Police and Mitchell Shire community services will work side by side during the upcoming 16 Days of Activism to raise awareness of the help available to victims of family violence in a region with some of the highest rates in the state.
Statistics paint an unflattering picture of family violence in the shire, with more than 2500 incidents per 100,000 people in 2020-21 – nearly double the Victorian average of 1399 per 100,000 people in the same period.
Mitchell Shire’s incident rate was the 10th highest of any local government area in Victoria, and the highest among areas with comparable geography and demographics.
Among urban interface councils, Mitchell Shire far outstrips second-placed Melton, which recorded 1711 family violence incidents per 100,000 people in 2020-21.
Last year also marked the first time every Mitchell Shire township recorded a family violence incident rate higher than the state average, with Seymour’s rate the highest at 4125 incidents per 100,000 people.
Women and girls were the most affected family members in more than 73 per cent of incidents in Mitchell Shire.
Wallan Police Station Acting Sergeant Brett Houguet said police had allied themselves with family violence referral services and health providers to address the trend.
He said he hoped a meeting in Beveridge hosted by Northern Community Legal Centre on November 30 would give people across the southern end of Mitchell Shire useful resources and information.
“Southern Mitchell has a large and growing CALD [culturally and linguistically diverse] community. Historically it has been identified that there is under-reporting of family violence amongst CALD communities,” he said.
“Northern Community Legal Centre have an initiative that local police are supporting to try and break down some of the barriers that prevent people experiencing family violence in CALD communities from reporting.
“Local police are going to have a presence at the event and make ourselves known to the community, so they know the services that we offer to try to encourage more reporting.”
Act Sgt Houguet is Wallan Police Station’s family violence liaison officer. He said each police station had a supervisor who was trained to deal with family violence incidents.
“I’m responsible for the oversight of all the family violence incidents that occur in the Wallan response zone, which includes Beveridge,” he said.
“There is a big emphasis on training our members and family violence is constantly reviewed to see what we could have done better.
“Family violence is everyone’s responsibility and there’s no magic cure to it other than encouraging further reporting, taking appropriate action and holding perpetrators to account to try to break that cycle.”
Act Sgt Houguet said police and support services like Nexus and Orange Door worked to encourage people to continue reporting family violence, with early intervention helping to break cycles.
“In some cases, victims have put up with unacceptable behaviour for years or they are worried that they might not have a roof over their heads or money,” he said.
“Collectively, police and support services can help people with a lot of things including referrals to other agencies, and people often don’t know that until they come in and talk to us.
“The 16 Days of Activism gets people talking about family violence and supports the messaging that it is not acceptable in our community.”
If you or someone you know needs help or support, the following services are available to help:
The Orange Door: 1800 634 245, www.orangedoor.vic.gov.au
Safe Steps (24/7 Family Violence Response Line): 1800 015 188
1800 RESPECT (24/7 sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service): 1800 737 732
Nexus Primary Health: 1300 773 352
Men’s Referral Service (24/7 professional support and information service for Australian men): 1300 466 491
Seniors Rights Victoria: 1300 368 821
The Bridge Youth Service: Seymour (03) 5799 1298 or Wallan (03) 5799 1298
Rainbow Door: 1800 729 367
InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence: 1800 755 988
Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative: 5820 0000
Djirra Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services: 1800 105 303, djirra.org.au
