HUME REGION HAS HAD ENOUGH OF FAMILY VIOLENCE
Friday, 12 June 2009
The Brumby Labor Government is taking its Enough message on family violence to the Hume region.

Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls said Hume was hosting the fourth of six community information sessions across regional Victoria, highlighting the unacceptability of family violence and promoting new laws that have increased the protection to family violence victims.

“The Brumby Labor Government is absolutely committed to improving the safety of women and children experiencing family violence, and to holding perpetrators accountable for their behaviour,” Mr Hulls said.

He said the family violence roadshows were an integral part of the $1.5 million Enough community awareness campaign which supported the new laws and spread the message that Victoria Has Had Enough of Family Violence.

“These information sessions provide the opportunity for both the community and those who work within the family violence sector to learn about the practical measures that increase the protection available for victims of family violence,” Mr Hulls said.

“As a community, we must play a role in tackling the issue of violence against women, by speaking up for friends and family and by helping to shape young attitudes.”

Mr Hulls said police data captured in the Victorian Family Violence Database, which tracked family violence between 1999 and 2006, showed a 45 per cent increase in the number of family violence incidents recorded by police in the Hume region during that time.Mr Hulls said the increase in reporting of incidents did not necessarily mean that family violence had increased.

“What it does represent is a better response by police and courts in encouraging victims of family violence to report abuse and seek protection through the justice system and in holding perpetrators to account for their behaviour,” he said.

The Family Violence Protection Act commenced in December 2008 and broadens the definition of family violence to include physical, sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse and recognises the potential impact of family violence on children. The new legislation also establishes a system of Family Violence Safety Notices where police can issue notices after-hours to remove alleged perpetrators from family homes and contains initiatives to prevent victims being re-traumatised by the court experience.

Member for Northern Victoria Candy Broad MLC said the community that should be at the heart of the fight against family violence.“As a community, we must play a role in tackling the issue of violence against women, by speaking up for friends and family and by helping to shape young attitudes,” Ms Broad said.

Source: Ministerial Media Release