INCREASED awareness about family violence in recent months has encouraged more victims to speak up, Tasmania Police says.
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New figures published in the organisation’s monthly performance report show there has been a 20 per cent increase in family violence incidents reported to Northern police between July 2015 and February 2016, compared to the same period the year before.
The trend is also reflected in the statewide data.
Tasmania Police Crime and Operations Acting Assistant Commissioner Peter Edwards said the spike was “a positive sign that women are feeling more comfortable to report matters to police.”
“Increased awareness of family violence will continue to lead to increased reporting and we see that as a positive outcome,” he said.
“Increased reporting is also an important step to change the culture of offending.”
The statistics show 2097 family violence incident reports were made to officers in the Northern district between July 2015 and February 2016, while 1747 incidents were reported between July 2014 and February 2015.
Despite this, police believe there is still more work to do.
“We know that family violence matters are under-reported, and we want to encourage women to come forward and feel safe and comfortable to seek help,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Edwards said.
“If we don’t know about family violence, we can’t intervene and protect families.
“Tasmania Police takes a zero tolerance stand against family violence.”
