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On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the federal government will increase funding for the national domestic violence crisis line by 40 percent to meet increased calls, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek announced.
“We launched 1800RESPECT in 2010 and that year it took 11,000 calls. In the last financial year it took 342,000 people. So it’s not just calls anymore, it’s video chats, SMS and online counselling, and of course the need has really grown exponentially.
“Today we’re announcing a 40 per cent increase in funding to make sure we can keep up with that demand. We know the majority of calls are answered within 20 seconds, over 90 per cent of calls are answered within 20 seconds. That’s a huge achievement, but as the numbers grow we need to keep up with demand and that’s why we’re increasing funding,” Plibersek told the ABC this morning.
A woman will be killed every four days in Australia in 2024.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
He said the government was also trying to change the social security law “so that it is not used as a weapon by perpetrators against victims of domestic violence.”
“For example, in the past we have seen perpetrators using banking systems transfer money one penny at a time to send an abusive or threatening message to their ex-partner. For example, we have had to work with banks to ensure their banking systems are not being used to exploit and intimidate victims of domestic violence.”
An alarming number of Australian women have been killed by domestic and family violence in recent years, and the number of victims continues to rise. Learn more about their lives.
