There has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of people accessing regional services for family violence in the South West, according to Legal Aid WA’s recent annual report.
Last financial year, 484 people in the South West accessed services for family violence making it the highest regional area in WA.
South West Refuge chief executive officer Michelle Bickers said the number of people disclosing family and domestic violence continued to show the severity of the problem within the community.
Ms Bickers said it was encouraging to see so many clients experiencing family and domestic violence being referred to or accepting support for legal assistance.
She said this demonstrated the referrals from services, such as South West Refuge were being noted and actioned to the benefit of the person experiencing family and domestic violence.
Legal Aid WA acting regional director Brianna Lonnie said the increase was significant with families accessed services for family court, child protection and restraining orders.
Compared to the rest of WA which experienced a 22 per cent increase, there was a 40 per cent increase in court services for family violence in the South West.
Ms Lonnie said a combination of factors had contributed to the spike which included an increased awareness throughout the community and due to service providers being able to identify family violence and direct people to legal services.
“We have developed new programs which provide holistic approaches to families experiencing family violence, which is run in conjunction with the South West Community Legal Centre and Waratah,” she said.
“We are providing duty lawyer services at Bunbury Court along with social support services so people are able to access a social worker and a lawyer who work together on a person’s legal matters.”
Ms Lonnie said people who accessed their services and were experiencing family violence were often in crisis and Legal Aid WA was now better placed to respond to a person’s needs.
“They are complex needs and there are often issues of housing, risk of homelessness and safety, and people may need urgent assistance,” she said.
“There are often financial issues or mental health support needed for drug and alcohol issues, there are often a wide range of issues people are experiencing where there has been family violence.”
Prevention of family and domestic violence minister Simone McGurk will lead a delegation of experts at the national Reducing Violence Against Women summit in Adelaide this week.
If you have experienced sexual assualt, domestic or family violence contact 1800 737 732
