A new online resource, the ANROWS Evidence Portal has launched to provide a national database of interventions aimed to end violence against women for the first time ever.
The Portal is designed to allow users to easily find the available information in one place, and to better understand where evidence exists and where there are gaps.
This in turn, highlights which interventions work to prevent violence against women, supports implementation and informs evidence-based policymaking.
Padma Raman PSM, CEO of ANROWS, said the Evidence Portal is a key instrument to measure the impact of the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022-2032.
“To end violence against women and children in one generation, as outlined in the National Pla, we need to know what the evidence says, where the gaps in our understanding are, and what programs and interventions might work to end violence,” said Raman.
“The ANROWS Evidence Portal brings together reliable and relevant data so that policymakers, practitioners, researchers and funders can have a trusted site to find quality evidence.”
The curated database of evidence contains evaluations and specialised search engine designed for the violence against women sector. It consists of two tools– Intervention Finder & Reviews and Evidence & Gap maps.
Assistant Minister for Social Services and Assistant Minister of the Prevention of Family Violence, Justine Elliot launched the Portal on Friday and said it’s an ongoing and living resource that will be updated regularly.
“The ANROWS Evidence Portal, by synthesising the evidence base, will allow us to build more effective trauma-informed support,” said Elliot.
“This vital research will play a key role in identifying, responding to, recovering and healing from violence, and will help us to achieve our shared vision under the National Plan.”
In addition to helping achieve the National Plan’s goals, Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishwork said the Portal “means everyone will be able to share that same trusted and high-quality evidence when considering responses to reducing violence.”
“It will make a real and practical difference in the lives of women and children experiencing violence,” said Rishworth.
“For the first time, we have a single database that pulls together information and a range of sources to provide a national picture.”