Over thirty women have died at the hands of their partners in the first four months of this year.
Across Australia, one woman was killed every 11 days by an intimate partner between 2022-23. The Albanese Government has declared this a national crisis.
To fight this epidemic, the Government has committed to investing $925.2 million over five years to establish the Leaving Violence Program for women and children experiencing domestic violence. This builds on the Albanese Government’s $2.3 billion in measures to end intimate partner violence.
The Leaving Violence Program is an initiative supporting the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-32.
The Program aims to improve the safety and independence of victims by offering individualised financial support packages of $1,500 in cash and $3,500 in goods and services. Payments will be indexed to compare to cost-of-living in the coming years.
‘Financial insecurity is a major contributing factor in a woman’s decision to leave, stay in or return to a violent relationship,’ reads the Women’s Budget Statement 2024-25, signed by Katy Gallagher, Minister for Women, and Treasurer Jim Chalmers MP.
On the 29th of April, members of the crossbench including Kylea Tink, Member for North Sydney, Zali Stegall, Member for Warringah, and Sophie Scamps, Member for Mackellar, sent a letter to the Prime Minister calling for action.
‘Violence against women is preventable, but we need to better identify risks and
opportunities for intervention,’ the April letter reads.
The crossbench letter addresses the need for funding frontline services as a tangible opportunity to end gendered violence.
‘Frontline services live hand to mouth, constantly worrying about whether their funding will be renewed,’ says the letter. ‘The federal government must force the states to
break the logjam on the recruitment of 500 frontline workers funded in last year’s Budget.’
Crisis support can be found locally at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter, Mary’s House in the Lower North Shore, the Northern Beaches Women’s Shelter.
For more information, visit their websites.
