THERE is no place for violence in our community.
That’s the message Berry Street and anti-family violence advocate Rosie Batty will be spreading today during a special event in Ballarat.
Ms Batty will be in Ballarat to help launch a high impact campaign by Berry Street, which is due to be seen on television, cinema and outdoor advertising and in print media and as well as through letterbox drops across the city.
Ms Batty has become the name and the face of family violence since her son Luke was killed by his father in front of horrified onlookers after a cricket training session at in 2014. Her advocacy work has rightly resulted in her being recognised with such titles as Australian of the Year.
Ms Batty will be joined today by one of Victoria’s top police officers, Tim Cartwright, to talk about the family violence crisis as part of the new campaign by service provide Berry Street.
Unfortunately, Ballarat has a reputation as a region suffering a high rate of family violence.
Last year, Berry Street supported more than 1700 women and children within the Ballarat community to recover from family violence. That’s just one local support agency in just one year. Berry Street deals with close to 12 local children every week who are traumatised as a result of family violence and 380 Ballarat children were reported as being exposed to family violence since July 2015 through to February 2016.
Berry Street helps women and children to remain safely within their community, while supporting their emotional and practical needs and issues.
According to statistics, family violence reports to the Central Highlands Western District Police increased by 8 per cent this year; Central Highlands Western District Police Police incident reports and referrals increased from 1295 to 1400 for the same period (July–Feb) this year.
And Victorian Police Crime Statistics 2013/2014, one in three family violence incidents involved children.
These are shocking figures … numbers we, as a whole, should not be proud of.
Every woman and child in Ballarat has the right to live a life without fear of violence. And family violence takes many forms, not just physical. There is also emotional, verbal and financial abuse.
Take heed of the new campaign, for there is no place for violence in our community.
