Family and Domestic Violence Unit Western Australia Strategic Plan for FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 2009-2013 MID TERM PROGRESS REPORT Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................2 STATE GOVERNANCE AND REPORTING FRAMEWORK .................................................................................4 NATIONAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................................5 OUTCOME ONE: PREVENTION AND EARLY INTERVENTION .........................................................................7 Strategy Links ..............................................................................................................................................7 Initiatives .....................................................................................................................................................7 OUTCOME TWO: SAFETY FOR VICTIMS ......................................................................................................9 Strategy Links ..............................................................................................................................................9 Initiatives .....................................................................................................................................................9 OUTCOME THREE: ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PERPETRATORS ......................................................................14 Strategy Links ............................................................................................................................................14 Initiatives ...................................................................................................................................................14 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................................18 APPENDIX 1: KEY PERFORMANCE DATA ..................................................................................................19 The Western Australian Family and Domestic Violence COMMON RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK 1 Introduction The WA Strategic Plan for Family and Domestic Violence 2009-2013 (the WA Strategic Plan), which was launched in November 2009, aims to achieve statewide systemic reform of responses to family and domestic violence through the implementation of an integrated response across government, building on current services and introducing new approaches. This Mid Term Progress Report presents progress against the outcomes of the WA Strategic Plan which are: OUTCOME ONE - Prevention and early intervention. Individual attitudes and behaviours within the community reflect that family and domestic violence in any form is not acceptable. OUTCOME TWO - Safety for victims. Adult and child victims are safe and kept free from harm through timely and accessible services. OUTCOME THREE - Accountability for perpetrators. Perpetrators are held accountable for their actions and are actively supported to cease their violent behaviour. To measure the success of the WA Strategic Plan, the following indicators have been set: • Changes in performance indicator data over time. • The degree to which an integrated interagency response has been achieved and associated outcomes. Use of national data, such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Personal Safety Survey, as measured by national data such as the incidence and prevalence of family and domestic violence. Family and domestic violence is an insidious and complex issue which can affect Western Australian families of all cultural and economic backgrounds. It is strongly associated with and linked to a number of other serious social issues including child abuse, homelessness, mental health issues, poverty and drug and alcohol misuse. The complex nature of family and domestic violence continues to be a challenge, requiring more effective approaches, shared responsibility and coordinated efforts. In Australia, one in three women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15, and almost one in five have experienced sexual violence.1 1 Personal Safety Survey, Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2006. 2 Western Australia Strategic Plan for FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 2009-2013 MID TERM PROGRESS REPORT It is difficult to estimate the cost of family and domestic violence or to measure the loss of human potential. In 2004, Access Economics reported that the cost of violence against women to the Australian economy was $8.1 billion and that if no action is taken this figure could double by the year 20222. In Western Australia (WA), over a twelve month period between 2009 and 2010, 33,925 incidents of family and domestic violence were reported to the Western Australia Police (WA Police). Of these incidents, 13,052 were linked to criminal offences. Over the same period, 12 people lost their lives as a direct result of family and domestic violence.3 All of the initiatives and programs that are currently underway throughout the state are important in achieving the results needed to strengthen the state’s service system. The report provides examples of the major initiatives that have been introduced and/or built upon to support progress toward the outcomes of the WA Strategic Plan. Data against the relevant key performance indicators is also provided where available. 2 The Cost of Domestic Violence to the Australian Economy: Part 1. 3 WA Police. Western Australia Strategic Plan for FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 2009-2013 MID TERM PROGRESS REPORT 3 State Governance and Reporting Framework Governance and reporting arrangements are in place to ensure the development of statewide policy and best practice frameworks supporting an integrated response to family and domestic violence in WA. The Family and Domestic Violence Senior Officers’ Group (SOG) has been established and is comprised of senior representatives from the key State and Commonwealth Government agencies that have a direct or indirect responsibility for victims and perpetrators of family and domestic violence. The Women’s Council for Domestic and Family Violence Services WA Inc, the community sector peak body for family and domestic violence services, is also represented. The purpose of the SOG is to plan, manage and monitor a strategic across-government response to the issue of family and domestic violence in WA. To inform strategic planning, a reporting structure has been established through the Family and Domestic Violence Case Management and Coordination Services (CMCS) operating in 17 regions throughout the state. Funding requirements for the CMCS include submitting six monthly progress reports. Information provided through the six monthly progress reports includes: • the number of high risk cases referred to the CMCS group for case management; • the number of high risk cases managed by the CMCS case management group; and • barriers to providing increased safety for those experiencing family and domestic violence and holding perpetrators accountable for their violent behaviour. The reporting structure enables regional issues which impact on the ability of the service system to provide safety for victims and hold perpetrators accountable, to be presented to the SOG and to inform future planning. Data The data presented in the appendices in this report represents the beginning of developing an evidence base to better understand and inform the operating environment in WA. The key performance indicator data (Appendix 1) was provided by the WA Police and the Department of the Attorney General. Aggregated data was provided to ensure client confidentiality. Data presented within the report is for the financial years of 2008-09 and 2009-10.This will be used as base-line data in future reporting periods. Please Note: Caution is to be taken when analysing or inferring from the data due to some inconsistencies in definitions and geographical boundaries. A Data Working Group has been established to ensure greater uniformity and quality of data from reporting sources to inform future reporting. 4 Western Australia Strategic Plan for FAMILY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 2009-2013 MID TERM PROGRESS REPORT National Framework National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022 The National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children 2010-2022 (the National Plan) was released on 15 February 2011 and provides a framework for action by the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments to reduce violence against women and their children. It is supported by four, three-year rolling National Action Plans which include: • Building a Strong Foundation 2010-2013 The First Action Plan establishes the groundwork and builds the evidence base for the National Plan, putting in place the strategic projects and actions that will drive results over the longer term while also implementing high-priority actions in the short term. • Moving Ahead 2013-2016 The Second Action Plan will take stock of what has worked well in the first three years and consolidate the evidence base for the effectiveness of the strategies and actions implemented to date. • Promising Results 2016-2019 The Third Action Plan will deliver solid and continuing progress in best practice policies, with governments using data of far greater detail, accuracy and depth due to the improvements made in data