The Territory Labor Government is putting victims first and investing in key areas that will create generational change.
This includes an annual investment of $300,000 to fund domestic, family, and sexual violence prevention programs for eligible organisations and individuals.
The 2018/2019 Safe, Respected and Free from Violence Prevention Fund is now open.
The Fund supports local projects, including pilot programs, which employ good practice, evidence-based prevention and early intervention strategies to break the generational cycle of domestic, family, and sexual violence.
Projects that target high-risk groups will be prioritised. High-risk groups include: children and young people, Aboriginal women, women with a disability, women from cultural backgrounds, people experiencing mental health issues, elderly women and people who identify as LGBTQIA + (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and/or asexual).
The Prevention Fund is part of the Domestic, Family, and Sexual Violence Reduction Framework 2018-2028 launched in December last year. The Framework identified areas where Government needs to invest to make a difference. The areas include prevention, early intervention, and safety and recovery for women and children and victims of domestic and family violence.
As part of the Framework action plan, The Territory Labor Government will also:
Provide $450,000 to develop an integrated and specialist domestic, family and sexual violence hub model for Tennant Creek to support women and their children in the Barkly region.
Ensure the Northern Territory Public Service leads the way for Territory employers on domestic, family, and sexual violence, including paid leave.
Support the continuation of the Family Safety Framework across the regions, providing intensive interventions and support for high risk victims of domestic and family violence.
Applications close on 21 December, 2018. Funding recipients will be announced in early 2019.
As noted by Minister for Territory Families, Dale Wakefield
Domestic, family, and sexual violence has a devastating impact on families and on our community. For Territory women, violence is the single largest driver for homelessness and is a major factor in children entering the child protection and youth justice systems.
Evidence shows that domestic, family, and sexual violence is preventable. That is why the Territory Labor Government created the Safe, Respected and Free from Violence Prevention Fund.
A key strategy for us in tackling this issue is investment in prevention programs that will create generational change and put victims first. Along with this investment, we have also invested three million dollars into building modifications to the Alice Springs Court, to establish and pilot a specialist domestic and family violence court.
We have also passed key legislation to make women and children safer such as the DVO Mutual Recognition Bill, to recognise DVOs across state borders. We also passed the Body-worn Video and Domestic Violence Evidence Bill to make it easier for police footage to be used in court to protect families and children.
