In 2022, we passed a significant milestone on the path towards a Victoria free from family violence: the implementation of the final 23 recommendations of the Royal Commission.
This achievement is the result of more than six years of dedication, investment and collaboration across government and the family violence sector.
To implement these remaining recommendations in 2022, we:
- opened five Orange Doors to complete the statewide rollout of The Orange Door network across Victoria. This network brings services together in accessible locations to support people affected by family violence.
- established an additional seven Specialist Family Violence Courts, bringing the total number to 12 sites operating across Victoria at the end of 2022. The facilities and services at these courts make the court experience safer and more responsive to the communities needs.
- passed amendments to the Family Violence Protection Act 2008 and the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 to enable victim survivors of family violence to give evidence from a place other than the courtroom. This keeps victim survivors safe by minimising the potential for further trauma and avoiding direct contact with perpetrators during court proceedings. The change is being embedded through the Remote Hearing Support Service, which became available for family violence hearings at 11 Victorian Magistrates’ Court locations in 2022.
- opened four core and cluster refuges. These provide safe and private independent unit accommodation for victim survivors. Fourteen core and cluster refuges are now operational.
- expanded the Central Information Point (CIP) to Safe Steps and the Men’s Referral Service. This enables these services to share information about a perpetrator or alleged perpetrator which is compiled into a consolidated report to assist with family violence risk assessment and management. The work builds on the implementation of CIP for The Orange Door network from 2018 to 2022, and for the Risk Assessment and Management Panels from 2020 to 2022.
Is family violence decreasing in Victoria?
After the Royal Commission, we set out to reduce the gap between the number of family violence incidents in Victoria and how many of those are reported to police. We have had some success in doing this.
Reports of family violence steadily increased in the early years of our 10-year plan. This is in part because our reforms made it easier for people to identify family violence, report it and seek help. The COVID-19 pandemic may also have contributed to this increase. Family violence workers reported more first-time reports of family violence during the pandemic.1
In addition, our reforms mean police are more responsive to the complexity of family violence. More perpetrators are being reported and sentenced for breaching family violence orders, including against former partners.2
We have strengthened the system so that victim survivors now have more entry points to seek help, including through Victoria Police, The Orange Door network and Safe Steps. Client surveys show an 86 per cent satisfaction rate with The Orange Door services.3 The Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor reported that victim survivors’ experiences with the family violence system are more positive compared with the pre-reform period.4
Reports of family violence appear to be plateauing, but they remain 23 per cent higher than in 2017, having increased from 75,056 reports in 2017 to 92,296 reports in 2022.
Family violence incidents reported to police five-year trend, Victoria
We do not yet have all the data we need to fully understand the extent of family violence in the community, especially how it affects specific groups and communities. While we build this data capability, we will focus on reducing the gap between prevalence and reporting so we do not leave anyone behind.
Footnotes
1 Pfitzner N, Fitz-Gibbon K and Tru J 2022, ‘When staying home isn’t safe: Australian practitioner experiences of responding to intimate partner violence during COVID-19 restrictions’. Journal of Gender-Based Violence. DOI:10.1332/239868021X16420024310873.
2 Sentencing Advisory Council 2022, Sentencing breaches of family violence intervention orders and safety notices, Third Monitoring Report, pp. 4, 18–20. https://www.sentencingcouncil.vic.gov.au/publications/sentencing-breach…
3 Department of Families, Fairness and Housing 2022, Annual report 2021–22, p. 52. https://www.dffh.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/202209/FINAL%…
4 Family Violence Reform Implementation Monitor 2022, Crisis response to recovery model for victim survivors, December 2022, p. i. https://www.fvrim.vic.gov.au/monitoring-victorias-family-violence-refor…
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