Deakin welcomes news of Family Violence Minister in light of recent research

Deakin today welcomed the incoming State Government's appointment of Victoria's first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence, in the wake of the University's recent research showing how devastating the issue is for women in rural and regional areas.

Deakin's Centre for Rural and Regional Law and Justice recently called for governments at all levels take immediate measures to adopt a more holistic community response to the issue, after its research found where a woman lived could inhibit her chances of receiving justice when experiencing family violence.

"We knew women outside the city can be three times more likely to experience family violence, and what we found was that their postcodes can also inhibit the chances they have of receiving effective support through the justice system," Centre Director Richard Coverdale said.

The Deakin research found women in rural and regional Victoria experienced both geographical and social isolation and were more visible and exposed to risk within their communities compared to women in metropolitan regions.

The research was the first to look at technology-facilitated abuse and stalking in a geographic context, finding a significant number of women survivors of family violence experienced technology-facilitated stalking, which needed to be addressed.

"One of the measures we called for in our research report, Landscapes of Violence: Women Surviving Family Violence in Regional and Rural Victoria, was for an immediate urgent increase to funding for services, including courts, legal assistance, family violence services and housing," Mr Coverdale said.

"News the incoming State Government has appointed the state's first Minister for the Prevention of Family Violence is a great start and we hope it will lead to focussed policy outcomes that will improve the lives of survivors of family violence across the state.

"In the recent past we have seen government cuts to family violence and legal services which has placed regional and rural women and their children at greater risk.

"To increase access to justice and reduce the harms, incidence and costs of family violence we need further resources and strategies to overcome barriers faced by regional and rural survivors.

"Family violence is of course not restricted to rural and regional Victoria but our research shows that the outcomes women experience are different depending on postcode, so we need policies and resources that address this. "Apart from the enormous social cost of family violence, the impact on the Victorian economy has been estimated at around $4 billion a year."