More than 1500 women have sought help for domestic violence from Women’s Health West (WHW) in the first two months of 2015 as the royal commission into family violence takes shape.
WHW chief executive Robyn Gregory said police had referred 820 women in January and 760 women in February to the organisation.
She expected the figures to rise as more women gained confidence in the system.
“We’ve got a state government that’s taking family violence seriously, politicians who are taking it seriously; there are services available and the Australian of the year, Rosie Batty, has put family violence more front and centre on the agenda,” Dr Gregory said.
“And with that comes a spike in demand and services.”
In January, Premier Daniel Andrews released the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into Family Violence and last month, the commission, headed by Justice Marcia Neave AO, was formally established.
Dr Gregory said it was important for the community to highlight the support services available for victims of domestic violence without forcing them to make decisions.
“The best thing we can do as a community is to speak up when we see or hear attitudes and behaviours that are encouraging of violence against women and children,” she said. “And that we let women know there are [services] available that can support their right to safety.”
Melton MP Don Nardella has organised free submission-writing workshops for Melton and Moorabool residents who would like to make a submission to the royal commission.
The workshops will explore how to make a submission while providing an overview and scope of the commission. Dr Gregory encouraged community groups to attend the workshops.
“There might be a small community of women from Liberia in Melton. They may have something in particular to say about their community and what would work for it [or] what systems should be in place … [we support] anything that encourages that community to be able to have an input in a way that would be taken seriously.”
Royal commission submission workshops
The workshops will run from 7-8.30pm on Wednesday, April 1, at Melton library, 31 McKenzie Street, Melton; and from 7-8.30pm on Tuesday, April 7, at the Lerderderg library, 215 Main Street, Bacchus Marsh.
