Family and domestic violence
367. Mr Rhys Williamsto theMinister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence:
I refer to the Cook Labor government's commitment to ending the scourge of family and domestic violence.
(1) Can the minister advise the house how this government is supporting victim-survivors and holding perpetrators to account?
(2) Can the minister advise the house what this government is doing to stop the violence before it starts?
Mrs Jessica Stojkovski replied:
(1)–(2) I thank the member, despite his slow rise to his feet. I know that we have had a number of conversations about this, and I appreciate the member's advocacy in this area.
For too long, family and domestic violence has been a taboo subject. This government has continually championed that conversation through having a Minister for Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence. It is really only recently that this topic has been given the attention that it deserves. Talking about family and domestic violence is actually crucial not only for raising awareness and encouraging victims to come forward to seek help, but also, really importantly, to holding perpetrators to account. I know that members will have heard me say multiple times that we have spent over half a billion dollars in addressing the scourge of family and domestic violence in our community. This includes, but is absolutely not limited to, increasing refuge capacity by 41%, with an additional 88 units in the pipeline; 13 new safe-at-home locations and another seven committed; and five new FDV one-stop hubs. In fact, I was out recently in Broome with the member for Kimberley to open up the Broome FDV one-stop hub. It also includes 14 new initiatives to boost access to counselling services and a fivefold increase in primary prevention and early intervention initiatives. This is actually crucial to the prevention part of the prevention of family and domestic violence. There are 18 new intervention initiatives for perpetrators and a significant expansion to the statewide family and domestic violence response teams.
If members read The Sunday Times, they might also have noticed that we have announced the theme for our 16 Days in WA campaign for this year, with the focus being on men and boys. I am very happy to be championing this change in direction because if we want to stop family and domestic violence as a community, we need to engage all members of our community, including men and boys.
Although we are very proud of our efforts, particularly our Strengthening Responses to Family and Domestic Violence: System Reform Plan, we are not the only ones noticing the impact that we are having. I can report that our system reform plan is being recognised and commended in other parts of the country. This week, the South Australian Royal Commission into Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence released its findings, and, among its recommendations, the report states that South Australia has much to learn from Western Australia's approach. It recommended that South Australia draw on a number of Western Australia's practices, including creating a five-year strategy that includes our four pillars, much like our system reform plan; establishing a lived experience advisory network, much like our lived experience advisory group; drawing on WA's one-stop hub model, particularly the community-based and soft entry point designs; aligning its risk assessment and management framework to look like Western Australia's; and drawing from WA's family and domestic violence response teams model. Members do not have to take my word for it. I can give them some quotes from Commissioner Natasha Stott Despoja, who ran this royal commission for South Australia. This is a direct quote from her press conference yesterday. She said:
It is the Commission's view that Western Australia's approach to integrated response and service delivery represents the best opportunity for South Australia.
…
By co-locating FDVRTs—
That is family and domestic violence response teams—
in each region, Western Australia has leveraged the well-accepted lesson that physical co-location leads to better information sharing, coordination and safety outcomes.
…
Western Australia's expanded integrated response model represents a mature, evaluated and well-developed model that South Australia should draw heavily from.
I take this opportunity to thank all those who work on our front line in family and domestic violence. We know that we have actually achieved quite a bit in this space but that there is so much more work to do. We acknowledge that we have a little way to go on this one. One woman or child being injured or killed is too many, but the outcomes of the South Australian royal commission really show us that we are on the correct path with our system reform plan and that the record investment that sits behind it is starting to have traction.
I assure all Western Australians that we are committed to seeing these major reforms through to protect women and children, stop violence before it starts and hold perpetrators to account. My final plea would be that we want victim-survivors to come forward. We want them to know that help is out there, and we want them to know that they will be supported in Western Australia.
The Speaker: The member for Albany with the last question.
