will be agile and evolve to reflect the changing nature of the family violence reform environment. This will allow that the Blueprints remain relevant and responsive to emerging needs and evidence, including feedback from people from diverse communities, in particular those with lived experience of family violence. All actions listed in this Blueprint are Victorian Government funded initiatives at the time of publication.

The Blueprint is also a mechanism to enable government to invest in and closely monitor the effectiveness of the range of family violence supports and responses for diverse communities to ensure the sustainability of intended outcomes.

Dhelk Dja Three-Year Action Plan

The actions listed in the Blueprint complement the first Dhelk Dja Three-Year Action Plan 2019-2022 which outlines strategic actions and investments over the next three years to bring the vision of Dhelk Dja: Safe Our Way - Strong Culture, Strong Peoples, Strong Families to life. The Dhelk Dja vision is for a future where Aboriginal people are culturally stronger, safer and self-determining, with families and communities living free from family violence (Appendix one). To avoid duplication of activities, initiatives that are listed in the Dhelk Dja Action Plan have not been listed in the Blueprint unless they are working with more than one diverse community group.

Inclusive language

Wherever possible, inclusive language has been used throughout this Blueprint. Inclusive language consists of terms free from prejudice, discrimination and stereotyped views of individuals or groups of individuals. Inclusive language provides a sense of recognition, belonging and common identity. It allows people to be listened to and treated with dignity, feel welcome and able to approach services. Above all, inclusive language is respectful and promotes acceptance of and values all individuals. Definitions of the inclusive language used in this Blueprint are included at Appendix three.

The Statement

The Everybody Matters 10-year Statement sets out 3 strategic priorities to achieve the vision and directions required to realise a more inclusive, safe, responsive and accountable family violence service system:

• Strategic Priority 1 – Building knowledge
• Strategic Priority 2 – Building capacity and capability
• Strategic Priority 3 – Strengthening targeted services

The strategic priorities require all of us to make a commitment to innovation, collaboration and placing the voices of individuals and diverse communities at the centre of our work. The priorities address the gaps that have been identified by the Royal Commission into Family Violence in creating a system that is inclusive and responds to all people; and focus on shifting the responsibility for ending family violence from the individual experiencing and/or using family violence to government, the service system and whole of community. This will enable people with lived experience of family violence to receive the support they need to feel safe and meet their wider needs; and change the way the service system works with people who use violence to support their behaviour change and accountability for their actions.

The Blueprint

In this first 3-year Blueprint, actions are outlined against each strategic priority. These actions focus on reflecting the long-term partnership required between government, organisations within the entire service system–including prevention, early intervention and response–to bring about change. These actions are essential to achieving the 3-year outcomes which in turn leads to achieving the longer-term vision of the Everybody Matters Statement.

The Blueprint prompts government and the broader family violence service system to incorporate an intersectional lens into its work. This is essential in identifying and addressing the intersecting forms of systemic oppression and inequity reflected in our system, and in driving attitudinal and structural change in the long-term. The service system is multi-layered. No individual action will reduce the inherent discrimination or bias held within the service system and the social and cultural context in which family violence is generated.

Actions in this Blueprint have a strong focus on diverse communities. An intersectional approach provides us with a framework to better understand what the systemic barriers are and how these barriers manifest. The Blueprint seeks to balance the first stages of applying an intersectionality lens to the reforms, while maintaining a focus on the specific needs and experiences of diverse communities.

Over the next 3years, intersectionality will be further embedded across the family violence reforms as capability increases. As a result, future Blueprints will better identify, and address intersecting systemic issues faced by individuals who identify with multiple diverse communities and experience intersecting barriers to accessing services.

The Blueprint complements other work occurring across the family violence and sexual assault reforms, such as The Orange Door network and the redeveloped Family Violence Multi-Agency Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (MARAM). MARAM aims to embed an intersectional approach in all risk assessment and management tools and in operational practice guidance. The suite of family violence risk identification, screening and assessment tools under the MARAM Framework includes questions specifically relating to risks for diverse communities. Further, training on the redeveloped framework emphasises the gendered and intersectional nature of family violence, contributing to a strengthened understanding of the specific experiences of people from diverse groups.

Monitoring our progress

A monitoring plan for the Blueprint will be implemented in year 2 (2020-21). Through the monitoring plan, implementation of the actions in this Blueprint will be tracked. The monitoring plan will cover the many actions already underway. Through monitoring progress, evidence will be gathered about what works and how implementation occurs across different sectors and workforces. This evidence will inform the development of future Blueprints and the activities therein.

The monitoring plan will further define indicators for activity, intermediate outcomes, longer-term outcomes and impact. The plan will also identify appropriate measures, data sources, data collection tools and analytical approaches. FSV will seek input from other government departments, the specialist family violence sector, the broader family violence sector, representative organisations from diverse communities, and people with lived experience.

There are significant monitoring and evaluation efforts underway across government covering many elements of the family violence reforms. This monitoring plan will to the greatest extent feasible leverage existing data collection mechanisms, and aim to contain the administrative burden on implementing agencies.

Everybody Matters and this Blueprint contribute towards achieving the ten-year vision of https://www.vic.gov.au/ending-family-violence-victorias-10-year-plan-ch… https://www.vic.gov.au/ending-family-violence-victorias-10-year-plan-change. The Theory of Change that underpins Everybody Matters identifies the domains and outcomes within Ending Family Violence to which these activities contribute. The vision of an inclusive, safe, responsible and accountable system – as stated in Everybody Matters - is reflected across the system domain of the Whole of Victorian Government Family Violence Outcomes Framework. Outcomes include:

• The family violence system is accessible, and services and programs are available and equitable – prevention activities occur across all key settings and the support system is easy to navigate and services are available to people when and where they need them, at all times of the day and night
• The family violence system is person-centred and responsive – services are personalised, flexible, culturally relevant and reflect individual and family voices, need and circumstances, particularly for diverse communities and those with complex needs
• The family violence system is integrated – services work together and share information to provide a coordinated quality response to people and families, informed by dynamic risk assessment and sensitive to people’s diverse needs. The system supports effective and evidence-based prevention efforts.

Monitoring against indicators within the Blueprint (figure 2 on previous page) is expected to support reporting against the Family Violence Outcomes Framework. This will enable ongoing, systematic measurement of the impact of these interventions across government funding agencies and portfolios.

The Blueprint will be implemented by relevant departments and agencies, particularly those with responsibility for family violence reform and implementation such as FSV, Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS), Magistrates’ Court of Victoria (MCV), Victoria Police (Vic Pol), Department of Education and Training (DET), Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) and Respect Victoria (RV).

Building knowledge focuses on research and enhancing data collection to fill gaps in current knowledge across the breadth of the system from prevention to response.

Understanding the drivers of violence, and unique experiences of people who access the service system – from early intervention to response – will be vital in measuring effectiveness and impact to inform ongoing innovation. It will enable us to direct family violence funding in a more effective way to the responses that make a difference in achieving access and inclusion for all.

For too long the voices and lived experience of family violence for people from diverse communities have not been central to systemic change. We know that there is a significant gap in research and data collection around inclusion, access and the service system, and that this needs to be addressed in order to enhance the service system response.

Addressing these gaps will take time. During this first Blueprint, the focus of actions is to better understand the current state of affairs, invest in improved data collection, and invest in developing research and evidence. This ensures we have a greater understanding of who is and isn’t accessing the service system. This information will be used in future Blueprints and across the family violence sector reform to ensure evidence-informed systems change and interventions.

Actions to implement mechanisms to share data and research across Government and broader service sectors

Actions to improve data on diverse communities to better inform service design and delivery

Actions to increase collaboration with people with lived experience in the design and delivery of family violence services

Actions to increase trials and evaluations of new approaches to interventions to build the policy evidence base

_{1 The timelines listed in the Blueprint cover financial years, and specify when the activity is expected to be completed.}

Acronyms

• FSV - Family Safety Victoria
• DJCS - Department of Justice and Community Safety
• OPFVC - Office for Prevention of Family Violence and Coordination
• MA - Multicultural Affairs
• DFFH - Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
• Vic Pol - Victoria Police
• RV - Respect Victoria
• CSA - Crime Statistics Agency Victoria
• CSV - Court Services Victoria
• MCV - Magistrates' Court of Victoria

The onus is on government and the service system to change processes and practices to improve access and equity for all. This will shift the service system culture from one that can perceive individual identity as the barrier, to one where there are no systemic barriers for anyone, anywhere to access an appropriate service response.

Building capacity at an organisational level and building workforce capability across the broader family violence system – including in government, specialist family violence and universal services – is vital to achieving the vision of an inclusive, safe, responsive and accountable system for all Victorians. It is a complex process that requires awareness raising, increased knowledge and skills, and improved understanding. During the initial three-year period investment will focus on this foundational awareness and knowledge across the specialist workforce; the essential precursor to organisational and system capability building.

Strengthening the Foundations: First Rolling Action Plan 2019-21 (Strengthening the Foundations) is the first of three Rolling Action Plans that will work towards achieving the long-term vision for workforces that intersect with family violence, as outlined in Building from Strength: 10-Year Industry Plan for Family Violence Prevention and Response (Building from Strength). The implementation of Strengthening the Foundations will be critical in supporting the sector to achieve this strategic priority.

Actions to increase workforce capacity to embed culturally safe, inclusive and intersectional practices

Actions to increase inclusive practice and ongoing professional development for staff

Actions to strengthen capabilities across service sectors to support people from diverse communities

Actions to increase workforce diversity

Acronyms

• FSV - Family Safety Victoria
• DFFH - Department of Family, Fairness and Housing
• MA - Multicultural Affairs
• OPFVC - Office for Prevention of Family Violence and Coordination
• RV - Respect Victoria
• DET - Department of Education and Training
• MCV - Magistrates' Court of Victoria
• CSV - Courts Services Victoria

Our aim is to shift the service* system culture from one that can perceive identity as the barrier to accessing services to one of shared responsibility for recognising and addressing discrimination and structural barriers to service access by offering choice to all. This does not erase the need for targeted services; instead, they contribute to a holistic and contextual approach in systems responses providing cultural knowledge and understanding of clients from diverse communities.

Whether they are stand-alone or integrated within family violence services, targeted services complement and build the capacity of the service system to achieve inclusion and equity. Their nuanced and tailored work across the spectrum of family violence–primary prevention, early intervention and response–is critical in offering choice without fear of discrimination to all clients.

To create these shifts, we know there needs to be a stronger focus on supporting and strengthening targeted responses and developing pathways for improved collaboration.

_{* As defined in the Everybody Matters: Inclusion and Equity Statement, targeted services are those specific family violence services with an expert knowledge of a particular diverse community and the responses required to address the unique needs and barriers faced by the group. Targeted services may include community-specific services, such as ethno-specific, LGBTIQ and disability services that focus on primary prevention programs or early intervention.}

Actions to increase coordination and collaboration across the system

Actions to build capacity to further strengthen targeted services

Actions to enhance targeted initiatives for people from diverse communities

Acronyms

• FSV - Family Safety Victoria
• OPFVC - Office for Prevention of Family Violence and Coordination
• DJCS - Department of Justice and Community Safety
• MA - Multicultural Affairs
• RV - Respect Victoria
• DFFH - Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
• MCV - Magistrates' Court of Victoria

The work outlined in the Everybody Matters Inclusion and Equity Blueprint 2019-2022 will contribute to delivering the objectives of other key Victorian Government strategies and frameworks, including:

Women are disproportionately affected by gender-based violence, including family violence. The perpetrators of this violence are overwhelmingly men. While gender inequality is the root cause of the violence against women, family violence can, and does, occur within a range of relationships. It is characterised by a pattern of abusive behaviour involving a perpetrator’s exercise of control and power over the victim.

Family violence can take many forms. It can occur within extended families, kinship networks, intergenerational relationships and through family-like or carer relationships. Intimate partners, family members and non-family carers can perpetrate violence against people they are caring for. Young people can use violence or be victims of violence within their family.

At the centre of all instances of family violence are individual and structural power imbalances. To address this, we need to create a society based on inclusion and equity.

Access is about ensuring that information, spaces, services and programs are available to everyone and are responsive to their needs.

Diversity and diverse communities: Throughout this document the term ‘diverse communities’ has been used. This term draws from the terminology used in the Royal Commission into Family Violence (RCFV) Report³ and recommendations. By diverse communities we mean:

• Aboriginal communities
• people in the sex industry
• people with disabilities
• faith communities
• people living in rural and regional communities
• older people
• young people
• women in or exiting prison or forensic institutions such as specialist mental health hospitals and services
• male victims
• LGBTIQ communities
• people experiencing mental health issues
• people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

The RCFV found people from diverse communities can experience family violence differently and can face multiple and intersecting systemic barriers and to accessing services. For some people in these groups, “family violence is less visible and less well understood than family violence in other parts of the Australian community”⁴. However, the term ‘diversity’ is not intended to be an othering term. Everyone has multiple layers to their identities. In recognising these multiple layers, we hope to ensure people from all communities across Victoria have equitable access to the services they need when they need them.

Equity means that available information, spaces, services and programs should deliver outcomes that people need and want. This requires services to be able to consider and respond to the intersecting forms of disadvantage and discrimination to truly cater to all diverse needs.

Intersectionality describes how systems and structures interact on multiple levels to oppress, create barriers and overlapping forms of discrimination, stigma and power imbalances based on characteristics such as Aboriginality, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, colour, nationality, refugee or asylum seeker background, migration or visa status, language, religion, ability, age, mental health, socioeconomic status, housing status, geographic location, medical record or criminal record. These compound experiences of family violence and create additional barriers for a person to access the help they need.

In late 2018 to early 2020, FSV led the Intersectionality Capacity Building Project to develop resources to increase the capacity and capability of family violence and universal service workforces to adopt and embed an intersectionality framework across family violence, sexual assault, and child and family wellbeing in order to foster inclusion and equity. The intersectionality framework and resources developed through the project was undertaken in collaboration with over 30 sector stakeholders and key Victorian Government departments and agencies over a five-phase targeted consultation process.

Intersectionality is a framework that seeks to understand how power intersects and conspires within systems and structures. This power creating overlapping forms of discrimination or disadvantage for either an individual or group based on social characteristics such as, but not limited to gender, sex, sexual orientation, ethnicity, language, religion, class, socioeconomic status, gender identity, ability or age.

Intersectionality also helps us understand our own individual circumstances, our position of power and our experiences within those systems, structures and institutions that organise our society. By truly understanding our own position of power, we will be able to critically reflect and work towards removing the systemic barriers faced by people who have been marginalised.

Experiences of inequality, particularly where it intersects, compounds the risk of experiencing family violence and creates additional barriers for a person to access the help they need. Intersectionality recognises that all people are complex and no one person has the same lived experience as another person. Intersectionality seeks to identify how we can challenge and/or advocate to change systemic discrimination and inequality to ensure all individuals can fully participate in society.

An intersectionality framework builds upon the foundations of our understanding of the gendered nature of family violence and sexual assault. It is a lens through which we can view how different forms of inequality and discrimination intersect and collide to influence experiences of family violence, sexual assault and child and family wellbeing issues, and impact on seeking help and access to services.

A system that adopts inclusion as an active process recognises the impact of marginalisation, values diversity and works to eliminate barriers. Adopting an active process of inclusion creates welcoming environments in which everyone can access services and the services available are responsive to diverse needs. Adopting an active process of inclusion means ensuring diversity of thinking, experiences, and skills are valued and utilised. An inclusive system is demonstrated by attitudes, behaviours, policies and practices that enable full and equal participation for everyone. It is achieved where programs, services and funding are flexible and responsive to diversity and where diverse communities are empowered as active participants at all levels of planning, decision-making and delivery.

_{3. Royal Commission into Family Violence Summary Recommendations 2016, p.32 https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/file_uploads/1a_RFV_112ppA4_SummaryRe…}

_{4. Royal Commission into Family Violence Report and Recommendations 2016, volume V, 9.1 http://files.rcfv.com.au/Reports/Final/RCFV-All-Volumes.pdf}

Figure 1. Diverse communities

• Aboriginal communities
• People in the sex industry
• People with disabilities
• Faith communities
• People living in regional and rural communities
• People experiencing mental health issues
• Older people
• Young people
• Culturally and linguistically diverse people
• Women in or exiting prison or forensic institutions
• Male victims
• LGBTIQ communities

Figure 2: Overview of the 2019-22 Blueprint

Vision: An inclusive, safe, responsive and accountable system for all Victorians.

Strategic Priorities from the Everybody Matters: Inclusion and Equity Statement:

• Strategic Priority 1: Building Knowledge
• Strategic Priority 2: Building Capacity and Capability
• Strategic Priority 3: Strengthening Targeted Services

Three-year outcomes:

• There is increased evidence and research on experiences of family violence, service system responses to victim-survivors and perpetrators of family violence, and systemic barriers to engagement for people from Victoria’s diverse communities
• Specialist family violence services have increase awareness of intersectionality
• Specialist and broader family violence workers have increased knowledge about intersectionality and its relevance to their work
• The family violence workforce better reflects the diversity of Victorian communities
• Targeted service provision is more accessible to people from diverse communities experiencing or choosing to use violence.
• Targeted services are accessible through standalone or coordinated responses

Indicators

• Mechanisms implemented to share data and research across Government and the broader service sectors
• Improved data on diverse communities to better inform service design and delivery
• Increased collaboration with people with lived experience in the design and delivery of family violence services
• Increased trials and evaluation of new approaches to interventions to build the policy evidence base
• Increased workforce capacity to embed culturally safe, inclusive and intersectionality practices
• Increased inclusive practice training and ongoing professional development for staff
• Increased workforce diversity
• Increased coordination and collaboration across the service system
• Capacity building initiatives implemented to further strengthen targeted services
• Enhanced targeted initiatives for people from diverse communities

Actions

• Implement the Family Violence Data Collection Framework
• Gather baseline data on the family violence workforce demographics
• Showcase inclusive practice examples, informed by an intersectionality framework
• Trial targeted initiatives for people from diverse communities who use violence
• Support the establishment of Victim Survivor Advisory Groups
• Gather the voices of lived experience through The Orange Door network evaluation
• Commission research to analyse perpetrators of family violence and their service pathways
• Explore systemic barriers to accessing services for people from diverse communities
• Research and pilot projects to understand the drivers of violence against people from diverse communities
• Work with Elder Abuse Prevention Networks to complete action research to understand the drivers of Elder Abuse
• Enhance organisations and workers understanding of intersectionality through the implementation of MARAM and the Intersectionality Capacity Building Project
• Implement disability and women exiting prison practice lead initiatives
• Support 26 organisations to achieve Rainbow Tick Accreditation
• Implement a suite of LGBITQ family violence capacity building initiatives
• Support initiatives to reduce barriers to enter the workforce and encourage people from diverse communities to join the workforce
• Build the capacity of interpreters through family violence training and ongoing professional development
• Rollout e-learning modules on intersectionality
• Develop training packages for faith leaders to understand the nature of family violence and sexual assault in multicultural and faith communities
• Building prevention workforce capacity in intersectionality
• Work with targeted services across diverse communities to inform the development of the MARAM perpetrator practice guidance
• Enhance The Orange Door network linkages with targeted services
• Implement learnings and recommendations from the evaluation of the Family Violence perpetrator intervention trials programs
• Review and evaluate Victoria’s first LGBTIQ specialist family violence service offering
• Implement initiatives across multicultural communities in regional Victoria to prevent and recognise family violence
• Provide targeted funding for primary prevention activities led by multicultural organisations
• Fund statewide telephone support service for people experiencing elder abuse
• Fund LGBTIQ Family Violence applicant and respondent practitioners at selected courts
• Strengthen the capacity of the disability and social services workforce to design and deliver prevention of family violence activities

Diagram 1. Understanding intersectionality in Australia

• People’s social identities and experiences of systems of oppression intersect with colonisation.
• Systems of oppression include ableism, ageism, stigma, classism, intersex discrimination, transphobia, biphobia, homophobia, sexism and racism.
• People’s identities include Aboriginality, gender, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, colour, nationality, refugee or asylum seeker background, migration or visa status, language, religion, ability, age, mental health, socioeconomic status, housing status, geographic location and medical or criminal record.