Safety hubs are a critical service requirement for women, children, and families who are experiencing family violence.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
As an access point, they will help to identify needs and intervene earlier, as well as respond in times of crisis.
Horsham has the eighth highest rate of family violence incidents in Victoria – with 2516 incidents for every 100,000 people. During the last financial year alone, Uniting Wimmera worked with 466 families who accessed child and family services and more than 26 per cent said they had a history of family violence.
Family violence is a major issue in rural and remote locations because of a number of factors.
There is a lack of services overall. These break down into a lack of pathways to seek services (for example chronic GP shortages) and lack of training amongst GPs.
In schools and workplaces, it is harder for people to feel supported to identify issues that can make life in a small community really challenging.
Family violence is a major driver of homelessness. It is so much harder for women and children in rural and remote areas seeking to leave because of the shortage of housing options, stigma, and challenges with feeling safe and accepted when women and children try and change their lives by leaving violent households.
The long-term impact of trauma on children living with family violence is known, with fewer child-specific services it makes it difficult to address these issues. Then as children grow up, they can be faced with other relationship and behavioural challenges that can lead to anti-social behaviour, making it hard for them to be accepted in society.
The very limited services for youth fleeing family violence is also a major issue in our area. Often they are too young to secure accommodation and unable to stay at school and unable to get employment. This can lead to mental health and other issues developing and again there is a shortage of visible and available services to wrap around these young people and stop the intergenerational cycle of family violence that is visible in our region.
At last year’s regional assembly of the Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership, Uniting Wimmera put forward a case for a Support and Safety Hub for Horsham.
We were pleased to see that the May state budget invested $448 million towards safety and support hubs in areas with the highest rate of family violence across the state, and will continue advocating the case for Horsham to be one of the first 17 locations.
Phone and internet services are not sufficient replacements for a physical location and safe haven when escaping violence and, in remote communities, infrastructure cannot support online alternatives such as video conference appointments.
Uniting and our partners have the capacity to provide a range and depth of services which can work alongside children and families to meet their needs and achieve their goals.
Our local services and understanding of rural communities means we are well-placed to address the challenges and barriers outlined in the 2016 Royal Commission into Family Violence.
However, under the current model, geographic and social isolation will continue to act as barriers and deterrents to accessing help.
Today, the Partnership will host its second Regional Assembly and we'll be looking to the community, business and agencies to think big and consider innovative solutions to the issue of family violence but also other challenges such as transport, health and connectivity.
The WSM Regional Assembly is fully booked out. If you would like to contribute ideas and suggestions please go to the WSM Regional Partnership website https://engage.vic.gov.au/wimmera-southern-mallee.