Acting on domestic and family violence

NATIONAL FORUM TO HELP COMMUNITIES ACT ON DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE

Leading national experts in domestic and family violence response are coming together in Melbourne today (Wed 28) for Lifeline’s DV-alert Trainers Forum, with discussions focusing on collaboration, best-practice care, awareness campaigns, referral pathways and building safer communities.

Lifeline Australia’s Learning and Development Manager Kellie Dunn said the forum – which runs until 30 June – is about further educating domestic and family response (DV-alert) trainers who, in turn, can share those lifesaving skills with their communities.

Since October 2011, Lifeline has trained more than 16,000 community frontline workers across the country to better support people subjected to domestic and family violence, develop safety plans and provide referrals to appropriate support services, such as women’s refuges, legal support or police.

“There are powerful and lifesaving flow-on benefits for each DV-alert trainer who attends this forum,” Ms Dunn said.

“The DV-alert program is building a network of people who can respond to people experiencing domestic and family violence – building the capacity of existing workers and organisations to support communities.

“This event brings together organisations like 1800RESPECT, White Ribbon and ANROWS, together with government, corporate and other NGO partners. In doing so, our trainers can ensure the latest knowledge in domestic and family violence response is shared with ever more health, allied health and other frontline community workers across Australia who undertake our DV-alert training program.

“With one in three women subjected to domestic and family violence likely to attempt suicide, this program is about giving these workers a range of immediate and practical measures to keep women and their children safe.

“While services like 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) and Lifeline’s own 13 11 14 crisis line provide evidence-led and compassionate 24/7 support to women subjected to domestic or family violence, we know that a whole-of-community approach is absolutely vital.

“As such, I want to thank all the experts and community leaders contributing their time and knowledge to this important event, and helping us help more people.”

For the full list of attendees at Lifeline’s DV-alert Trainers Forum, click here: https://www.lifeline.org.au/national-forum-to-help-communities-act-on-domestic-and-family-violence

The DV-alert training is recognised as one of the key initiatives under the Australian Government’s National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022. Lifeline delivers DV-alert as face-to-face workshops or via e-learning and is currently offered via four different streams – General, Indigenous, Multicultural, Settlement, and Women with Disabilities (under development) – to cater to the needs and contexts of diverse communities in Australia.

For 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or visit www.lifeline.org.au/gethelp. If you need to talk to someone about domestic and family violence, contact 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

To enquire about the training, email training@lifeline.org.au.

Brian Johnson