Women and children who have experienced family, domestic or sexual violence will be further supported with eight new and expanded programs receiving $14 million to enhance safety, health and justice outcomes.

State Member for Ku-ring-gai Alister Henskens SC said the newly announced programs add to the NSW Liberal and Nationals support for victim-survivors.

“Domestic Violence is a scourge on society and this funding will ensure victim-survivors are better supported when leaving violence and rebuilding their lives,” Mr Henskens said.

“The additional support services ensure that women and children have even more options to seek support when needed.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the NSW Government is upholding its promise of prioritising the boosting of supporting services for victim-survivors of family, domestic and sexual violence.

“This funding will allow us to upskill our clinical workforce to ensure they have the tools and knowledge to respond to the care needs of victim-survivors,” Mr Hazzard said.

Minister for Women, Regional Health and Mental Health Bronnie Taylor said the initiatives will also be expanded across regional NSW, ensuring the support is there for communities when they need it.

“These initiatives are about providing wrap-around support for victim-survivors who have experienced family, domestic and sexual violence so they can feel empowered to make the best decision for them and their families,” Mrs Taylor said.

Minister for Women’s Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Sexual Violence Natalie Ward said tragically in this country, one in every six women and one in sixteen men have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner.

“Prevention is a key support we can provide victim-survivors, which is why our support services are matched with programs that focus on eliminating family, domestic and sexual violence across NSW,” Mrs Ward said.

The $14 million investment will deliver eight new and expanded health projects:

• Justice Our Way Expansion: This program supports Aboriginal women in the criminal justice system, many of whom have experienced family, domestic and sexual violence. The expansion will scale up the model developed by Waminda Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (ACCHO) in Nowra, to meet increased demand and extend the program to additional locations.
• Medical and Forensic Clinical Placement and Support Program: To support Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs), particularly those in rural, regional and remote NSW to participate in and strengthen their capacity to deliver safe, best-practice and high-quality medical forensic services in their respective sexual assault services.
• Safety and Support for Children Experiencing Violence, Abuse and Neglect: A state-wide paediatric violence, abuse and neglect training program will be delivered to assist paediatricians and other medical practitioners to deliver medical and forensic services to children and young people experiencing abuse and neglect, plus provide medico-legal evidence and witness testimony in court.
• Pilot Domestic and Violence Crisis Response Program: A new integrated psychosocial, medical and forensic domestic and family violence (DFV) 24-hour crisis response service.
• Training to improve interagency responses to families experiencing domestic and family violence and child protection concerns: This project will enhance holistic responses across government and non-government sectors, including mental health, drug and alcohol clinicians to provide coordinated services which promote safety for all family members.
• Support to Safety project This project will review sexual, domestic and family violence helplines available in NSW and scope options for a single ‘front door’ triage service.
• NSW Health Domestic Violence Routine Screening program: A review of the DVRS program across mandated health service settings.
• Sex, safety and respect educator training: Full Stop Australia will deliver an experiential program focusing on communication in intimate relationships, sexual ethics, and consent and bystander strategies for young people across NSW.

The NSW Government has a strong record of supporting victim-survivors of domestic violence, committing $687 million in the 2021/22 Budget and a further $100 million in the 2022/23 Budget, towards the prevention of domestic, sexual and family violence and improving women’s safety across the community.