Government funds projects to address domestic violence

Twenty-two projects to support victims of domestic or family violence through early intervention and prevention approaches will each receive a share of $500,000 in Australian Government funding announced today.

Both national and local projects received funding administered through the Women’s Services Network, a national peak body that advocates on behalf of women and children experiencing domestic and family violence.

Initiatives will benefit diverse groups of women and their children including young women, older women, women with a disability, Indigenous women and women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds.

For example, the Older Women’s Network in New South Wales will be provided with $50,000 to test responses that work to reduce violence against older women.

The Domestic Violence Resource Centre in Victoria will receive $37,444 to conduct a mentoring project for women with disability to promote their capacity to lead and facilitate activities that focus on violence prevention.

The Huon Domestic Violence Service in Tasmania will receive $7,557 to produce a series of radio programs for young people to promote early intervention strategies and encourage a broader community response to domestic violence.

This funding reinforces the Government’s commitment to promoting women’s safety.

These grants also complement work well under way to develop a National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children.

The National Plan will enable all levels of government and the community to:

• better support victims of violence;
• ensure that the legal system is effective; and
• reduce violence for future generations.

The National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children will present a draft of the National Plan to the Government by the end of the year.

A summary of the grants can be found at The Women’s Services Network (www.wesnet.org.au).