At current levels of government funding, 2,800 women trying to flee domestic violence will have to be turned away from homelessness services this year. That’s the shocking reality highlighted in new analysis launched today by Homelessness Australia and Fair Agenda.
It’s heartbreaking and unbelievable given the government’s claim to make action on domestic violence a priority.
Tonight a federal Cabinet Minister will join more than a thousand CEOs sleeping out to support action on homelessness. It’s admirable, and I’m glad to see political leaders showing their support for action on this important issue. But I would prefer to see Cabinet commit the federal funding needed to actually address this issue: $33.8 million a year.
Every night 423 people have to be turned away from homelessness services, including women and children fleeing domestic violence. It’s a horrifying reality across the nation.
For women who are brave enough to try and leave an abusive relationship, having access to specialist homelessness services is critical. We know that when a woman tries to leave an abusive relationship she’s at greater risk of being assaulted, or murdered, by her abuser. Women’s refuges and other specialist homelessness services provide physical shelter, as well as referrals to support services, and access to support workers who can help assess and manage the immediate risks to the woman’s safety.
But right now services don’t have the funding they need to be able to provide that support to everyone who reaches out for help. And for those who are turned away, it can mean having to return to a violent home.
Shockingly – in the midst of a family violence national crisis – homelessness services aren’t the only family violence service that doesn’t have the funding they need to do their job:
- Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services (FVPLS) – which provide a critical specialist and culturally safe service for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples – don’t have the funding they need to meet demand. That’s despite the fact that Aboriginal women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised as the result of family violence related assault.
- Community Legal Centres (CLCs) – where a third of the work is family violence related – have to turn away more than 150,000 people a year. The Productivity Commission has stated that legal assistance services (including CLCs and FVPLS) urgently need an injection of $200 million, of which the federal government should be responsible for 60%, or $120 million a year.
- Family and Relationship Services – that play an important role in preventing violence before it occurs, and supporting victims when it does occur, are calling for an additional $12.2 million from the federal government to continue programs.
- Men’s behaviour change programs are seeking $8.5 million from the federal government to extend their work intervening with male perpetrators of violence. At the same time primary prevention programs also need additional funding – to ensure things like responsible relationships education in schools can be rolled out nationally.
This year, the already horrific and unacceptable number of women being murdered in family and domestic violence incidents has risen. Yet thousands of women are still being turned away from services that should be helping keep them safe, because those services don’t have enough funding.
To address this crisis we need urgent, full funding of family violence services – to make sure no-one brave enough to try and leave an abusive relationship is turned away from services that should help keep them safe, and that programs that can help prevent violence in the future can be rolled out at scale.
Every day that family violence services aren’t fully funded – we risk a woman being turned away from a service that could help save her life.
Last month the federal government made the startling decision not to announce any new additional funding for family violence services on budget night. After public backlash, they announced an additional $4 million for national hotline 1800 RESPECT – to address the fact that 18,631 calls a year had been going unanswered. It’s a good start, but it’s not nearly enough.
As a community we need to keep speaking out about this issue, and make the call for full funding of all family violence services so loud that no government can ignore it. Please join the campaign at:
www.fairagenda.org/family_violence_services.
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000. For more information about a service in your state or local area download the DAISY App in the App Store or Google Play.