The appointment of a Family, Domestic and Sexual Violence Commissioner to support women in crisis has been promised by the Australian Labor party (ALP) ahead of next year’s federal election.
Announced by the party’s Shadow Minister for Families and Social Services, Linda Burney and Shadow Assistant Minister for Communities and the Prevention of Family Violence, Jenny McAllister, the promise also includes funding for 500 new community sector workers.
Ms Burney said the a new Commissioner would act as an advocate of victim-survivors; work with State and Territory organisations to invest resources where they would make the most difference; help co-ordinate key national frameworks so safety and access to services was not dependent on location; and provide accountability and transparency by measuring progress against the National Plan and delivering a yearly report.
“Right now, women fleeing violence are being turned away from accommodation and services because of insufficient funding towards sector workers, and the failure to recognise this tragedy as a national priority,” Ms Burney said.
“Across the country, domestic violence organisations tell us how much more they could do with an extra pair of hands,” she said.
The Shadow Minister said funding for 500 new community sector workers would allow services to employ extra case workers; community organisations to hire a financial counsellor to help women escape the debt their abuser had run up in their name; and specialist women’s services to gain a support worker to sit with children and help them work through their experiences.
She said half of the 500 new community sector workers would be located in rural and regional communities.
