6.1 Overview
The following table provides a high level overview of the support systems for victims/survivors of sexual assault and domestic and family violence in New South Wales in terms of Amnesty International’s principles for action plans known as the ‘three S’s’ – structural, strategic and sustained.
Principles of Practice in Formulation – The Three S’s
- Structural
- An improved approach to addressing violence against women in NSW (2008) – a whole of government response to domestic and family violence involving five lead agencies:
- Department of Community Services
- Attorney-General’s Department
- Department of Health
- NSW Police Force
- Department of Premier and Cabinet (Office for Women’s Policy)
- Strategic
- NSW State Plan, which has the following priorities:
- reducing rates of crime, particularly violent crime
- reducing re-offending
- embedding the principle of prevention and early intervention into government service delivery
- A strategic framework underpinning statewide responses to domestic and family violence is being developed and is due to be released in 2009 (NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet)
- Sustained
- Violence Prevention Coordination Unit, Office for Women’s Policy, Department of Premier and Cabinet
- Premier’s Council on Preventing Violence Against Women
- Police Force Regional Coordinators (Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, Dubbo, Tamworth, Wollongong, Wagga Wagga, Surry Hills, Bankstown and Parramatta)
The following table provides a high level overview of the support systems for victims/survivors of sexual assault and domestic and family violence in New South Wales in terms of the following principles for action plans known as ‘three P’s’– prevention, provision and prosecution.
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Principles of Practice in Content – The Three P’s
- Prevention
- Community education campaigns such as Violence Against Women: It’s Against All the Rules, Sexual Assault Prevention and Community Awareness and NSW 16 Days of Activism to Stop Violence Against Women
- Be Safe Be Sure project and Negotiating Consent Kit (Department of Community Services)
- About Date Rape web site (Department of Community Services)
- Love Bites Respectful Relationships Program (Department of Education and Training)
- Healthy Relationships Program (Department of Education and Training)
- Provision
There are five main statewide domestic and family violence projects under a new approach which include:
- Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model (Attorney-General’s Department)
- Staying Home Leaving Violence initiative (Department of Community Services)
- Integrated Case Management projects (Department of Community Services)
- Risk Assessment Tool project (Department of Health)
- Specialist domestic and family violence training and resource project (located in the Education Centre Against Violence, SWAHS) (Department of Health)
Other key services:
- Domestic Violence statewide free-call 24 hour Helpline (Department of Community Services)
- Orana Far West Child and Family Partnership Development Project (Department of Community Services)
- Brighter Futures Program (Department of Community Services)
- Safe Families Program (Department of Community Services & Department of Aboriginal Affairs, led by the Department of Aboriginal Affairs)
- Joint Investigation Response Teams for Investigation of Child Protection Matters (Department of Community Services)
- Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (Department of Community Services)
- Witness Assistance Service (Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions)
- Women’s Domestic Violence and Court Assistance Program (Legal Aid NSW)
- Victims Services (Attorney-General’s Department), Victims of Crime Bureau and Family and Friends of Missing Persons Unit
- Domestic Violence Liaison Officers (NSW Police Force)
- Prosecution
- Crimes Act 1900 No 40 Part 3
- Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007
- Crimes Amendment (Sexual Procurement or Grooming of Children) Act 2007
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6.2 Profile
This section outlines in further detail the New South Wales Government’s current response to violence against women and their children, using Amnesty International’s principles for action plans, the ‘three S’s’ – structural, strategic and sustainable, and ‘three P’s’ – prevention, provision and prosecution.
6.2.1 Structural
New South Wales has put in place new structural arrangements to respond to violence against women, to harmonise responses across government and with greater involvement of the non-government sector.
An improved whole-of-government approach to addressing violence against women is under way (2008), involving five lead agencies: NSW Department of Community Services, NSW Attorney-General’s Department, NSW Department of Health, NSW Police Force and NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet.
6.2.2 Strategic
The NSW Government has a number of strategies and plans that establish tackling domestic and family violence and supporting victims as a major priority. These include:
6.2.3 Sustained
Arrangements in place in New South Wales to lead and fund efforts to reduce violence against women are as follows.
- In March 2007, the Government committed to establish a Prevention of Violence against Women Unit within the Department of Premier and Cabinet to oversee policies, programs and services aimed at reducing violence against women and domestic and family violence. As a first step in implementing this commitment, the Government commissioned a review of existing structures for coordinating NSW Government action to address domestic and family violence and violence against women.
- NSW has recently instigated a new model based on the recommendations delivered in the report: Coordinating NSW Government Action Against Domestic and Family Violence179. The new model incorporates sustainability by:
- establishing a centralised Violence Prevention Coordination Unit;
- employing five coordinators to deliver five key domestic and family violence projects and deliver statewide changes in key service systems;
- establishing a regional coordination function to be serviced by nine senior project officers employed by NSW Police Force to ensure links between local domestic and family violence service delivery are delivered and maintained, and to ensure criminal justice and human service responses are delivered in an integrated manner180.
- In terms of the funding environment, the NSW Government is investing $40 million over four years to tackle domestic and family violence, including counselling, accommodation and legal support. The majority of the NSW Government’s action in responding to domestic and family violence is undertaken as part of the agencies’ core business. Much of this expenditure is associated with agencies having to deal with the downstream costs that result from domestic violence, rather than allocations targeted to domestic and family violence services181.
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Table 1: Agency costs as a result of domestic and family violence. Source: ARTD Consultants (November 2007). Coordinating NSW Government Action against Domestic and Family Violence – Final Report
| Government agency |
Estimated 2004-05 agency costs |
| Department of Corrective Services |
$79.7 million |
| Department of Community Services |
$71.7 million |
| Department of Housing |
$45.8 million |
| Attorney-General’s Department of NSW |
$42.9 million |
| NSW Health |
$29.3 million |
| NSW Police Force |
$25.7 million |
| Legal Aid NSW |
$13.0 million |
| Department of Education and Training |
$1.0 million |
| TOTAL |
$309.1 million |
| Agency estimates as reported to Human Services CEOs (NSW Department of Community Services Review of NSW Government Domestic and Family Violence Services and Funding, 18 August 2005). Updated estimates were prepared by agencies as part of this review but have not been presented because of the wide variations in the costing assumptions. |
6.2.4 Prevention
Over the past 10 years, the NSW Government, through the Violence against Women Strategy, has initiated and undertaken programs to prevent and reduce violence against women and children. These include education and public-awareness campaigns to change entrenched cultural attitudes, advocacy and community activism, facilitation of local partnerships and support for small scale initiatives. Examples of such activities include:
- The Youth Leadership through Healthy Relationships project, which works with Aboriginal young people to develop their capacity, confidence and leadership skills to address family violence. The project is operating in the rural and remote areas of Brewarrina, Cobar, Narrandera, Nowra and Armidale.
- The Negotiating Consent Kit which was developed in response to the need for an awareness campaign about date rape aimed at young people. This aims to reinforce messages to young men and women about some common/legitimate responses such as refusals to sex. It provides information to young people seeking help or information about date rape and sexual assault, provides the opportunity to challenge some common myths and misconceptions regarding sex and sexual assault, and supplements existing Personal Development, Health and Physical Education resources and other resources that address the issue of sexual assault and healthy relationships.
- The Date Rape website (www.aboutdaterape.nsw.gov.au), which provides non-judgemental and supportive information to young people seeking help or information about date rape and sexual assault.
- The Love Bites Respectful Relationships Program and Healthy Relationships Program (NSW Department of Education and Training), which targets school children through a behavioural change approach. Love Bites is an award-winning program aimed at teenagers in years nine and 10 at high school. The program’s primary objectives are to educate and increase awareness of domestic violence and sexual assault, and to develop students’ capacity to respond and access support and resources.
- The Be Safe Be Sure project, which was a sexual assault education program aimed at women with intellectual disabilities.
- Community education campaigns such as Violence Against Women: It’s Against All the Rules and Sexual Assault Prevention and Community Awareness.
- The NSW 16 Days of Activism to Stop Violence Against Women Campaign, which occurred in November and December 2007 and was part of an international campaign to take practical steps to stop violence against women.
- Information and prevention programs regarding drug-and-alcohol facilitated sexual assault. These include drink-spiking campaigns and dating-violence campaigns in universities.
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6.2.5 Provision
The NSW Government provides services including successful initiatives such as Staying Home Leaving Violence, a 24 hour, seven-days-a-week Domestic Violence Helpline and Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model. The following table provides an overview of these activities.
Table 2: Overview of key domestic and family violence related services in NSW
| Initiative |
Description |
| Department of Community Services (DoCS) |
| Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Services |
Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Services provide a multi-agency, coordinated response to people from high-risk target groups and in targeted communities who are experiencing domestic and family violence. There are three Integrated Domestic and Family Violence Services sponsored by DoCS:
- Mt Druitt Family Violence Service
- Canterbury Bankstown Domestic Violence Team
- Domestic Assault Response Teams (Wyong).
There are also four other services:
- Domestic Violence Intervention Response Team, sponsored by Central Coast Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service
- Manning-Great Lakes Refuge Partnership Against Domestic Violence (a tender process is under way to select new sponsor)
- Nowra Domestic Violence Intervention Service, sponsored by YWCA NSW
- Liverpool and Green Valley Domestic Violence Service, sponsored by NSW Health.
|
| Staying Home Leaving Violence |
Staying Home Leaving Violence seeks to ensure the immediate and long-term safety women and their children by working with police to remove the violent partner from the home. The program facilitates long-term support for the woman and her children to help prevent further violence. Support from the NSW Police Force, the magistrate and local court is an important aspect of the project given an Exclusion Order is usually negotiated as part of an Apprehended Violence Order.
Based on a risk assessment for women and children and individualised safety planning, women are provided with information about accommodation choices and other forms of support. Partners are also provided with accommodation options and details of emergency payments available through Centrelink. Local police provide this information to the defendant. Project workers provide casework and advocacy, and address housing and tenancy issues, income support, financial difficulties, legal issues, mental and general health.
A safety plan and brokerage funding for security equipment, including monitored personal alarms and other security upgrades, are provided for the home. The project workers collaborate with the local service system to lead local community education campaigns. These aim to increase awareness of, and support for, the option of staying home safely. |
| Supported Accommodation Assistance Program |
The Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP) is a joint state/Commonwealth funding program. SAAP funds projects which provide services including:
- counselling and personal support
- early intervention support to help women and children remain safely in their own homes
- crisis and longer term accommodation
- case management to help women move to independent living, including help with legal issues, income support and access to longer term housing
- support for children including childcare, structured play and skills development, school liaison and specialist psychologist assistance on the effects of domestic violence
- education about the effects of domestic violence and community prevention programs.
|
| A Place to Call Home |
A Place To Call Home is a joint Commonwealth-state/territory initiative that will deliver at least 600 new dwellings nationally over five years. The Commonwealth will provide $150 million in funding over five years for the building, spot purchase or renovation of dwellings. States/territories will contribute to the purchase of dwellings or land and provide clients with secure housing and a support package for up to 12 months. Clients will not be required to move from their property when the support period ends as the dwelling will be transferred to the existing public housing pool in each state or territory.
New South Wales will provide 155 dwellings under the A Place to Call Home initiative. DoCS is contributing to this initiative by providing the support component for families with children escaping domestic violence, who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Support is being provided through the Brighter Futures Program to provide a homelessness prevention/early intervention measure. This reflects the fact that domestic violence is a significant factor leading to families (particularly single women and their children) being homeless and a significant factor experienced by almost half (46 per cent) of the 975 families who have participated in the Brighter Futures Program. |
| Commonwealth Child Support Workers Initiative |
The Australian Government has made a one-off payment of $300,000 towards the cost of child support workers to be deployed in appropriate NSW Supported Accommodation Assistance Program projects with many Aboriginal clients. The funds will be used to trial the placement of dedicated workers to care for children’s needs in services for women and children escaping domestic violence where the parent is the primary client. Child Support Workers will:
- provide intervention and support (including training in protective behaviours training for children, and assistance for parents and carers with parenting issues)
- identify children at risk and refer them to other services or child support authorities as appropriate.
|
| Safe Families Program |
The Safe Families Program is a specific NSW strategy to address Aboriginal child sexual assault in nine focus communities. It was formulated as part of the Interagency Plan to Tackle Child Abuse in Aboriginal Communities. It forms part of the Two Ways Together approach to building resilience in Aboriginal communities that focuses on engaging with communities, forging effective partnerships between government service agencies and Aboriginal community groups, and building community capacity to identify and respond to threats to community wellbeing.
Two Ways Together is the NSW Government’s 10-year plan to improve the lives of Aboriginal people. It establishes the partnership strategy for working with Aboriginal communities and identifies seven areas of priority to Aboriginal people. Between 2003-04 and 2007-08 the NSW Government spent $40 million on programs to address these priorities. Monitoring arrangements include the production of a biennial report on key indicators for each priority. |
| Brighter Futures Program |
The Brighter Futures Program provides early intervention services to families with children aged up to eight years with priority access given to families with children aged up to three. Families experiencing domestic violence are one of the target groups for the program. Under Brighter Futures, funding is provided to Lead Agencies and community partners to provide case management, home visiting, parenting programs and quality children’s services to families.
Brighter Futures aims to:
- reduce child abuse and neglect by reducing the likelihood of family problems escalating into crisis within the child protection system
- achieve long-term benefits for children through improving readiness for school and educational outcomes
- improve parent-child relationships and the capacity of parents to build positive relationships with their children
- break inter-generational cycles of disadvantage
- reduce demand for services such as child protection, out-of-home care and criminal justice.
In May 2008, the first results from the evaluation indicated that almost half (46 per cent) of the 975 families that had participated in the program had been affected by domestic violence. This was the main reported issue in child protection reports in NSW. |
| Orana Far West Child and Family Partnership Development Project |
This project was developed in conjunction with the Women’s Refuge Movement Resource Centre with funding from the Commonwealth Indigenous Family Violence Partnership Program Safe Places Initiative. The project is a key component in improving service provision to Aboriginal women and children in isolated communities.
It involves locating a child and family support worker at each of the five safe houses in the Orana Far West. The support workers assess families entering the safe house, address immediate and longer term safety issues for the woman and her children and develop a safety plan. They then coordinate and deliver a package of services to provide longer term support.
This support focuses on linkages with the Brighter Futures program. As a result of the project, women and children at risk of violence or abuse are linked to the services they need to address the risk and effects of violence and/or abuse. |
| Domestic Violence Line |
The department’s Domestic Violence Line is a 24-hour telephone counselling information and referral service. It targets women experiencing personal relationship violence with a partner or ex-partner. It focuses on the woman’s circumstances and what she sees as the issues, and safety planning. It is also a centralised access point for all women’s Domestic Violence refuges across NSW, other accommodation supports and interstate services. The Domestic Violence Line maintains strong links with the DoCS Helpline, Women’s Refuges, Homeless Persons and the Department of Housing’s Temporary Accommodation. |
| Joint Investigation Response Teams |
Joint Investigation Response Teams are made up of professionals who undertake joint investigation of child protection matters where there is a possibility the abuse is a criminal offence. Team investigations involve a coordinated approach from three departments – DoCS, NSW Police Force and NSW Health. DoCS aims to ensure the child is safe from further harm and jointly interviews with police who conduct the criminal investigation. NSW Health provides therapeutic and medical services. These teams lessen the stress for children and young people by reducing the number of interviews they face and by providing coordinated support to victims and their families. |
| Community Services Grants Program |
The Community Services Grants Program targets families, young people and children in the community who are identified as, or as having the potential, to be at risk. Many of the projects funded under the program include support for women at risk of domestic violence, both directly and indirectly.
Women are supported by services that focus on: reducing domestic violence; improving coping skills; improving poor family communication; supporting disadvantaged young single mothers; improving anger management; and reducing the effects of substance abuse on families.
Program service providers use an integrated delivery process that may use the following service components: assessment, referrals and information; case management and coordination; domestic violence counselling; drug and alcohol intervention services; brokerage for emergency support services; mediation and intensive family work; and support for Aboriginal parents and young mothers. |
| Funding assistance to local projects targeting domestic violence |
DoCS provides funding for a small number of local domestic and family violence projects, including training and education campaigns. For example, funding is distributed through the Area Assistance Scheme, Better Futures Program and the Indigenous Family Violence Partnership (now transferred to the Department of Premier and Cabinet). |
| NSW Attorney-General’s Department |
| Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model |
The Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model was developed to improve the efficiency and quality of the criminal justice response to domestic violence, through agreed protocols and services for:
- improved policing (evidence collection, applications for Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders, proactive arrest and charge policy with strict bail conditions, next-day-contact with the victim for crisis support and proactive case management)
- improved court assistance support (ensuring victim safety and support through victims-advocate services, providing for witness preparation)
- improved management of local court activities (prosecution of domestic violence matters by specially trained police prosecutors, establishing a benchmark for resolution of cases within 12 weeks from the initial hearing to sentencing)
- reducing re-offending (ensuring where a matter gets to sentencing, offenders are required to participate in Corrective Services domestic violence perpetrator programs – not in lieu of sentence).
|
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NSW also has a range of other justice programs and services in place, including the following:
- Following the evaluation of the Domestic Violence Intervention Court Model in 2008, the Crime Prevention Division of the Attorney-General’s Department is working with partner agencies on strategies to improve the model and is considering how successful elements of the program can be integrated into the broader criminal justice response to domestic violence. So far, the division has introduced the successful evidence collection process into standard operating procedures statewide and the Chief Magistrate has issued a practice direction to support this evidence-collection and to expedite domestic violence matters through the courts. The Department of Corrective Services Perpetrator Program has been developed and is being rolled out within Community Offender Services across the state182.
- Witness Assistance Service for victims of violent crime under prosecution, including sexual assault.
- Women’s Domestic Violence Court Assistance Program provides 55 court locations in NSW with a service that empowers victims to obtain legal protection through Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders and access support services that can help with their other needs (for example, financial assistance and advice, housing, emotional support and counselling, child protection and family law issues).
- Victim Services consists of the Victims of Crime Bureau, Victims Compensation Tribunal and Friends and Families of Missing Persons Unit. Together, they provide services for crime victims, including domestic-violence victims. These include: counselling; compensation; referral and support; and access to a 24-hour victim support line.
- Sexual Assault Regional Liaison Forums for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions lawyers, Crown Prosecutors and sexual assault workers to increase understanding of each other’s roles.
- Domestic Violence Liaison Officer Initiative, which engages specialist police officers trained in domestic and family violence, child protection procedures, victim support, and court Apprehended Violence Order processes. The role of the Liaison Officer is to: provide advice to police and victims; give referrals to appropriate support agencies; maintain close working relationships with all support agencies; review and oversee all domestic and family violence reports and cases; assist victims through the court process for Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders; and monitor repeat victims and perpetrators.
6.2.6 Prosecution
Key NSW legislation relating to domestic and family violence includes the:
- Crimes Act 1900 – Part 3 of this Act deals with offences against the person. Divisions 1-3 are concerned with homicide, conspiracy to murder and attempts to murder. Division 6 deals with acts causing danger to life or bodily harm. Divisions 8 and 9 are concerned with assault, and Division 10 with rape and sexual assault.
- Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act 2007 which aims: to ensure the protection of people from domestic and personal violence by empowering the court to make apprehended violence orders; to repeal Part 15A of the Crimes Act 1900; and to make consequential amendments to other Acts and instruments. It specifies how an application for an apprehended violence order should be made, what matters should be considered by a court in deciding whether to make an order and what type of prohibitions and restrictions can be included in an apprehended violence order. It provides for the variation and revocation of orders, and for appeals to the District Court. It also defines the terms ‘domestic violence offence’, ‘domestic relationship’, ‘stalking’ and ‘intimidation’.
- Crimes Amendment (Sexual Procurement or Grooming of Children) Act 2007 makes it an offence for an adult to procure or groom a child for unlawful sexual activity. It is in compliance with the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Australia is a signatory.
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