Approximately 18% of these women are at serious threat of homicide or disability due to domestic violence.
While the proportion of women at serious threat is alarming, we are encouraged by this shift in responding to women at the most serious threat of harm.
A shift in referral systems makes a big difference
“I feel really supported and protected.”
“Thank you so much for following up. It’s really nice to have someone who wants to help and is proactive about it.”
Under the previous referral system, women were offered a yellow card to sign by Police at the scene of the incident, indicating their consent for support services to contact them.
Now, when Police attend an incident of domestic violence, an automatic referral comes from the Police straight through to a Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service.
While women still have the opportunity at the point of first contact to decline a service, we’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response from our clients in relation to this shift in procedure.
New system supports women in their journey away from violence
“You called me four weeks ago, the last time Police came – I wasn’t ready then but I am now and I’m really glad you called.”
A woman’s journey away from domestic violence is not always linear. Service delivery responses must be flexible and reflect the needs and choices of a client at whichever point of her journey she is at.
The Safer Pathway model accommodates this. By calling a victim and offering support after each incident of domestic violence, victims are offered the opportunity to engage at many different points in time.
Outcomes from Safety Action Meetings
Safety Action Meetings have brought about some important safety outcomes for our clients.
We’ve secured priority transfers from FaCS Housing for women within a matter of days to ensure their safety and security. Our clients’ locks have been changed within four hours of reporting the incident through working with Staying Home Leaving Violence. The Local Coordination Point has been able to facilitate the urgent revocation of a perpetrator’s parole through communication with Corrective Services.
Working with perpetrators for better outcomes
Safety Action Meetings are able to look holistically at the risk factors present for a family and think outside the box in terms of strategies and services that can be put in place to reduce a serious threat to a family.
Through information sharing, the SAMs often learn that perpetrators have had prior contact with an alcohol and other drug service, or with a mental health service.
A SAM can inform these services that their client has been listed as the perpetrator of domestic violence, enabling the services to offer their client appropriate assistance, without notifying them about the SAM for safety reasons.
Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse clients
The Safety Action Meeting has developed strong partnerships with Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse specialist workers in the community.
One of the permanent members at the Waverley SAM is the Aboriginal Specialist Worker from the Sydney Women’s Domestic Violence Court Advocacy Service, who ensures that all Safety Action Plans for Aboriginal clients are culturally appropriate.
Likewise, specialist workers who assist culturally and linguistically diverse clients regularly attend meetings for their clients to represent their clients needs.
It has been a very busy fourteen months, but it really does feel from the responses from our clients and from the results we are seeing through the SAMs, that the new Safer Pathway model is making a significant difference in the lives of the women we work with.
