From today, women and children leaving family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV) in south-eastern NSW will receive additional holistic care and support through an Australian Government pilot program.
The Supporting Outreach Healthcare FDSV Pilot will provide accommodation services in Eurobodalla, Goulburn and the Shoalhaven with access to a team of health professionals including on-site GPs, nurses and service navigators.
Service navigators coordinate between health, housing, justice and education services, giving victim-survivors access to support across the health system.
The pilot program is designed to reduce barriers to care by improving coordination across health and social services.
It also comes as the government marks the United Nations’ global 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
We know family, domestic and sexual violence disproportionately affects women. In 2021–22, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 14 men had experienced violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15, and 13% of adults witnessed partner violence against a parent before the age of 15.
The participating crisis accommodation services are:
- Supported Accommodation and Homelessness Services Shoalhaven Illawarra (SAHSSI) – Nowra
- South East Women and Children’s Services (SEWACS) Budjangal – Moruya
- Anglicare NSW South, NSW West & ACT – Goulburn
The government has provided COORDINARE – through the South Eastern NSW Primary Health Network (PHN) – almost $1 million to deliver the pilot.
The initiative is part of a $6 million investment, with five other pilot programs to be established through the Hunter New England and Central Coast PHN, Central and Eastern Sydney PHN, Gippsland PHN, Northern Queensland PHN, and Western Queensland PHN.
The Australian Government, in conjunction with state and territory governments, is acting on all forms of gender-based violence through the National Plan to End Violence against Women and Children 2022–2032.
The National Plan recognises the importance of all people experiencing FDSV being able to access support and services.
Since 2022–23 the government has invested more than $4 billion in initiatives to support implementation of the National Plan, with a further $4.4 billion in funding committed to address gender-based violence and respond to the Rapid Review into Prevention Approaches.
Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister White:
“Too many women and children suffer at the hands of those close to them. This pilot is an all-encompassing approach to support victim-survivors, to protect them and help them recover.
“In Australia, one in four women has experienced family or domestic violence and one in five has experienced sexual violence from the age of 15.
“A whole-of-system response is needed to respond to FDSV. Choice, safety and continuity of care are the centrepieces of this pilot.”
Quotes attributable to Federal Member for Gilmore Fiona Phillips:
“It’s really fantastic that the pilot program is being rolled out in the north and south of Gilmore, to assist women and children in the Nowra and Moruya areas.
“I’ve heard so many harrowing stories from women who have experienced family and domestic violence, and I know they face significant challenges when they decide it’s time to leave.
“It’s so important that we provide the vital support that women and children need to move forward right across the health system.
“One life lost to violence against women is too many, and deaths of women at the hands of men who profess to love and care for them has to end.”