Domestic Violence and Violence Against Women: Real Safety, Real Support

What People Are Telling Me

"Survivors are being turned away from shelters, legal support is stretched thin, and too many women are still living in fear. Some stay with their abuser because they have nowhere else to go, no money to rebuild, or no faith in the system. It’s time we stop saying ‘never again’—and start meaning it."

The Reality We Face

A woman is killed nearly every week in Australia by a current or former partner.

In Victoria, family violence incidents have reached record highs, with police responding every 6 minutes.

Many survivors are misidentified as aggressors, turned away from shelters, or left without legal help.

45% of women experiencing homelessness cite domestic violence as the reason.

Over 20,000 women wanted to leave violent relationships but couldn't—because they couldn’t afford to.

It’s clear: our current systems are not protecting the very people they were designed to help.

My Commitment

Every woman and child has the right to be safe—in their home, in their community, and in our society. I’m committed to delivering a survivor-focused, trauma-informed strategy that puts protection, prevention, and justice at the centre.

Key Initiatives for a Safer Victoria

1️) Immediate Safety and Shelter

🏠 No one should have to choose between staying with an abuser or sleeping in a car.

✔ Double funding for crisis accommodation and refuges, ensuring no one is turned away.

✔ Expand “Safe at Home” programs—remove perpetrators from the home, not survivors.

✔ Build more transitional housing with long-term supports for women and children fleeing violence.

✔ Ensure 24/7 hotlines are fully staffed—no unanswered calls when survivors reach out for help.

✔ Fund culturally safe and disability-inclusive services for Aboriginal women, LGBTIQ+ survivors, and CALD communities.

2️) Justice That Protects Survivors

Survivors should be believed, protected, and empowered—not retraumatized by the system.

✔ Roll out Specialist Family Violence Courts across Victoria, fast-tracking protective orders within 72 hours.

✔ Provide free legal representation for all survivors applying for intervention orders.

✔ Mandate trauma-informed training for all police, judges, and frontline responders.

✔ Criminalise coercive control and non-fatal strangulation, learning from laws in Scotland and NSW.

✔ Expand specialist family violence police teams and strengthen breach penalties for orders.

3️) Prevention and Education

To end violence, we must change the attitudes that allow it to happen.

✔ Strengthen respectful relationships education in all schools—primary to secondary.

✔ Launch a bold statewide media campaign to shift public attitudes and empower bystanders to act.

✔ Support community-led programs to educate and prevent violence in faith, migrant, and rural communities.

✔ Fund men’s behaviour change programs and support men to be part of the solution.

✔ Train GPs, nurses, teachers, and frontline workers to spot the warning signs early.

4️) Economic Freedom for Survivors

No woman should be trapped in abuse because she can’t afford to leave.

✔ Offer emergency relief payments (up to $5,000) for women fleeing abuse.

✔ Expand access to financial counselling, hardship debt waivers, and credit repair.

✔ Promote and monitor the use of 10 days paid domestic violence leave across all Victorian workplaces.

✔ Partner with TAFEs and local employers to provide job pathways for survivors.

✔ Reintroduce rent subsidies and rapid housing access for women escaping violence.

5️) Accountability and Real Reform

We cannot fix what we don’t measure—or what we don’t admit.

✔ Publish an Annual Family Violence Scorecard—tracking response times, intervention orders, housing support, and survivor outcomes.

✔ Reinstate an Independent Family Violence Monitor to keep government accountable.

✔ Track and reduce repeat offending through coordinated databases and electronic monitoring.

✔ Include survivor voices in policymaking and service design—because they know what works.

✔ Require quarterly reporting from police, courts, and service agencies to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

Why This Matters

💬 This isn’t just a women’s issue—it’s a community crisis.

Behind every statistic is someone’s mother, sister, daughter, colleague, or friend.

This plan will:

✅ Provide immediate safety and long-term housing.

✅ Improve police and legal responses.

✅ Prevent future violence through education.

✅ Support financial independence.

✅ Hold perpetrators—and the system—accountable.

My Vision

"No one should live in fear in their own home. Not one more woman should have to ask for help and be told there’s no room, no lawyer, no support. It’s time for a system that listens, believes, and acts."

"By standing with survivors, investing in prevention, and demanding justice, we can end the cycle of violence and build a safer Victoria for all."

💬 If you believe every woman deserves to live safe and free, join me in making it happen.