More help is desperately needed for people experiencing family violence in regional Victoria, the Nationals Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad told Parliament.
Ms Broad urged the government to provide more specific funding and support for preventative and protective programs for those experiencing family violence in the regions.
“Victims and survivors are crying out for help and the need is particularly urgent in regional Victoria,” Ms Broad said.
“Recent figures from the Victorian Crime Statistics Agency show exactly how horrendous the situation is. Serious assaults occur at double or even triple the rate of Melbourne.
“Three of the top five local government areas for serious family violence assaults in Victoria are in my electorate of Northern Victoria. These are Shepparton, Swan Hill and Benalla. Greater Shepparton is the worst LGA in the state, with a rate of 379.3 incidents per 100,000 people.
“This is nearly three times the rate of Wyndham, the worst Melbourne LGA. The top 17 LGAs and 28 of the top 30 with the highest rates of family violence were all in regional Victoria. Four of the six women killed in Victoria so far in 2024 are from regional Victoria. In Bendigo, police responded to 4500 family violence incidents in the past 12 months.
“A campaign currently being run by the Bendigo Advertiser and Australian Community Media, Breaking the Silence in Regional Violence, highlights the particular difficulties that people in regional areas have in surviving and/or leaving an abusive relationship.
“While the government has talked about spending more money on family violence prevention, they need to target the regions specifically. There is an urgent need for emergency housing and support services.”
Ms Broad said the availability of emergency housing in regional Victoria was sparse, to say the least.
“We have had incidents of people escaping domestic violence being offered tents to sleep in. We also need more adequate resources for the frontline services dealing with assault, sexual assault and other forms of violence in our community.
“Our local services do extraordinary work, but they are always busy and at times overwhelmed by the demand. These include the Centre Against Sexual Assault, the Centre for Non-Violence, the Orange Door and Anglicare. There are also other frontline workers, including police, paramedics and health workers, who see the effects of this family violence every day.
“The figures from the CSA show we are in a family violence crisis.
“It is worth noting that these figures only include incidents that involve police. No doubt there are many incidents of family violence that go unreported.
“The need for increased and continued funding that is specific to regional Victoria is clear. It is needed. I ask the minister to act on this as a matter of urgency.”
Media Contact: Linda Barrow 0484 303 764 linda.barrow@parliament.vic.gov.au
