The State Government today renewed its commitment towards ending domestic, family and sexual violence across the state, with the release of Committed to Safety: A Framework for Addressing Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence.
The framework outlines how the state government will coordinate efforts to prevent and respond to domestic, family and sexual violence to improve the safety of all women and their children in South Australia.
It is an important step in connecting all of the efforts across government to achieve a comprehensive, safety driven approach.
It has a strong focus on providing coordinated and targeted support to specific population groups, such as young people, Aboriginal women and communities, women with disabilities, culturally and linguistically diverse women, older women, and people living in regional and remote communities.
Working to prevent violence against women and providing suitable support may look different for different population groups, so it is vital that responses and support are tailored.
Committed to Safety is built around three key focus areas – primary prevention, service and support, and justice with a range of short, medium and long-term actions, spanning the next four years.
Some actions outlined under Committed to Safety include
- Developing a new Employment and Leadership Strategy to increase women’s participation in non-traditional and growing industries.
- The introduction of ‘pet bonds’ to improve the availability of private rental accommodation, which will support women with pets who leave violent relationships.
- Implementing Safe Practice Standards for Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Services to ensure consistency in service delivery standards across the state.
The Office for Women will work closely with a range of partners across all levels of government and in the not-for-profit sector such as Women’s Safety Services South Australia, regional community organisations and national bodies like Our Watch, to deliver on the actions.
It is important to remember that every single South Australian has a role to play in ending domestic, family and sexual violence.
Committed to Safety builds on the achievement of a number of initiatives - including the launch of a women’s safety mobile phone app, which quickly links at-risk women directly to police and support services, and the extension of the free confidential SA Domestic Violence Crisis Line to provide 24 hour, 7 day support.
The renewed commitment will guide ongoing work in ensuring women and their families feel safe and are supported. Whatever their needs, locations or situations, we want to ensure that South Australian families are supported to put an end to domestic, family and sexual violence.
Committed to Safety is available on the Office for Women website at www.officeforwomen.sa.gov.au