Regional Victoria grapples with alarming rise in family violence

ARC Justice is an organisation that offers legal and tenancy support across the region.

“ARC Justice is deeply concerned by the troubling rise in family violence incidents in rural and regional communities,” ARC Justice chief executive Damian Stock said.

“The latest statistics show a 6.1 per cent increase in reported family violence incidents statewide, with regional communities facing an even greater burden.”

Established in 1990, the Centre for Non-Violence provides prevention, crisis and recovery services to support victim-survivors and address family violence.

CNV reports that families in regional Victoria are twice as likely to experience family violence compared to those in metropolitan areas. According to CNV, isolation, limited access to services and inadequate police presence are all factors that create significant barriers to safety and support.

CNV suggests that offering round-the-clock police response in smaller towns in regional Victoria would help address the complexities of ending family violence.

According to Mr Stock, improving legal support for victim-survivors requires well-funded, trauma-informed systems and flexible funding to expand frontline services and wrap-around supports.

“Partnerships, such as ARC’s with the Centre for Non-Violence, show that integrated approaches lead to better outcomes,” Mr Stock said.

“Replicating these models in other regions, including in Shepparton, would provide holistic responses.

“Research — including the Tipping the Scales project and She Didn’t Ask for This report — confirms that when legal, health, housing and social services collaborate, victim-survivors feel safer, can engage fully and address underlying issues.”

Rising demand for support services

CNV, which works with both victim-survivors and adults using violence, has seen a growing demand for longer and more complex case management as the severity of violence continues to escalate.

“Our staff are reporting to us that not only is the severity of the violence escalating, that the complexity of the support needs continues to grow,” CNV executive manager of programs and services Yvette Jaczina said.

CNV received over 2500 referrals for support last year, with 2029 requiring intensive case management, including 1005 children.

Similarly, ARC Justice has reported increased demand for family violence legal services.

“Year on year, we see an increase in demand for our family violence legal services, with more clients seeking help and cases becoming more complex,” Mr Stock said.

“Limited local resources in regional areas mean we’re handling heavier caseloads and working harder to ensure victim-survivors receive the support they need when they need it.”

Council’s role in prevention

In June, Greater Shepparton City Council received $250,000 in government funding under the Free From Violence initiative to appoint a part-time project officer. While recruitment for the position is ongoing, several measures have already been implemented to address family violence in the interim.

“In the early stages of the program, council delivered an organisational ‘health check’ to determine strength areas and areas of improvement for upskilling of staff and processes,” council manager of community wellbeing Renee Scott said.

According to Ms Scott, council focused on primary prevention, gender equality and fostering individual responsibility for change, leveraging the 16 Days of Activism campaign to build community awareness and promote action through events, activities and partnerships with external agencies.

“It was agreed through the 16 Days committee that the focus of this campaign would be to engage the community, rather than focusing on agency engagement,” Ms Scott.

“Initiatives from this campaign included a community forum, community walk and key community messaging across social media and other platforms.”

Barriers to safety

In its 2021 Nowhere to Go report, Equity Economics identified family violence as the leading cause of homelessness for women and children, with only 3.2 per cent receiving the long-term housing support they need.

As a result, 7600 women annually return to violent partners while more than 9100 become homeless. The ongoing housing and cost-of-living crisis, reported by over 40 per cent of CNV-supported victim-survivors, forces many to choose between homelessness and remaining with an abusive partner.

“The ongoing housing and cost-of-living crisis severely impacts a victim-survivor’s ability to seek safety,” Ms Jaczina said.

“Finding suitable housing is particularly challenging and can leave women and children in desperate circumstances.”

ARC Justice echoed these concerns, emphasising the legal ramifications of unstable housing.

“Victim-survivors struggling with finding secure housing or meeting basic living costs face extra barriers to safety,” Mr Stock said.

“For women with children in particular, the lack of stable housing options can mean choosing between staying in a violent home or having no home at all.

“Both options risk child protection becoming involved.”

A call for systemic change

“The community’s knowledge of family violence issues appears to have largely increased, although individuals’ understanding of how they can contribute to family violence prevention remains ongoing,” Ms Scott said.

Both CNV and ARC Justice emphasise the need for systemic change to combat family violence effectively.

“We continue to advocate for systemic change, pushing for stronger legal protections, better access to safe housing and more comprehensive support services for those affected by family violence,” Mr Stock said.

“Until we invite victim-survivors to the table to design and implement measures to tackle family violence, nothing will ever change,” Jamila, a victim-survivor and family violence prevention advocate, said.

“We will continue to see family violence rates rise, year after year.

“Victim-survivors demand more from our government than performative acts of goodwill, more than empty words — and we demand that now.”

Fellow victim-survivor Marie called for wholesale change.

“The whole system is back to front,” she said.

“There’s a lot of room for growth, we don’t want to continue to be abused.”