Page 4556 - Week 12 - Thursday, 26 October 2017
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Statistical data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of domestic and family violence related assaults in the ACT recorded by police between 1 January and 31 December 2016 rose to 240 victims per 100,000 persons (a 33 per cent increase from the year prior). The increased victimisation rate between 2015 and 2016 could be driven by a range of factors, including the enhanced police response in the ACT.
Improved access to legal assistance and court support
The ACT Government is helping improve access to legal services for victims of domestic and family violence through providing an additional $1,214,000 in funding over four years to Legal Aid to increase its capacity to represent victims of family violence. This work includes providing family violence victims with expert legal advice and representation in dispute resolution and litigation involving the alleged perpetrator. Without Legal Aid support, these victims would generally go unassisted. Through this funding Legal Aid assisted an additional 141 victims during 2016-17. The outcomes of this initiative will be measured through annual monitoring of Legal Aid’s capacity to represent victims of family violence and the number of victims assisted.
The ACT’s Women’s Legal Centre’s federally-funded Domestic Violence Program, launched in November 2016, provides legal advice and representation to women experiencing violence. It aims to provide holistic support across women’s experience from crisis (support for family violence and protection orders) through to post crisis and recovery (negotiate custody arrangements for children, division of property and representation at the Family Court). The program was funded as a pilot service under the Commonwealth Government Women’s Safety Package and the funding was recently extended to 30 June 2019.
It is essential for the administration of justice that courts and tribunals receive accurate interpretation of any evidence or material presented to them in languages other than English, including sign language. The ACT Government recognises this and has committed to providing $1,223,000 over four years to support translation and interpreter services (TIS) for people accessing the ACT Law Courts and Tribunal and specialist ACT family violence services, including community legal centres, for domestic and family violence matters. Eligible organisations will be reimbursed for relevant 2016-17 TIS costs and, from 2017-18, have been provided government funded direct access to TIS services for domestic and family violence matters.
The Government also provides funding to the Court Advocacy Program which is a criminal and civil court advocacy service for people who have experienced domestic and family violence.
Justice system coordination
The Family Violence Intervention Program (FVIP) has been ongoing since 1998 and is a multi-agency model focused on responding to family violence incidents that come to police attention and proceed to prosecution.
• The FVIP partner agencies are:
• Australian Federal Police (ACT Policing);
• Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions;
• ACT Magistrates’ Court;
• ACT Corrective Services;
• ACT Health;
• Legal Aid ACT;
• Canberra Rape Crisis Centre;
• Domestic Violence Crisis Service;
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