Minister Gabrielle Williams, Minister for Prevention of Family Violence speaks.
I’m pleased to present the Ending family violence: annual report, an important account of the work across government to prevent and respond to family violence in Victoria.
Six years ago, the Royal Commission into family violence handed down its final report. We committed to implement all 227 of its recommendations and began the task of building a new, stronger and more coordinated family violence system. We committed to ending family violence here in Victoria. We knew it wouldn’t be easy and we knew it wouldn’t be quick, but it has to be done.
Since then, we’ve invested more than $3.5 billion to prevent and respond to gendered violence here in Victoria.
With only 23 recommendations outstanding, we have made substantial progress.
The Orange Door network has assisted more than 200,000 people across Victoria and has fundamentally changed the way our system responds to family violence. We’ve opened new Specialist Family Violence Courts and embedded nation-leading Respectful Relationships education in every Victorian government school. We’re ensuring a community-led, self-determined response to preventing and responding to family violence within Aboriginal communities through our Dhelk Dja Agreement. Perpetrators are being kept in view with expanded community-based interventions and accommodation programs, informed by comprehensive view of risk through the Central Information Point. Most importantly, every step of the way, we are keeping the voices of victim survivors central to the design and implementation of this reform.
The Ending family violence: annual report shows how far we’ve come and it reveals the sobering truths about just how far we still have to go. Family violence remains the leading cause of homelessness for women and children in Victoria. As a result of increased awareness and enforcement, we have seen year-on-year increases in recorded family violence incidents and with that, unprecedented demand on services.
Too many children still suffer the devastating impacts of family violence. We know there is still more work to do in strengthening our data to give a more comprehensive picture of the impact of our reforms. And we have seen the profound impact of COVID-19 on victim survivors of family violence and the services that support them.
The challenges of the last two years have only strengthened our resolve. The Ending family violence: annual report allows us to continue our work to build a nation leading family violence system, with transparency and accountability.
This work isn’t easy, and it’s a long way from finished but we are dedicated to the task. To build a nation-leading family violence system and a life free from violence for every Victorian.
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