THE appointment on Tuesday of an assistant commissioner to lead the nation’s inaugural police command dedicated to tackling family violence adds to the push to bring this insidious issue further out of the shadows.
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Victoria Police announced Assistant Commissioner Dean McWhirter would head the Family Violence Command, responsible for combating not only family violence, but also sexual assault in child abuse.
In publicly accepting the position, Assistant Commissioner McWhirter promised two things: “... to always listen and to put the victim’s needs at the centre of everything we do”.
The victims, whatever gender or age, religion or socio-economic background, should always be the priority and should always be genuinely listened to.
Part of Assistant Commissioner McWhirter’s charter for the new command is more intensive education for police members.
These are the people at the real coal face of family violence ... usually first on the scene of an incident, often dealing with an abusive person, always there to offer support to a traumatised victim and/or their children.
To be armed with the knowledge of the best practices when helping family violence victims, the right language to use, the best advice as to where to go for help and support is important. Appropriate initial contact will ease the pain and trauma for victims and help them move forward.
Knowing there are appropriately trained police available should, in turn, also encourage family violence victims to speak up, seek help and, hopefully, give them the strength to break free from a violent situation.
Acting Chief Commissioner Tim Cartwright said he hoped the appointment would send the message to the community that family violence remained a priority for the force.
“Over the last 10 years Victoria Police has focused on violence against women and children and family violence,” he said.
“I’ve appointed Assistant Commissioner McWhirter to this role knowing that he will speak out as loudly and as often as he can to educate the community.”
The Family Violence Command will add to the exceptional work already being carried out in the Ballarat district by the men and women in Victoria Police’s Family Violence Unit, the tireless work of the dedicated staff at WRISC, Child and Family Services, Women’s Health Grampians and other allied organisations who work with victims and perpetrators of family violence in the region.
