29/05/2024

 

To our Elected Officials,

 

We are writing to you as concerned residents of Moira Shire, seeking your support and action on several important issues related to family and gendered violence in our community. We believe these steps are necessary to enhance the safety and wellbeing of our residents. We would particularly like to highlight the barriers experienced by minority groups and the additional element of being a rural border town location.

As community members, we recommend the following to address the national crisis that our country is facing: 

Immediate response

Monitoring system/s: Implement a system to monitor high-risk people who use violence to ensure the safety of victim/survivors and prevent further incidents. Examples include ankle monitors, radio frequency identification tags, smartphone monitoring apps, and electronic home detention systems.

People who use violence accountability

Shift focus: Change the focus from making victim/survivors leave their homes and communities to instead making people who use violence leave, thus minimising further trauma for victim/survivors.Additionally, to creating rehabilitation centres for people who use violence to address their behaviour, rather than only shelters for women and children.

Men’s Behaviour Change Programs: Increase funding and improve access to programs designed to change controlling and/or violent behaviour in men. Enhance these programs to ensure they are more effective in reducing violence.

Bystander training: Funding for programs and media campaigns around bystanders training, including communication strategies for calling out controlling and/or violent behaviour.

Law enforcement recommendations

Upgrades at police stations: Yarrawonga, Cobram, Numurkah and Nathalia police stations to be staffed 24/7 for timely response to support. At least one station to be upgraded with holding cells.

Training for police: Provide ongoing training to police members to ensure up to date and relevant practices regarding family and gendered violence.

Police body cams: Police officers to wear bodycams during all interactions with community members to ensure accountability and transparency during their interactions.

Conflict of interest: Implement strict rules for police to declare conflicts of interest and enforce repercussions for failing to report them, to ensure less bias in handling local cases. 

Legal/Equitable access to justice

Response to breaches: Improve police and court response to victim/survivors reporting breaches of IVO’s in more empathetic ways by upskilling staff with active listening skills, using compassionate communication, prioritising victim-centred approaches, providing trauma-informed and empathy training, offering supportive resources, maintaining continuous support, taking immediate action, and using approaches that empower victim/survivors and in accordance with the Family Violence Act 2008.

Simplified process for IVOs: Simplify the process for obtaining and implement avenues for amending Intervention Orders (IVOs) to reflect any changes or escalations in circumstances to reduce wait times that can further increase risk.

Policy/Legislation

Border impact on services: Address the impact of Victorian/New South Wales border restrictions on accessing vital services for victim/survivors of family and gendered violence by enabling services to support clients regardless of their residential address, and to work together and merge resources where necessary.

Community

Community connector/strengthening program: A community Connector Program that positions a trained link worker in key locations across the Moira Shire to connect individuals affected by violence with essential support services and resources, bridging gaps between residents and services.

Police involvement in community engagement events: Increase police involvement in community engagement events to build trust, strengthen connections, break down barriers to reporting and accessing supports, and enhance familiarity and approachability.
 

We appreciate your attention to these urgent matters and look forward to your support in implementing these recommendations to protect and empower our community.

 

Sincerely,

Residents of the Moira Shire