By Danielle Kutchel
The latest crime stats are in, and once again, Casey is leading the pack – in the most horrific way possible.
The City of Casey has recorded the highest number of family violence incidents of any local government area in Victoria.
According to the Crime Statistics Agency, total family incidents rose to 5487 for the year ending in June, up 434 incidents from the same time in 2020.
The 8.6 per cent increase in family violence incidents over the past 12 months in Casey is a jump to levels not seen since 2017.
It’s an uncomfortable truth for us to live with, knowing that what’s going on behind closed doors is often unpleasant, to say the absolute least.
And it begs the question: what are we actually doing about this problem?
The first thing to remember is that if you need to leave your home due to domestic violence, you are allowed to even in lockdown.
Help is most definitely available to you.
As for what that help looks like, there are various organisations working hard across Casey to combat the violence, including WAYSS and Victoria Police.
The State Government announced earlier this year it would be setting up a new Orange Door facility in Dandenong, with access points in Casey and Cardinia.
This is intended to make it easier to access family violence support in the burgeoning area. The Orange Door brings together workers from across specialist family violence, child and family, Aboriginal and men’s services to deliver risk assessments, safety planning and crisis assistance, as well as vital connections to ongoing support such as counselling.
At a council level, the City of Casey says it is focusing on prevention of family violence – although, as Daniel Osborne, manager of safer communities at the council, said, identifying the cause of the issues is “a complex matter” with a range of contributing factors.
He said the Council was working closely with support agencies to advocate for the services needed to meet increasing demand in the community.
The announcement of the new Orange Door facility in the south east was a welcome one, he said.
And the council also has its own Family Violence Prevention strategy, as well as staff dedicated to addressing the key drivers of violence against women, he said – and as the crime statistics show, it is largely women who are affected by family violence.
The strategy states that the City of Casey is committed to promoting gender equity and preventing family violence.
It recognises the role the Council can play in promoting safe environments across the community, and the role that council services play in the support system.
Indeed, the City of Casey has a history of engaging in projects designed to tackle family violence from the start – from the Safer Casey Partnership in the early 2000s, to the Challenge Family Violence Project 2013- 2015 that saw Casey join forces with Cardinia Shire, the City of Greater Dandenong and Monash Health.
Casey has received $3,232,763 in State Government funding since 2015-16 under the Community Crime Prevention program for 27 community safety grants.
The council also provides training to front-line workers who interact with at-risk community members on how to support them or refer them on to support.
Elsewhere, the State Government has funded an additional 225 frontline police in the Dandenong Division, among which are 33 family violence specialist police.
There has been a focus on improving police awareness of and training in response to family violence, through the Centre of Learning for Family Violence.
There are dedicated Family Violence Investigation Units, Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation teams within VicPol that provide welfare checks and safety planning for high-risk affected family members over the pandemic.
It’s understood specialist family violence teams have been conducting proactive IVO and bail compliance checks too, to help prevent family violence from occurring.
The government has committed to implementing all 227 recommendations to come out of the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which was completed in 2015 and reported back to the government in 2016.
As of 30 November 2020, 167 had been implemented.
For more information on the City of Casey’s Family Violence Prevention Strategy, visit casey.vic.gov.au/policies-strategies/family-violence-prevention-strategy
For council help with family violence, visit casey.vic.gov.au and search for ‘family violence’.
Essential family violence help services:
– Contact WAYSS, Family Violence and Housing support for Melbourne on 9791 6111, or after hours 1800 627 727.
– Safe Steps is a 24/7 family violence response centre for confidential crisis support, information and accommodation. Phone Safe Steps on 1800 015 188, email safesteps@safesteps.org.au or web chat at safesteps.org.au
– Men who are worried about their behaviour can contact the Men’s Referral Service: 1300 766 491.
– In an emergency call Triple Zero for police or ambulance.
