ACT government pledges millions of dollars to frontline DV services
In a year where more than 30 women have been lost to gendered violence, the ACT government is pledging millions of dollars to frontline DV services, sending a message to the community that it is paying attention.
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00:00Earlier this month, the husband of Canberra woman Wanda Yule was charged with her murder.
00:07So far this year, 34 women in Australia have lost their lives to male violence.
00:12We need hope.
00:13It is really hard for frontline service agencies to turn up day after day and even harder for
00:19people in our community who are experiencing domestic family, intimate partner or sexual
00:23violence to continue to live their lives.
00:27The ACT government has pledged an additional $12 million in the upcoming budget to those
00:31frontline services, an area it's become increasingly concerned with over time.
00:36In the past five years, funding for domestic, family and sexual violence has almost tripled,
00:41from $15 million in 2019-20 to $40 million last year.
00:46Is there a risk that just pouring more money at the problem isn't going to solve anything?
00:50No, I think it is going to the right places.
00:52We're continually being innovative, learning about the different approaches that we're
00:56making across the spectrum of responses and then putting money towards that to make sure
01:01that we're getting it right.
01:03Could we use more money in frontline services?
01:06Absolutely.
01:07But is this money targeted in places where it's going to make a real difference to our
01:11community?
01:12Yes.
01:13This is a long overdue injection of funding to the frontline sector.
01:17A handful of frontline organisations will share in the additional funding, while violence
01:22prevention services which work with perpetrators will also get a boost.
01:25Meanwhile, an education campaign on coercive control for first responders like police and
01:30the courts, as well as the broader community, will be rolled out.
01:34We fully support education and awareness.
01:37It's really important we do that, but it has to be done parallel with legislative reform.
01:42That's somewhere the government still isn't ready to go, yet anyway.