The Tasmanian Aboriginal Legal Service and the Tasmanian Online Lions Club have announced a collaboration to protect victims of family violence: the Safer Families Project.
TALS Principal Family Lawyer Tyne McConnon said its SiS Tasmania Service is the only family violence and prevention legal service dedicated to supporting Aboriginal people in Tasmania.
“This new collaboration is all about helping people to access information safely,” McConnon said.
Tasmanian Online Lions Club President Marg Cranney said that collaborations are essential to the project which is being informed by organisations such as TALS who provide essential support and Tasmanians with lived experience of coercive control and family violence.
“Many people, living with coercive control and family violence, believe that it’s normal or they have caused the abuse,” Ms Cranney said.
“They accept it as part of life and only search for information and support when it becomes intolerable.
“Searching for relevant information, at the moment, can be time consuming, disjointed and very stressful. We are creating a one-stop website where vital information and support services can be easily found.
“Tasmanian Aboriginal people will now be able to access this information which has been created in Tasmania for Tasmanian communities online. It is not safe for some people to come into an office or take a flyer, this will allow another option for people
“This will be accessible for everyone, all around Tasmania – for very victim of family violence. Every community will have access to information and an insight into the services that are available.”
McConnon said that in 2023-24 SiS supported 172 clients, including 44 new clients, delivering 270 legal services and 597 non-legal services.
“Family and sexual violence in Tasmania continues to be an issue in Tasmania and across Australia for all women. SiS Tasmania supports some of the state’s most vulnerable women, being Aboriginal women, who have higher rates of violence perpetrated against them than those who are non-Aboriginal.
“Our service delivers critical legal and non-legal assistance to support clients navigate their way through the complex legal system in what is often time in their lives where they are most vulnerable.”
McConnon said that family violence is an ever-evolving space.
“We need to continually be adapting our advice and education and ensuring it is available to communities across Tasmania.
“Ten years ago, we weren’t speaking about coercive control, and it wasn’t specifically legislated. Providing this new service online is reflective of the need to keep information up to date and reflective of what is happening in our communities.”
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