Page 1587 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 12 May 2015
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allocated additional funding of $300,000 towards establishing an ACT domestic violence data framework, extra funding for women’s safety grants and for the Domestic Violence Prevention Council. We have also proposed reforms to laws and changes to the victims of crime financial assistance scheme so that women have financial support to assist them to leave a violent situation and to stay away for the long term.
As you would be aware, an extraordinary meeting of the Domestic Violence Prevention Council was held in early April to bring together more than 55 senior people, including police, services and support front-line workers, section leaders, ACT government decision-makers and members of the Legislative Assembly. Importantly, the voices of women who have experienced domestic violence and their involvement with services and the court system were heard at this meeting.
The issues raised at the meeting related to a whole-of-community and whole-of-government approach to responding to domestic violence. Such an approach means we must support victims throughout the processes and progress community education about gender equity and respect as the foundation for preventing violence. We must continue reform in the justice system and increase awareness and collaboration across services and supports that are often the first places to identify violence in a family.
These issues are generally consistent with those identified previously by the Domestic Violence Prevention Council for priority action. The government will continue to work with the council and the community so that women and children are safe in our community, especially in their own homes.
We know the best way of providing help and support is to do this alongside a person, and with those who care and advocate for them. It is also about building a person’s capacity so that they can take charge of their circumstances and about providing space for their voice in decisions that affect them—and help to do this if they cannot do it alone. Importantly, it is about placing the person at the centre. Effective support means providing access to services that are joined up, that work collaboratively with each other and with the person. Put simply, services are in a person’s life when they are needed and they are in the driver’s seat.
Across government we are seeing progress on the agenda of social inclusion and equality. We have a solid base to build on. We have formed a subcommittee of cabinet that will work with experts and community members to develop holistic responses to complex problems, which will ask what we can do across government, with an emphasis on assessing how mainstream services can better reach out to our communities and meet complex needs.
We know there is more to do to address barriers so that genuine inclusion of all can be achieved. I am talking here about barriers that are structural, such as having little or no access to transport, housing and employment. We know these barriers can be cultural in that people are excluded on the things that mark them out as somehow different; for example, their cultural background, gender, income, sexuality, age, disability, education or simply where they live. These characteristics and how they are perceived by others can shape a person’s chances in life.
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