2.3 Victim survivors are heard and in control

Indicator: Increase in self-referrals to family violence support services

A key principle of the family violence service system is that there is no wrong door for seeking support or advice. Referrals to family violence services or to The Orange Door can be made from police, a non-family violence service provider or a person experiencing violence and their family and friends. Self-referrals are one important way victim survivors can access support and get help when and where they need it, giving people choice in how they engage with the family violence service system.

Measure: Number and proportion of self-referrals to The Orange Door network by victim survivors

The number of self-referrals to The Orange Door network by victim survivors increased over the last four years. This is partly due to the progressive expansion of The Orange Door network over that period.

The increase also suggests that more people are proactively seeking help due to more visible and accessible entry points brought about by The Orange Door network.

There was a small drop in self-referrals during 2020–21, most likely due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and reduced opportunities for victim survivors to self-refer.

Figure 1: Self-referrals to The Orange Door, Victoria, 2018 to 2022

Source: The Orange Door Client Relationship Management system

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Referrals to The Orange Door	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22
Number of self-referrals by victim survivors	3,490	4,879	4,193	7,934
Number of referrals for victim survivors from other pathways	18,243	24,043	28,582	46,632
Total number of referrals for victim survivors	21,733	28,922	32,775	54,566
Proportion of total referrals that were self-referrals	16.1%	16.9%	12.8%	14.5%

About this data

Item	Description
Indicator	Increase in self-referrals to family violence support services.
Source	The Orange Door Client Relationship Management system (CRM).
Definition	Numerator – The number of self-referrals to The Orange Door by victim survivors for each financial year. Denominator – Total number of referrals to The Orange Door by victim survivors for each financial year.
Time period	Data captures four financial years, 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2016 through to 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022.
Data details	Referrals by victim survivors are a subset of total referrals received by The Orange Door. Data includes ‘FV cases’ based on ‘client role’ in cases in the CRM. Client roles included are ‘victims/survivors’. Care needs to be taken when interpreting increases in numbers overtime. Increases in numbers over time must be considered alongside the gradual opening of The Orange Door network between 2018 and 2022.
Data quality and caveats	n/a
Full / Partial / Proxy / Ideal	Full

Measure: Number and proportion of victim survivors who self-refer to specialist family violence services directly

The number of clients who self-referred to specialist family violence services decreased over the three years from 2019–20 to 2021–22. This was due to the transfer of the intake function to The Orange Door as well as the progressive expansion of The Orange Door across Victoria.

This means more victim survivors are now self-referring to The Orange Door, rather than directly to specialist family violence services. This mirrors the general shift in clients from other referral pathways¹ being referred to The Orange Door network instead of directly to specialist services.

Figure 2: Direct self-referrals to specialist family violence services, Victoria, 2015 to 2022

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Specialist family violence case management services	2015–16	2016–17	2017–18	2018–19	2019–20	2020–21	2021–22
Number of cases from self-referring clients	6,070	7,312	8,965	8,792	9,463	8,455	6,939
Number of cases from other referral pathways	32,928	35,907	42,688	30,314	38,116	35,197	28,281
Total number of cases (excluding those with unknown referral sources)	38,998	43,219	51,653	39,106	47,579	43,652	35,220
Proportion of total cases that were from self-referring clients	15.6%	16.9%	17.4%	22.5%	19.9%	19.4%	19.7%