As more vulnerable women and their children come calling for help, fewer desperate pleas are being met.
This is the unfortunate reality for family support service, Crossroads Community Care, which is struggling to keep up with the demand of assisting victims of domestic violence.
Not only is the service inundated with ongoing requests for housing families – a further blow is the release of a new report that reveals the problem is growing.
Sutherland Shire is now within the 100 local government areas in NSW for domestic violence (ranks 98).
The latest report released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows 479 domestic violent-related incidents were recorded between January 2017 and December 2017.
This has more than doubled since 2013, when 211 incidents per 100,000 residents were recorded.
On average, numbers have been rising by six per cent per year in the past five years.
Crossroads operates a refuge and shelter, and also offers trauma and recovery support, and parenting, living and employment assistance.
Co-ordinator, Christine Bird, who has worked in the sector for 30 years, says the figures are not surprising.
“Reports reveal that domestic violence causes more disability and deaths than any other risk factor for women aged 25 – 44 years of age,” she said.
“The shire is a large area and it has a history of being a bit slow to look at this issue.
“There is a constant stream of people being referred to us, and we turn away many women and children every week.
“There are huge waiting times, and when women already have a crisis situation they need response and protection now.”
She says the risk of homelessness is continual.
“Mothers can’t find a safe haven because there are situations where they go back to the perpetrator because that’s not as bad as having their children taken off them,” she said.
“That’s the reality of what’s happening.”
The centre’s mid-term refuge offers crisis accommodation for up to three months.
“You cannot organise your life in that amount of time, and an Apprehended Violence Order (AVO) is not necessarily the solution to attaining safety,” Mrs Bird said.
“There are injuries, hospital visits, counselling, economic abuse following separation, schooling to be found, and exhaustion – all while lining up with everyone else and getting knock-backs.”
She says unless the state matches Victoria’s $1.9 billion investment to fund direct services such as women’s refuges and domestic violence specialists, assaults are likely to continue to rise.
“We would need an acre of land to double our response to this problem,” she said.
“Without more services, the burden falls to the community.”
Crossroads recently launched a ‘circle of safety’ – a program that aims to engage individuals and businesses who want to help.
The group consists of people who are willing to provide support to those who are struggling to safely exit domestic and family violence situations.
“We didn’t decide to set this up ourselves – the community was reaching out to us with concerns,” Ms Bird said.
“People are saying they are horrified at what’s happening.
“They don’t want to see survivors descend into poverty and homelessness.”
