A SPECIALIST family violence court to be established in Moorabbin is among a raft of state budget measures aimed at providing support to victims in Kingston.
The new court funding was included in a $1.9 billion package to tackle family violence across the state. Other similar courts will be established in Frankston, Ballarat, Shepparton and Heidelberg at a cost of $130 million over five years.
The courts “will give vulnerable people access to safer courts and more targeted family violence support services,” Labor MP Nick Staikos, whose Bentleigh electorate includes Moorabbin, said.
“This funding will enable the Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court to provide better victim support with more efficient proceedings, integrated services and safer facilities.”
The courts will receive extra resources, including specialist support staff and security upgrades, to protect victim survivors and families. This will allow the courts to ensure that related matters, including criminal proceedings, intervention orders, family law and Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal cases, can be heard together.
The funding will also increase the number of places available for men’s behavioural change programs and increase access to support services, such as interpreters and Koori support staff to help Aboriginal victims.
The package also includes upgrades to create safer waiting areas and interview rooms to better accommodate family violence matters.
A support and safety hub, one of five statewide, will be established later this year.
Although its location has not been announced, the hub will act as a central point for information, triage and access for those experiencing family violence.
It will cater to victim survivors and their friends and family, and be an access point for doctors, teachers and police.
At the hub, extra training on preventing and responding to family violence will be given to mental health, alcohol and drug, and child protection workers.
The capacity of the coroner’s court to investigate family violence-related deaths will also be expanded.
At the latest public council meeting on 3 May, Kingston councillors asked council officers to compile a report on the incidence and prevalence of domestic and family violence in Kingston.
Cr Georgina Oxley’s notice of motion, backed unanimously by councillors, stated the report should cover relevant statistics for Kingston and its surrounding suburbs, including research into any correlation between the number of liquor outlets in an area and domestic violence.
The report will also include steps and actions taken locally to address family violence, recent Royal Commission findings, recommendations on how family violence victims can be supported and relevant local government campaigns to address domestic violence.
Cr Oxley backed up her motion with statistics that demonstrate the prevalence and severity of violence against women.
On average, at least one woman a week is killed by a partner or former partner in Australia, with one in three Australian women experiencing physical violence since the age of 15.
One in five Australian women has experienced sexual violence – one in four by a partner – with one in four experiencing emotional abuse by a current or former partner.
Of those women who experience violence, more than half have children in their care.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 10 May 2017
