The family violence challenge...five years on from Royal Commission

The number of Aboriginal women presenting to services for family violence support in Victoria has increased by 31 percent in the five years since the Royal Commission into Family Violence. 

And as the National Summit on Women's Safety for 2021 draws to a close, family violence remains a key driver of Aboriginal women’s homelessness, commonly cited as one of the main reasons why Aboriginal women seek support from Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS). In Victoria in 2017-2018, 1 in 3 (33.6%) Aboriginal SHS clients required family violence support.  

Further reform in social housing and the service delivery sector is required to adequately respond to the continually higher exposure rates to family violence experienced by Victorian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.