Northern Integrated Family Violence Services

1

• Northern Integrated Family Violence Services
• Presentation to BNPCA Emotional Wellbeing Network
• 3rd December 2008

2

• About WHIN
• Regional womens health service for Northern
  Metropolitan subregion and one of 11 specialist
  services in Victoria.
• Underpinned by the dual strategy National
  Womens Health Policy (1989).
• Catchment Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland,
  Nillumbik, Whittlesea and Yarra.
• Over 16 years experience in womens health
  (established in 1992).

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• Family Violence
• Family violence is predominantly, but not
  exclusively, perpetrated by men against women and
  children.
• Violence is defined as any act that makes another
  person or persons feel fearful, unsafe and not in
  control of their own destiny Physical, Social,
  Sexual, Financial, Spiritual, Verbal,
  Psychological, Emotional, Stalking.
• It encompasses direct or indirect threats or
  perpetration of physical, psychological, verbal,
  emotional, sexual, financial, economic, social,
  ritual, spiritual, cultural, domestic animal and
  property abuse. This is reflected in the new
  Victorian Family Violence Protection Act 2008.
• It can occur in all ethnic and cultural groups,
  and in all kinds of relationships and families
  including heterosexual and same-sex
  relationships, and against older people and
  people with a disability.

4

• Family Violence in Victoria
• Family violence affects one in five women.
  Aboriginal women 45 times more likely to be
  victims of domestic violence (VIFVTF 2003).
• Family Violence is a factor in 52 of
  substantiated child protection cases (VicHealth,
  2004a)
• It is the leading contributor to death,
  disability and illness in Victorian women aged 15
  - 44, a higher disease burden than high blood
  pressure, smoking and obesity (VicHealth, 2004a).
• Access Economics has estimated the total indirect
  and direct costs for Victoria is of the order of
  2 billion (Access Economics, 2004).

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• Integrated Family Violence Reforms
• The 2005-06 State Budget included 35.1 million
  over 4 years to initiate a new approach to family
  violence in Victoria.
• Stemmed from a whole of government policy
  commitment of the Womens Safety Strategy, to
  develop the first integrated and consistent
  system for addressing family violence in
  Victoria.
• Prior to the reform process, family violence was
  addressed through a highly dedicated and
  experienced network of community agencies and
  refuges. The response was often fragmented and
  inconsistent.

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The NIFVS partnership

• The Northern Integrated Family Violence Services
  (NIFVS) partnership is made up of
• Womens Health In the North (WHIN)
• Berry Street
• Elizabeth Hoffman House
• Anglicare
• Crossroads Youth Family Services
• Georgina Martina Refuges
• Community Health Services
• Covers northern sub region the councils of
  Banyule, Darebin, Dianella, Moreland, Nillumbik,
  North Richmond, North Yarra, Plenty Valley
  Sunbury
• The NIFVS partnership was funded to lead and
  coordinate the changes to family violence
  services in the northern region. It aims to
  strengthen and resource the response of a variety
  of sectors to family violence.

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• The role of WHIN
• WHIN employ the Project Manager, whose role it is
  to provide
• regional leadership to support program planning
• data analysis
• identify shared learnings
• identify best practice models
• supporting and resourcing local and regional FV
  networks
• devise communication strategies and
• liaise with generalist service providers.

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• Service pathways

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• Current Family Violence initiatives
• Statewide and federal prevention of violence
  against women frameworks
• Both are currently in development
• Benchmark Data collection project
• A 2 year statewide project of snapshot data
  collection on family violence, involving courts,
  police and service providers. The findings are
  starting to be disseminated now.
• Family Violence Protection Act 2008
• This will become law next month. It has a more
  inclusive definition of family violence and of
  who is a family member, and gives the police
  extra powers to issue FV safety notices.
• Common Risk Assessment Framework
• This has been developed for use across all
  sectors who interact with women at risk of family
  violence. It aims to give clients a consistent
  and high quality service across the different
  sectors, and is based on principles of respect,
  non-judgemental communication, culturally
  informed and sensitive practices, informing
  victims of their options, service delivery
  accountability and promotion of social justice

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• An example the CARS project
• The Northern Crisis Advocacy Response Service
  (CARS) pilot was developed as a result of the
  identification of the need for a more
  comprehensive response for women in family
  violence crisis situations.
• The aim of the service is to provide women with a
  seamless and immediate 24-hour crisis response
  with improved counselling, information, advocacy
  and support.
• Organisations participating include Victoria
  Police, the Womens Domestic Violence Crisis
  Service (WDVCS), Berry St Northern Family and
  Domestic Violence Service, Crossroads YFS, WHIN,
  Georginas Womens Refuge and Martinas Womens
  Refuge)
• Provides 24/7 face-to-face crisis responses to
  women and their children at a safe separate
  location without requiring women to move out of
  their home.
• Aims to enable women experiencing family violence
  to make more informed decisions at the point of
  crisis

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• References further information
• Access Economics, The Cost of Domestic Violence
  to the Australian Economy, Commonwealth of
  Australia, 2004.
• Department of Justice, 2006, The Victorian Family
  Violence Database Five Year Report, Melbourne
  State of Victoria, Department of Justice.
• Linacre, S., Womens experience of partner
  violence in Australian Social Trends 2007,
  Australian Bureau of Statistics, Commonwealth of
  Australia, August 2007.
• Makkai, T. Mouzos J., 2004, Womens Experiences
  of Male Violence Findings from the Australian
  Component of the International Violence Against
  Women Survey (IVAWS), Canberra Australian
  Institute of Criminology.
• Marcus, G., 2008, An integrated response to
  family violence a new approach in Victoria in
  Australian Domestic Family Violence
  Clearinghouse Newsletter 32, Sydney University
  of New South Wales.
• Mazza, D., Lawrence, J., Roberts, G., and
  Knowlden, S., 2000, What can we do about Domestic
  Violence?, Medical Journal of Australia, Volume
  173, No. 10.
• State of Victoria, 2002a, Womens Safety
  Strategy A Policy Framework, Melbourne State of
  Victoria.
• State of Victoria, 2002b, Acting on the Womens
  Safety Strategy, Melbourne State of Victoria.
• State of Victoria, 2005a, Changing Lives A New
  Approach to Family Violence in Victoria,
  Melbourne State of Victoria.
• State of Victoria, 2008a, A Fairer Victoria
  Achievements so Far, Melbourne State of
  Victoria.
• State of Victoria, 2006, A New Approach Progress
  Report 2005 2006 Responding more effectively
  to family violence, Melbourne State of Victoria.
  
• State of Victoria, 2003, Department for Victorian
  Communities, Victorian Indigenous Family Violence
  Task Force Final Report, Melbourne State of
  Victoria.
• State of Victoria, 2008b, State Budget 2008-2009,
  Family Violence Reform Fact sheet Victorian
  Family Violence Reform Milestones, 9th May 2008.
• State of Victoria, 2005b, Womens Safety Strategy
  2002-2007 Progress report November 2005,
  Melbourne State of Victoria, December 2005.
• VicHealth, 2004a, The Health Costs of Violence
  Measuring the burden of disease caused by
  intimate partner violence, Melbourne Victorian
  Health Promotion Foundation.
• VicHealth, 2004b, Two steps forward, one step
  back Community attitudes to violence against
  women Progress and challenges in creating safe
  and healthy environments for Victorian Women,
  Melbourne Victorian Health Promotion Foundation.

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• Contact Details
• Sandra Morris
• Programme Manager, Family Violence Regional
  Leadership Service Planning
• Womens Health In the North
• 680 High Street
• Thornbury 3071
• Tel. [phone]
• sandram_at_whin.org.au