It has been well-established that there are still far too few emergency relief places for women and children who have experienced family violence in Northern Tasmania.
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Magnolia Place is adding more capacity soon, but it will still be a long time - if ever - before there is adequate space to meet demand across the broader region.
In Victoria, their royal commission into family violence made 227 recommendations to drastically overhaul everything from police responses, to hub models, to preventative measures. It demonstrated the sheer scale of the problem that has suffered from a long-term lack of co-ordinated effort.
Tasmania is no different when looking at how far we have to go, and while we wait for the infrastructure to eventually be put in place, continuing to promote preventative measures is essential.
As part of a COVID-19 family violence funding program, the Australian and Tasmanian governments have supported a range of initiatives using $1.5 million. In addition to funding for greater resources for women from multicultural communities - identified as facing difficulties accessing services - there was also funding for Relationships Australia Tasmania to develop resources and an app targeting people who use violence in the home so they could seek out support to address their behaviour.
This might seem like a small step, but it's important for governments to pay attention to preventative measures. Changing attitudes is the only way the scourge of violence against women can be addressed.
Data from across Australia has shown that, during COVID-19, significantly more men have been seeking behavioural support. This has been cautiously welcomed by family violence services, although they acknowledge that it is an indicator of the hidden violence that has been occurring in the home, with victims unable to seek support due to the presence of the perpetrator during times of lockdown.
But, hopefully, this presents an opportunity to take meaningful steps in changing behaviour. One family violence death is one too many, but a focus on prevention can save lives.