Monash University

The National Cabinet has today agreed to provide $4.7 billion for more services to support the victim-survivors of sexual and family violence. The funding is a joint agreement between federal, state and territory governments. The new proposals include funding for sexual violence services, support for children and young Australians who have witnessed or experienced violence, and funding for programs that work with men to change their behaviour. 

Professor Kyllie Cripps, Chief Investigator, Australian Research Council Centre for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Director Monash Indigenous Studies Centre says:

“The announcement today appears to be very heavily carceral-focused. There is also a significant lack of clarity behind some of the measures proposed.

“It states, ‘it will include a focus on nationally coordinated approaches to support prevention activities through frontline services’. But it leaves a significant question unanswered as to its commitment and support of primary prevention activities primarily delivered by Our Watch.

“It also omits the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Inquiry recommendations on the importance of cultural awareness training for police, as well as the issue of system accountability for when systems fail Indigenous women, contributing to their deaths or disappearances.

“While there is a commitment to ‘work with First Nations people and communities’, measures proposed to ‘develop new risk assessments, information sharing across jurisdictions and departments’, and ‘trialling new focussed deterrence models and Domestic Violence Threat Assessment Centres’ do raise concerns. Such measures are rarely culturally sensitive or applicable to First Nations communities, and much work needs to be done to ensure that their application is made with due care and respect.

“It is good news that there is support for pay parity and a higher rate of indexation for legal centres, but it was not unanticipated. This agreement was due to be made.

“If we are not responding to the evidence that tells us that we need to address the drivers including the dire situation with housing, economic disadvantage, cultural unsafety of institutions meant to support women in these situations, and other related issues that entrap women in these situations, we miss opportunities for meaningful and sustained change.”

Professor Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash Business School Executive Education says:

“Amid the recognised national crisis of violence against women and children, additional funding for frontline responders is long overdue. It is extremely welcomed today to hear there will be increased funding for crisis responses, including community legal centres.

“We absolutely must ensure that when victims seek help – no matter what service they contact to do so – that the service is fully resourced to meet that demand.

“The announcement today includes recognition of the need to build a nationally consistent and coordinated approach to information sharing and risk assessment. This is an important step forward. We know that perpetrators move states, and that often an understanding of the level of risk posed does not follow them.

“It is critical that state and territory governments continue to collaborate and coordinate on this issue. We will not eliminate violence against women and children in one state alone – a nationally coordinated effort is absolutely critical.”