New figures show domestic violence breaches have ballooned in Ballarat, but the growth shows some positives.
The Victorian Government’s Crime Statistics Agency reports there’s been more than 12-hundred family violence order breaches in the past financial year in Ballarat.
That’s compared to just under one-thousand in the 2018-19 financial year.
That’s a 23-per cent increase over three years.
However Griffith University expert Dr Silke Meyer has told the Herald Sun it’s due to more victims coming forward.
“The reform work over the last five years more broadly has increased awareness of reporting options and increased awareness that this can happen to anyone,” she said.
Locally, Detective Senior Sergeant Tony Coxall from Ballarat Police says that domestic violence reporting in the first instance is often coming from the community, who now know this violence needs to be reported.
“Our spikes in the family violence reporting’s gone down, but the third party reporting’s stayed up. So, it tells me that the community awareness is there that family violence is a crime.”
Australian Bureau of Statistics data has shown domestic violence-related crimes increased by 17% in Victoria since the pandemic, between 2019 and 2021.
If you are in immediate danger, please call triple-0 000 in an emergency.
For more support, please call:
24-hour helpline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732
Men facing domestic violence can contact mensline.org.au on 1300 78 99 78
Kids Helpline is for young people aged 5 to 25 on 1800 551 800
Lifeline on 13 11 14
