Safety Measures will measure specialist domestic and family violence service need, accessibility and effectiveness.
Every person experiencing domestic and family violence in Australia should be able to access the support and safety that they need, when they need it. But no government, entity or agency currently has a full, accurate sense of the scale and nature of support needed across the country or the service system’s capacity to meet this.
Recent reports to Parliament, including the Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission’s first yearly report and the Australian Government’s Rapid Review of Prevention Approaches, highlighted how critical service measurement and data capability are to driving policy reform, strengthening system accountability and directing investment where it is most needed.
In an Australian-first way, Safety Measures will develop and test approaches for measuring the need, demand, supply, capacity and impact of specialist domestic and family violence services, using the data collected to tell a more nuanced story of what people experiencing family violence need from specialist services.
The program will also help create an evidence base for governments doing the critical work of keeping families safe from violence, to better invest in specialist services.
Created by and for the specialist domestic and family violence sector and funded by the Paul Ramsay Foundation (PRF), the program is represented by a partnership between six organisations across the Northern Territory, South Australia and Victoria:
- Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APONT)
- Elizabeth Morgan House
- Embolden South Australia
- Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjara Yankunytjatjara Women’s Council
- Northern Territory Council of Social Services (NTCOSS)
- Safe and Equal
These organisations represent more than 100 specialist domestic and family violence service providers, which employ more than 1200 practitioners and support thousands of women, children, families and communities each year.
Described as a ‘stepping-stone’ initiative, the approaches developed in the program will be expanded across the country to form a national picture.
“Domestic and family violence is experienced by Australians from all walks of life, from all corners of the country – and yet, there is no full, accurate picture of the scale or nature of support needed by people experiencing violence, or the service system’s capacity to meet this,” said Mary Leaker, General Manager of Embolden South Australia.
Tania Farha, CEO of Safe and Equal, said that while we know support services are stretched and overwhelmed, and victim survivors are waiting weeks for a response in some regions, we don’t have the clear data and evidence to improve system and service design on a large scale.
“We can’t properly address what we can’t accurately measure, which is why the Safety Measures program is critical,” Farha said.
Nationally, data collection in this space has been siloed and fragmented, and doesn’t articulate how many women and children are experiencing family violence, or how they are impacted, according to Kalina Morgan-Wyman, CEO of Elizabeth Morgan House.
Three of the program’s participating organisations are Aboriginal community-controlled organisations, and three are non-Aboriginal peak bodies, representing a diverse range of services.
“Each state and territory has different policy landscapes, government structures and service delivery contexts, so making sense of data across jurisdictions has always been a challenge,” said Dr John Paterson, Chair of APONT. “This is the first time Australia has had a program like this, led by the family and domestic violence sector and spanning across jurisdictions, which is really exciting.”
For Claire Pirrett, Policy Manager at NTCOSS, it’s vital to include the Northern Territory, as its service landscape and community contexts are unique, and national solutions must reflect that.
“Safety Measures will help ensure the realities of the NT inform policy, investment and responses that lead to lasting, meaningful change,” Pirrett said.
Meanwhile, Professor Kristy Muir, CEO of PRF, said that the initiative will help strengthen Australia’s data and evidence base to ensure future funding decisions are better targeted and more impactful for families.
“Safety Measures will give us a clearer picture of what’s really happening and lay the groundwork for smarter investment in this critical area,” Muir said.
Read also: New initiative calls on men to take action against domestic violence
Geraldine is currently the Content Producer for Third Sector, an Akolade channel. Throughout her career, she has written for various industries and international audiences. Her love for writing extends beyond the corporate world, as she also works as a volunteer writer at her local church. Aside from writing, she is also fond of joining fun runs and watching musicals.
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