No to Violence welcomes the release of the Federal Government's 2021-2022 Budget which is set to provide a further $1.1 billion into improving women's safety, including a focus on supporting the sector that works with family violence perpetrators.
The 2021-22 Budget includes:
· Funding to continue national access to the Men's Referral Service for perpetrators of domestic and family violence, with a focus on breaking the cycle of violence.
· $4.1 million over three years to trial a 'Coordinated Enforcement and Support to Eliminate' (CEASE) Domestic Violence Program trial.
· $261.4 million over two years under a new National Partnership Agreement focused on improving frontline services.
No to Violence is the operator of the Men's Referral Service and represents organisations across Australia that work to monitor the risk and safely address behaviours of men who use family violence.
As part of the funding to keep women safe from domestic violence, the Federal Government is providing funding to No to Violence's Men's Referral Service to continue the national operation of the counselling and referral service for another year.
Ms Watt says that No to Violence is grateful for the additional year of funding which will allow men in all states and territories to access support by the Men's Referral Services' qualified counsellors for another year.
"There is so much work to be done and every dollar is desperately needed to support the family and domestic violence sector, including organisations that work with men using violence", says Ms Watt.
"The service is a critical piece of infrastructure in the family and domestic violence system that aims to keep women safe by keeping men who use violence in view and helping them change their behaviour."
The Men's Referral Service provides one-off counselling and referral to men who use violence, linking them to critical services that assess risk towards victim survivors and helping them on their journey to address their behaviour.
"We know that there is so much to do in this space – without working with the people perpetrating this violence, we will never break the cycle. We look forward to working with the Federal Government, along with states and territories, to expand the focus on those who use violence as part of the next National Plan and the Women's Safety Summit in July".
If you are concerned about how your behaviour is affecting your family, please call the Men's Referral Service (1300 766 491 or mrs.org.au).
