Daniel Andrews Vows To Implement More Than 200 Reforms To Curb Family Violence

The Royal Commission into Family Violence handed down their final report this morning, concluding a year of hearing reports from over 200 victims of domestic violence. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a big deal because it’s the first time that anything like this has happened in Australia. It’s basically a very transparent way of telling governments: ‘this is what you are doing wrong, and these are the only ways to fix it’ in a way that they can’t ignore.

#RCFV 227 recommendations, 4.7 kgs to address #familyviolence pic.twitter.com/ZRmWmGRo2y

— Marie McInerney (@mariemcinerney) March 30, 2016

In a very candid video uploaded to Facebook, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that the government had “failed every single one” of the victims of family violence, and he promised to implement all 227 recommendations from the report, despite the many years and “millions of dollars” it would take to meet them.

In the video, Andrews advocates for harsher punishments of perpetrators of domestic violence and vows to lead the country, and the world, in changing attitudes towards the issue and eradicating “the culture that created it”. This also includes overhauling the way courts deal with issues of family violence.

The commission’s hefty report includes some recommendations that you might expect — creating new laws that allow the flow of private information, creating more family courts, increasing children’s access to counselling — but it also went very broad, including setting up specialist panels for repeat offenders, initiating more ‘safety hubs’ and protection for families who remain in the same home, the appointment of an independent Family Violence Agency to monitor government bodies, and an emphasis on “culturally appropriate” support for domestic violence victims in Aboriginal communities

There is a strong emphasis on taking the onus off victims of violence to escape their situation and making the systems of protecting and housing families in need more transparent and more abundant. The Age reports that the commission was given a budget of $36 million but has only spent $13.5 million, recommending that the remaining money be used to kickstart their proposals.

Although Daniel Andrews has committed the Victorian government to achieving the commission’s proposals, according to The Guardian he is also meeting with Malcolm Turnbull today to discuss the federal government’s role in addressing the findings. It will be interesting to see if other state Premiers match Andrews’ promises.

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If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

Men can access anonymous confidential telephone counselling to help to stop using violent and controlling behaviour through the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.