The Albanese Labor Government is supporting First Nations women and children living in Broome, Western Australia to leave violent intimate partner relationships.
Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service has received $7 million in funding to deliver the West Kimberley Leaving Violence Network, significantly expanding the immediate supports available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander victim-survivors.
This is one of three regional place-based trials commencing from 1 July – complementing the next stage of the $925 million Leaving Violence Program.
The Government is investing $22.35 million in trials in Broome, Dubbo in NSW and Darwin in the Northern Territory, to provide tailored, trauma-informed support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Broome Regional Aboriginal Medical Service will also provide victim-survivors with an option to access the Leaving Violence Program through their service as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Organisation.
Under the Leaving Violence Program, eligible victim-survivors receive financial support of up to $5,000, including up to $1,500 in cash and the remainder in goods and services. Supports include safety planning, risk assessment and referrals to other essential services for up to 12 weeks. The program is expected to support over 36,000 victim-survivors a year.
Minister for Social Services, Amanda Rishworth, said the regional trials will provide eligible victim-survivors with greater access to practical and financial support to leave family violence.
“By providing culturally safe, trauma-informed support, we can empower victim-survivors within our Indigenous communities to regain safety, stability, and control over their lives and wellbeing,” Minister Rishworth said.
“No person in our country should be forced to live in an environment that compromises their safety or their agency, and this expansion of the program will allow hundreds of vulnerable Australians to take that first step into a brighter future.”
Senator for Western Australia, Glenn Sterle, said the Government understands no two victim-survivors’ experiences are the same, and neither is the support they need.
“It is imperative that victim-survivors seeking help are given a range of supports so they can get the help they need depending on their individual situations,” Senator Sterle said.
“If there are any barriers to an individual looking after their own wellbeing and safety, we must do what we can to remove those barriers before things get any worse.”
Intimate partner violence is a problem of epidemic proportions in Australia, with a quarter of all Australian women having experienced it in their lifetime.
The Leaving Violence Program helps support the aims of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-32 to end violence in one generation, and forms part of the Albanese Government’s $4 billion investment in women’s safety since 2022.
It also makes permanent the Escaping Violence Program trial. More than 78,000 victim-survivors have accessed the EVP payment since 2021. Over 70 per cent of those accessing the support were self-referrals meaning without this program they may have fallen through the cracks of the support system.
More information on the Leaving Violence Program is available on the Department of Social Services website.
If you or someone you know is experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, domestic, family or sexual violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, chat online via www.1800RESPECT.org.au, or text 0458 737 732.
If you are concerned about your behaviour or use of violence, you can contact the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491 or visit http://www.ntv.org.au
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