Yet women find themselves having to repeat their story to service after service and worker after worker as they search for the assistance they need. Thankfully this traumatising process will not last much longer.
The NSW Government’s new ‘It Stops Here’ Domestic and Family Violence Framework for Reform aims to lower incidents of domestic violence and improve the quality of response for victims when violence occurs. Part of the reforms is the introduction of a centralised database, whereby victims will only have to tell their story once and it will accessible to the different workers or agencies that assist them.
Victims of domestic violence will be referred from a single ‘Central Referral Point’ to a ‘Local Coordination Point’ for case coordination and risk assessment. Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Services (WDVCASs), funded by = Legal Aid NSW, have been chosen to host the Local Coordination Points. Sydney WDVCAS at Waverley Local Court and Central West WDVCAS at Orange Court will be the sites for the initial rollout of the reforms.
Susan Smith, Coordinator of Redfern Legal Centre’s Sydney WDVCAS said, “We believe the new approach will greatly reduce service response times, and will mean all victims will be provided with a far more coordinated approach to service provision through agencies sharing information about high risk victims and taking responsibility for supporting these families to navigate the system of services to help them.”
Pru Goward, NSW Minister for Women and for Family and Community Services has said, “The NSW Government’s new approach will mean victims have a single contact point – a specialised domestic violence worker – who will organise everything a victim needs.”
An information session for stakeholders involved in the project will be held tomorrow morning, with speakers from Legal Aid NSW, Victims Services and NSW Police Force.
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To arrange an interview contact Susan Smith on 9287 7505 or susan@rlc.org.au
