Violence prevention in a Refuge environment

39 The first six months of 2024 has seen 39 women murdered by men.

According to our most recent data in Australia:

- 1 in 4 women from the age of 15 have experienced violence and abuse from a co-habiting partner. (1)

- 1 in 5 women from the age of 15 have experienced sexual violence. (1)

- 65% of women with children in their care reported that their children had seen or heard the violence they experienced from a current or former partner. (2)

- On average, 1 woman is killed every 9 days by a current or former partner.3 This rate has increased in 2024.

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The recent cases of homicide involving women in Australia since the start of the year has outraged the public and devastated those at the front-line of the specialist family violence system in Victoria. The first six months of 2024 has seen 39 women murdered by men – which comes to, one woman killed every four days. Asking “what can be done?” to prevent family violence related homicides is a common question the sector gets when met with these distressing cases of violence against women and children. At Kara FVS, we are not immune from those same questions.

Kara FVS has a strong history of being at the forefront of social justice and intersectional practices – a history embedded in the diversity of those experiencing violence across Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Today victim survivors presenting to our services often share histories of childhood family violence. When they arrive at our accommodation or meet with our practitioners, their current experience of intimate partner violence is not always their first experience of violence by someone known to them.

At Kara FVS, we work in collaboration with victim survivors and the wider family violence system to ensure that our clients remain safe, secure, and connected to available supports tailored to their diverse needs. Our role in providing specialist support and facilitating that wrap-around care and safety is a form of violence prevention. We work toward improving outcomes for victim survivors, working with them to regain control over their lives. Without support pathways in place, victim survivors are at risk of re-victimisation and the cycle of abuse.

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<sup>1. ABS (2023). Personal Safety Survey 2021-2022, Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/crime-and-justice/personal-safety- australia/latest-release
2. ABS (2017). Personal Safety Survey 2016. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
3. Bricknell, S. (2023). Homicide in Australia 2020–21. Statistical Report no. 42. Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology</sup>.

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