There has been an increase in police reports concerning family violence during the coronavirus lockdown period, but not all victims have been able to reach out for further support.
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While the government largely restricted people to their homes in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, police received an influx in reports from victims.
Earlier this week Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Coxall, of the Central Highlands Family Violence Investigation Unit, told The Courier that overall reports of family violence had increased by about 30 per cent during the past two months, while people reporting an incident of family violence for the first time had increased by about 50 per cent.
This has seen a flow on effect to support services.
With the challenges presented during the peak of coronavirus restrictions in Victoria, there has been a lot for support services to adapt to.
According to Dr Jess Cadwallader, Principal Strategic Advisor at the Central Highlands Integrated Family Violence Committee, there has been an increase in police responses to family violence but the referrals to support services have not been as high.
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This most likely means that victims are seeking to self-manage, due to not feeling safe enough to engage with services while the strictest restrictions were in place.
"The increase in risk out there, in police reports and the difficulty people have had in accessing support is really concerning," Dr Cadwallader said.
The increase in risk out there, in police reports and the difficulty people have had in accessing support is really concerning.
- Dr Jess Cadwallader
While there have been changes to some family violence behaviours - such as the perpetrator using the virus as a form of control and limiting the victim's use of technology and connection with others - some services have reported a decrease in other behaviours such as stalking.
While some services reported increases in service uptake, others did not.
Katrina Leehane, from Ballarat Community Health, said BCH's family violence program had seen a huge spike in referrals during the pandemic.
"The referrals we have been seeing have been more than double our usual figures for therapeutic support," she said.
In the past couple of months, services have reported an increase in adolescent-perpetrated violence in many homes.
Ms Leehane said many social issues had been compounding environmental factors - homeschooling, social isolation and an increased consumption of alcohol - placing stressors on families and leading to violence.
For family violence support service Berry Street, the majority of its interaction with victims is face-to-face.
It has continued offering this support throughout the pandemic, which is different to many of the other family violence support services.
While the service has reduced face-to-face meetings somewhat, it has continued to conduct support in person - though health questionnaires are conducted beforehand - including at short term accommodation and at court.
Denise O'Dowd, senior manager of family violence at Berry Street, said it had been a challenge for support workers to engage with victims after they initially reported an incident, with the perpetrator of the violence at home 24/7.
While Berry Street has always used phones and iPads as a way to stay in contact with victims, it has tried to be a bit more creative through this period.
With one of the four government-approved reasons during stage 3 restrictions to leave home to visit a doctor, the service tried to tap into that as an opportunity to safely meet with a victim and offer face-to-face support.
While the number of reports have increased, family violence services as well as police believe they may continue to as social restrictions are further eased, allowing people to move more freely about society. This has occurred in other countries, following a lockdown period.
Agencies are working together through the Central Highlands Integrated Family Violence Committee to prepare for this potential spike, and how services can support each other.
It is hoped that the further easing of restrictions will also allow victims to more easily access support services.
"We are hoping with the return to school, there might be more of an-opportunity for victim-survivors to follow up and engage more with services as it has been a really difficult time, with children at home as well, to safely contact a support service," Ms O'Dowd said.
We are hoping with the return to school, there might be more of an-opportunity for victim-survivors to follow up and engage more with services as it has been a really difficult time, with children at home as well, to safely contact a support service
- Denise O'Dowd
Dr Cadwallader agreed: "I really hope those people, some of whom are first timers reporting, that they can get back in contact with support services," she said.
While victims have been less able to engage with support services, programs such as 'Men's Behaviour Change' for perpetrators of family violence have seen some successes come out of the challenges presented by restrictions. The move to virtual support from what is ordinarily a group face-to-face program means many participants have been receiving one-on-one support, which has worked quite well.
While the period has come with challenges, there have also been some positives. Berry Street hope to continue offering online support to those in more regional areas who would like to eliminate the need for travel.
There has also been an increase in third party reporting of family violence, which is believed to be the result of more people at home coupled with strong messaging from police and the government.
Meanwhile, many reports have also been made through psychologists, psychiatrists and other private practitioners.
Agencies are currently working out how to get some face-to-face programs up and running again, and it is hoped that this will mean that many of the victims who turned down support from services at the peak of restrictions will be able to access support.
To safely report family violence, a support service can be texted, called or emailed. If unable to do that, family violence can also be reported through a trusted doctor or a friend or family member.
Help is available via the following services: Berry Street: (03) 5331 3558, WRISC Family Violence Support: (03) 5333 3666 or 1800 RESPECT
Help is available via the following services.
For victim-survivors (including children)
Berry Street: (03) 5331 3558
(includes after hours response)
WRISC Family Violence Support: (03) 5333 3666 (includes flexible support packages)
Grampians Community Health: (03) 5352 6200
Aboriginal-specific services for Victim-survivors
WRISC Family Violence Support: (03) 5333 3666
Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative: (03) 5331 5344
Perpetrators
Berry Street: (03) 5331 3558
Cafs Ballarat: 1800 MYCAFS (including emergency accommodation)
Grampians Community Health: 03 5358 7400
Aboriginal-specific services for perpetrators
Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative: (03) 5331 5344
Adolescents who use violence in the home
Cafs Ballarat: 1800 MYCAFS
Families needing support
ChildFIRST: 1300 783 341
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